Wicked: Behind the Scenes of Oz

22/08/2017 written by Michel Imhof

Ever since his visit to "Wicked" in Stuttgart and later in London, the witch show has been our editor Michel Imhof's favorite musical. So he was all the more delighted when he heard that "Wicked" was coming to Switzerland. Even more so when he found out that he could take an exclusive backstage tour of the international touring production - in the Philippines!

Before Wicked starts in Zurich, the same touring production spent a long time on the road in Asia: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and the Philippine capital Manila were visited by the two "Wicked" witches. After a 24-hour outward journey, I found myself in tropical Manila, but also in the magical land of Oz.

The first stop the day after arrival was the premiere at a casino complex just outside the city center. All the food at the aperitif, the clothes, the decorations and the lights were green, and some of the fans appeared in costume. And at the subsequent premiere party, there were crazy dance battles with Filipino VIPs and the Wicked ensemble.

First male journalist in the Glinda bubble

Two days later, I'm back in the theater, technicians are checking the stage, the auditorium is empty. "Today is a premiere for us too," says Anthony Fields, company manager of the international production of Wicked. "You are the first male journalist to fly in Glinda's bubble!" It is in this bubble that the good witch Glinda appears to the inhabitants of Oz. She flies onto the stage and is even pulled all the way up before the show.

It's all easier for me: "Just stand still and move as little as possible," is the instruction. And I'm already doing two laps of the stage at a height of around ten meters, looking out over the auditorium. I feel a little queasy. Even the slightest movement of my arm caused the structure to sway. You are only secured with a belt around your waist.

Flying high: Our editor Michel Imhof was able to float across the stage in the soap bubble almost just like Glinda.

The flight on stage takes me one step further: backstage, where all the props, costumes and wigs are. A total of 18 shipping containers are needed to transport the production. Among other things, 350 handmade costumes have to be transported from city to city. The details in the costumes, which can only be seen from very close up, are particularly impressive. No wonder Wicked won the Tony Award for best costume design in 2004. Glinda's light blue dress (pictured below) has almost 100,000 sequins sewn onto it.

18 shipping containers, 350 costumes and 75 wigs for a magical Oz

Wardrobe city: 350 handmade costumes hang here.

It's a quiet afternoon backstage, most of the actors are still at the hotel enjoying their day off. They only arrive at the theater a few hours before the performance. Nevertheless, they are working: Only 31 of the 71 people on the tour are performers. The remaining people make sure that everything is right before, during and after the performance. Repairs are carried out in the wig department: "The 75 wigs are all handmade and made from real hair," says Fields. "In general, everything is tailored to the individual performers. Even the monkey masks." Only with such an effort can the wonderful world of Oz be brought to the stage.

All handmade: the 350 costumes, 75 wigs and the monkey masks are handmade for each actor.

There is also variety in the orchestra pit. The seven band members are joined by six new colleagues at each tour stop: "Local musicians then complement the orchestra. That's really cool, we also have a cultural exchange and experience the tour stops more closely and intensively."

But it's not just before the performance that a lot of work is done backstage, says Fields: "Sometimes there's even less going on on stage than backstage." Props are pushed onto the stage, the actors are helped into their costumes and wigs and make-up is applied where necessary. The green witch Elphaba gets darker and darker as the musical progresses.

Everything automatic and mechanical? Not at all!

There is even a hidden performer on stage, says Steven Pinder, who plays the Wizard of Oz: "Before I go on stage, the Wizard of Oz is just a big mask. This is not controlled manually by me, but by a stagehand to my words," he explains. "He moves the whole wizard's head and mouth to the voice. And funnily enough, his name in this production is Steven, just like me."

By hand: The giant head of the Wizard of Oz is mechanically controlled by a technician to the voice of the actor.

And despite the intensive backstage tour, one question remains unanswered: How can the green witch Elphaba float to the ceiling during the musical climax "Defying Gravity"? I didn't even see the device responsible for the flight. Perhaps that's for the best, because it means this favorite magical moment doesn't lose any of its magic.

From mid-November, the two witches will also be flying around Zurich - whether with brooms or soap bubbles. After a short break, the production will return to Zurich with a new cast before the witches go on tour through the UK and Ireland at the end of January. The second production on British soil after London - and rightly so!

WICKED
15.11. to 31.12.17, Theater 11 Zurich
TICKETS

2ND PLACE ON BROADWAY

Wicked celebrated its premiere on Broadway in New York in 2003. Since then, the production has broken all records. After it was announced that Wicked was the fastest musical to earn one billion dollars, in July it overtook The Phantom of the Opera in thirty years (1.11 billion) with 1.12 billion dollars. This makes Wicked the second most successful musical on Broadway, just behind the Disney hit "The Lion King" (1.38 billion), which has been playing since 1997.

Translated with DeepL