"Wicked" came to D.C. this summer at the Kennedy Center. Though not the original Broadway cast that swept the world into a ‘wicked' frenzy, this cast had just as much to give the audience as any cast before them. Starring Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda and Dee Roscioli as Elphaba, the play follows the friendship of two girls who could not be more opposite in character. It is only by certain events that they end up as roommates, Glinda the beautiful and popular dreamer disliking the green and largely disliked Elphaba.
The audience follows the cast as they take off on an enchanting story where magic is real and friendship grows between the strangest and most unlikely of people. The show is based off of the novel, "Wicked," written by Gregory Maguire, and tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West before her appearance in "The Wizard of Oz."
The play quickly gained an enthralled audience through the ear-catching and spectacular music, the amazing costumes, and the mind-blowing set design. All, with the help of those gracing the stage, have combined together to make "Wicked" one of the longest running plays on Broadway and to keep it alive off Broadway as well.
"One of my most favorite parts of the show would definitely have to be the ‘Popular' scene. Amanda Jane Cooper was just so perfectly bubbly and entertaining as Glinda. Her character's personality contrasted Dee Roscioli's so well, and their interaction with each other was just too funny," said sophomore Catie Frech. Part of the draw is the budding relationship and, in the end, an unbreakable friendship that came out of the more unreasonable of situations.
Glinda, always portrayed as such a sweet and personable woman in "The Wizard of Oz," is something entirely horrible in the play, whereas Elphaba, hated and feared, is in fact a compassionate and wrongly accused misfit in "Wicked." How they learn and grow from one another is one of the most inspiring parts of the play. "Dee Roscioli has such a strong, passionate voice, and was really able to show it off in ‘Defying Gravity.' It gave me chills during the show. And ‘For Good' is just a classic song about the influence friendship can have, not to mention the harmonizing was beautiful," said Frech.
The play was performed at the Kennedy Center from June 15th to August 21st, selling out every show for the entirety of their stay. For more information or to find out where else they are playing, visit www.wickedthemusical.com.
