'Wicked' flies back to Richmond

Something magical was brewing in the heart of downtown Richmond on Tuesday. The musical "Wicked" has returned to the Landmark Theater and crews were on site unpacking and assembling the set for its first show last night.

Productions will run from Oct. 5 to Oct. 16 with times varying.

"Wicked" portrays the untold story of the witches of Oz. As the Production manager David Hansen puts it, "It's what happened before Dorothy dropped in." The musical describes how Elphaba, the "wicked witch of the West," and Glinda the Good Witch met and exactly what made them eventually despise one another.

The cast and crew of "Wicked" travel all across the country, bringing the Broadway show to a number of cities. There are 33 actors in the show and 75 altogether in the road company, Hansen said.

"I really love touring because we get to go and bring the show to audiences who wouldn't necessarily get to see it in New York," Erica Norgaard, the company manager, said.

Their decision to return to Richmond for a second time was not a hard one, Norgaard said.

"We were pretty close to being sold out last time, so we wanted to be able to come back and get more people to see the show," she said.

The set design of "Wicked" is a large part of what makes the show unique and captivating, Hansen said.

"I like the set design in "Wicked" because for all the scene's that happen it moves seamlessly from scene to scene to scene but does give you the feeling that, at certain times, you're not in a simple living room setting, you're definitely in Oz," he said.

There are several intricate pieces that make up the Wicked set, but Hansen said he had a favorite.

"I'd say it'd be the Oz head when they go to meet the 'Wizard,'" he said. "It moves and the eyebrows go up and down. The jaw also moves and the lights are flashing. It's pretty cool."

There are many valuable lessons that people take away from "Wicked" after seeing it, Hansen and Norgaard said.

Norgaard says, "It's a really great story about friendship, the friendship between Glinda and Elphaba, the good witch and the bad witch. It's also a really great story about judging people and tolerance.

"We've done a lot with bullybust.org. The fact that Elphaba is this green girl and she's really judged based on the color of her skin is an important message for people."

Hansen agreed saying, "The show itself is about how people should relate to each other."

Contact reporter Taylor Procopio at taylor.procopio@richmond.edu.