‘Wicked’ ridiculous, family-friendly fun

“Wicked,” the Broadway musical-turned-phenomenon, returned to Des Moines this week, packing all the soaring ballads, elaborate choreography and detailed sets that you’d expect from a Broadway show.

The hit show played 32 sold-out performances in 2009 and returned to a packed house on Thursday, the second night of a run that extends through Dec. 4 at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.

The play is essentially the story of how the Wicked Witch of the West — of “Wizard of Oz” fame — came to be “Wicked.” Things aren’t always as they appear, however, and as it turns out, the witch perhaps wasn’t nearly as wicked as we were led to believe.

The story opens with Glinda the “good” witch informing the people of Oz that the wicked witch is dead, a victim of melting at the hands of some “farm girl.” But as Glinda recounts the story she reveals that she and Oz’s No. 1 evil-doer were actually friends once upon a time.

We flash back to college and the beautiful, spoiled and self-absorbed Glinda winds up rooming with the awkward, but socially conscious, Elphaba, who is unpopular and shunned because of her green skin. Elphaba’s been ostracized her entire life, while Glinda has enjoyed the attention of countless fawning admirers. After a rocky start, the two befriend one another, which makes for a fun pairing in an “Odd Couple” kind of way. One day, the duo are summoned to the Emerald City to meet the wizard and the story unfolds from there, complete with behind the scenes peeks at events from the movie.

The music is solid enough, though not toe-tappingly infectious. There’s enough here to allow a powerful voice to impress and Anne Brummel in the role of Elphaba manages to rock the house on a few numbers. Tiffany Haas is fine singing Glinda’s ballads, but she’s more pleasant than overpowering. Her shining moments are during the spoken dialogue. Her ever-perky Glinda draws most of the laughs with her over-the-top, “Gee, aren’t I wonderful?” outlook. At one point she exclaims “I didn’t get what I want? So this is what other people feel like!”

Unlike a lot of Broadway shows, “Wicked” is relatively family-friendly. Its connection to the beloved children’s classic “The Wizard of Oz” makes it bound to attract the interest of more than a few kids.

I went to see Wicked with my nine-year-old niece Quinn, who was quite enthusiastic about the show and no less so after seeing it. “It was awesome!” she said as we walked out of a recent showing. A lot of other kids would probably have the same reaction. The show is quite a visual spectacle with flying monkeys, giant wizard head and visits from old favorites like the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.

All of that IS awesome.

There are, however, a few parts that will go over younger viewers’ heads, like some of the humor. When a guard remarks that a renegade talking goat has “gone on the lam(b),” the audience roars with laughter. That type of pun would only cause Quinn to shrug her shoulders. And trying to explain what a play on words is and why it’s supposed to be funny left me feeling a little bit like Abbot in an old Abbot and Costello routine.

Even less easy to explain were a few confusing plot points. Quinn couldn’t quite wrap her head around how Elphaba could have been fathered by a man who wasn’t married to her mother. How, indeed.

That one is best left for Mom and Dad to explain. If they want. In a few years.

Anyway, while younger kids won’t pick up every nuance, there’s nothing raunchy, too scary or confusing here that will prevent them or the adults they’re with from enjoying the show. One word of caution: the show does run nearly three hours, which might make a matinee a better option for a family than a 7:30 p.m. start time. But then again that later start time is sure to make for a quiet ride home and less of those awkward questions about who’s fathering who.

For ticket information, visit www.civiccenter.org.