In July, a new cast started in the London production of Wicked and, more recently, I was lucky enough to see the debut performance of understudy Samantha Thomas, as Glinda. Thomas has an extremely strong voice and is great at showing the fun side of Glinda, making the character impossible to dislike, even when her morals become somewhat dubious.
Alice Fearn has taken over the iconic role of Elphaba, and her performance is very powerful; she really comes into her own in 'big' numbers like No Good Deed and, of course, Defying Gravity. Bradley Jaden, now in the role of Fiyero, has a great voice and is very charismatic.
Wicked really is a must-see show for musical theatre fans. It's fun but also packed with impressive songs, superb staging, fantastic costumes, and lots of enjoyable references to The Wizard of Oz. That said, Wicked is a very different musical to The Wizard of Oz (and much better, in my opinion).
If you haven't already seen Wicked, I would urge you to make this your next West End show. And, if you've seen the show before, why not see it again with a new cast? Wicked has been in London for eleven years, but is still fresh and full of life.
Ever wondered what sort of conspiracy theories surround Wicked? Check out my blog on: Weird and Wonderful Conspiracy Theories: The Wizard of Oz and Wicked.