Before kissing Fiyero, Elphaba hesitates for a moment and declares with a smile, “It’s just for the first time, I feel … wicked”. Although at first she appears to be a menacing witch (well, she is called the wicked witch of the west) in the stage musical “Wicked”, Elphaba is anything but wicked. On the other hand, the other characters who seem to be the personification of goodness and perfection are in fact proved to be the ones who are wicked down to their very core.

The musical is filled with such surprising twists and ironies. And that is the reason why I enjoyed the show so much. I watched “Wicked” last Friday night with two MSC confreres in the Oriental Theater (Ford Center for the Performing Arts) in Chicago. I looked around and I did not see any empty seat in the theater and as soon as the cast performed their first number I understood why.

The show’s strength is not it’s music nor its dances. It’s not its special effects and other technical aspects either. It is it’s plot, characters and the humor the writers have injected into it that make it so popular. Wicked is on its third year in the theatre.

Since it is a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum’s classic story, it would help if you are familiar with “The Wizard of Oz” to understand some key scenes in the musical. My favorite performer has to be Erin Mackey, who plays Glinda. She both dazzles you with her singing and dancing and makes you laugh with her one-liners, even during the most serious sequences in the musical. And oh, you should not close your eyes, even for a fraction of a second, because you might miss her when she tosses her hair and does magic with her feet. Everyone just loves her performance.

Without being preachy, the musical imparts many good lessons. One of these lessons is that beauty is just a matter of perspective. When an unattractive green witch cannot believe that a gorgeous young hunk has fallen in love with her and finds her beautiful, the man assures her that “It’s not lying! It’s… uh… it’s looking at things another way.” Beauty is indeed a matter of perspective.

The musical number that I love the most is “For Good”. Both Elpheba and Glinda sing, “because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” This song made me remember the many friends and acquaintances who have made me become a better person. And it made me pray and hope that in my own little way I could help a person become happier and more fulfilled, even for just a moment.