Back by popular demand, “Wicked” returns to Bass Concert Hall for a two-week engagement in March. The award-winning musical has won over 100 international awards, including a Grammy and three Tonys. It’s been performed in over 100 cities and is currently the 4th longest-running show in Broadway history, celebrating its 20th anniversary on Oct. 30.
And while the massive spectacle of the musical defies gravity with its 300 costumes and catchy soundtrack, the story centers on the strong bonds that form between two young women.
“Our director Joe Mantello always says, ‘Don’t forget, it’s a story about a girls’ friendship,’” Tom McGowan, who plays The Wizard, said. “It’s unusual that it’s about a female friendship. A lot of plays center around a historical event, or a romance. But [Wicked] really is about those two: Elphaba and Glinda.”
“Wicked” is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same title, which is an elaborate retelling of Frank L. Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” told from the point of view of Elphaba, who will later become the Wicked Witch of the West. As Elphaba struggles to fit in within the world of Oz, she befriends the conventionally-beautiful and uber-popular Glinda, aka The Good Witch.
In their efforts to see and love each other for who they truly are, Elphaba and Glinda learn that their unconditional friendship can withstand even the heaviest of hardships.
Many die-hard “Wicked” fans relate so strongly to the struggles and triumphs of these characters that they have seen the musical multiple times and will go see it again.
“Once a decade, there’s a show like this,” McGowan said. “For a lot of people, it’s their favorite show, and it doesn’t get old. Every time we go to a new city, there’s a whole new generation old enough to see it.”
McGowan has played the Wizard in “Wicked” non-consecutively since 2009. He traveled with the first national tour and returned to Broadway for the 10th Anniversary engagement with Carol Kane as Madame Morrible. Now he has returned for the US Munchkinland Tour, which will play across the country for the next nine months.
“I’m closing on 2,300 performances,” McGowan said. “It happens so rarely that you get to play the same character again and again. I restarted the last tour in Detroit, and the first thing you do is sit in the audience. It’s just a reminder of how much the show means to people. People are in tears and laughter. They’re just caught up in it. And there’s an energy thing where you have to remind yourself that for some people, it’s the first show they’ve ever seen. So you feel a little bit of responsibility.”
This is not a responsibility Mc-Gowan and the crew of “Wicked” take lightly.
“It’s 15 years in, and it’s important to them that the show stays really sharp,” McGowan said. “The show has to evolve a little bit, because people come in and times change. It gets more and more relevant in a way. You’re going to get a great show. It’s really such a rare thing to be part of something so timeless.”
“Wicked” will run from March 13 - 31 at Bass Concert Hall in Austin, with shows on Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. (Please note the new performance times for the 2023-2024 season.)
Tickets start at $49 and are available at texasperformingarts. org and BroadwayinAustin.com, by phone at (512) 477-1444, or from the Texas Performing Arts ticket office at Bass Concert Hall.
