Before the gingham-wearing, Toto-toting girl from Kansas ever lands in Oz, there’s a backstory that leads to the yellow-brick road adventure. Wicked is the tale of how two witches, once friends and college roommates, eventually travel down two very different paths, with one becoming Glinda the Good Witch and the other becoming the notorious Wicked Witch of the West.
Through Nov. 9, the touring production of Wicked makes its home at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas.
The Broadway smash hit, one of the longest-running musicals in the Great White Way’s history, earned three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, spawning more than two dozen productions in San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, London, Mexico City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Theatergoers will be treated to a score that won a 2005 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and to a kaleidoscope of color and creativity, as Wicked also snagged 2004 Tonys for Best Costume and Best Scenic Design.
The story is adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The New York Times called the show “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” and Time magazine said, “If every musical had the brain, heart and courage of Wicked, Broadway really would be a magical place.”
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19, 25-26, Nov. 1-2, 5 & 8-9; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21-24, 28-31, Nov. 4 & 6-7, starting at $45 plus tax and fee. 702.749.2000
