The tale of the Witches of Oz flies back in the Wales Millennium Centre; the tale of what happened before Dorothy dropped into the land of Oz has been captivating audiences on Broadway since 2003 and in London since 2006. The West End’s 10th longest running musical has also toured extensively and is truly a well-loved musical if the sales of the five-week run at the Centre are anything to go by!

The opening number, ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ is a familiar point from the classic, Wizard of Oz. The Wicked Witch of the West is dead, and the citizens of Oz are celebrating that the ‘enemy of all of us here in Oz’ is finally gone. I love the opening of the show, the flying monkeys winding open the Time Dragon Clock, the Time Dragon himself breathing smoke, eyes glowing, flaps his wings above the stage. The ensemble is electric, and the harmonies are tight. Sarah O’Connor, arriving by bubble (of course), soars in this number; her vocals and comic timing are excellent.

From there we move back to the first meeting of Elphaba and Galinda back in their university days at Shiz. Laura Pick sets a great tone as Elphaba, spiky and defensive with a distinct element of dorkiness; her characterisation here was a breath of fresh air into a character that I’ve seen portrayed on many occasions. Laura soars in ‘The Wizard and I,’ moving effortlessly from on guard Elphaba to one full of hope and dreams. I thoroughly enjoyed the way she explored her various sides; moving from this into a hilarious rendition of ‘What is This Feeling?’ with Sarah O’Connor.

The cast and ensemble bring pure joy to the Donald Gordon Theatre; Carl Man upsetting the calm of university life in ‘Dancing Through Life,’ Donna Berlin playing a delightfully loveable yet evil Morrible, Jed Berry is an adorable Boq, besotted with Galinda, Nessarose is sweet but with a simmering anger played ably by Megan Gardiner and Simeon Truby is truly the ‘goat’ of the piece, multi-roling as the bumbling but heartfelt Dr Dillamond and then hamming it up as the ‘wonderful’ Wizard of Oz. The emphasis on characterisation was appreciated. This is probably the most in depth I’ve seen the characters explored and it was satisfying to see them brought to life with such precision and thought.

It’s inevitable that a touring production is slimmed down from a London, resident production. However, all the key elements are here, and it was hard to find too much that was different from the production in the West End. I loved that the Time Dragon is proudly positioned above the stage; his eyes glowing red and his wings flapping at the opening but also at key moments in the show. Having read (and adored) the book, it’s lovely to see this element brought across from the page to the stage. The key moments from London are all recreated here, including the iconic flying in ‘Defying Gravity,’ Laura rising through the air to belt out those last notes of the iconic song.

All in all, this is a thrillifying production of the classic musical with a talented cast, staging, choreography, and direction (both acting and musical!). The show is one that can be enjoyed by all ages, something different being discovered by each audience member no matter how old or young. It was lovely to see a new interpretation of the show to prove that although it’s been wowing audiences since 2003, there is no sign of this musical going anywhere.

Wicked is a show that truly defies gravity, so make sure you dance through life down to Cardiff Bay and see Wicked before it flies out of town ‘for good’ on 23rd November!