‘Wicked’ casts spell on Philly
By Larry Nichols
PGN Staff Writer
© 2007 Philadelphia Gay News

CLIFTON HALL AS FIYERO AND VICTORIA MATLOCK AS ELPHABA

The Wicked Witch of the West is set to ride her broom back into Philadelphia with all of her flying monkeys and magic spells in tow to wreak havoc on her enemies ... and their little dogs too!

This is a good thing.

The Broadway blockbuster, “Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz,” makes what is sure to be a triumphant return to Philadelphia with a seven-week run of performances at Kimmel’s Academy of Music.

The Tony award-winning musical broke attendance records during its three-week run last year and promises to be another sold-out run as one of the hottest tickets in theater.

CHRISTINA DECICCO AS GLINDA

“Wicked” rose to popularity behind the success of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which offered a dark and extensive re-imagining of the world from “The Wizard of Oz” as it chronicled the rise and fall of Elphaba (Victoria Matlock), a brilliant and charismatic but often misunderstood individual who eventually became the titular Wicked Witch, long before Dorothy arrived in Oz.

The novel was a wildly successful bestseller, which carried over to the Broadway adaptation of the book. “Wicked,” the musical, became a Broadway sensation in 2003 and continues to go strong in productions all over the country and the world.

This year’s tour for “Wicked” features Tom Flynn, an openly gay stage veteran who recently joined the cast to play Dr. Dillamond, the goat and professor who, through his teachings and demise, helps to shape Elphaba’s worldview.

“In terms of production values and music, they pretty much got it right,” he said of why he thinks the show is so successful. “I’ve done a lot of shows. Winnie Holzman wrote a really great [adaptation] and then Joe Montello directed it brilliantly so everything kind of matches; the book, the music, the lyrics, the scenery. Everything becomes this huge, wonderful production that people seem to get really excited about when they see it.”

THE TOURING COMPANY OF 'WICKED'

While the story in the stage production delivers a more light-hearted depiction of the content and tone from the plot of the novel, the core social and political themes that question the nature of good and evil come through in the musical.

Still, Flynn said he didn’t read the novel to prepare for his role.

“I hadn’t seen the show before I auditioned and it had already been running on Broadway for three years. From everything anyone has told me, it is so completely different from what we do that I didn’t feel it was necessary to do any kind of background research by reading the novel,” he said. “For instance, my character in the novel dies a horrible death, which doesn’t even relate to what I do in the show. I’m in the opening number. Then I come in and do a schoolroom scene and sing a song. I come back two scenes later and then I’m led off in chains. Then I reappear briefly in act two. There are a couple other animals who appear in servant roles but I’m the main character who’s an animal.”

THE WIZARD'S HEAD

The animal characters in Oz play a pivotal role in Elphaba’s growth as a character, as they represent a once-vital part of the social fabric that is becoming more marginalized and targeted st time goes on.

“In the world of Oz, there was a time when if you were attending school at Shiz [a prestigious magic school], the University was full of animals that were professors who talked,” Flynn said. “Slowly, something bad has been happening and their ability to talk and speak has been taken away from them.”

Elphaba recognizes the plight of the animal characters and becomes disillusioned with the establishment she once held in high regard, especially with the characters of the Wizard and Shiz’s headmistress, Madame Morrible. The more she recognizes how unjustly this class of people are being treated, the more radical she becomes in railing against the system, which, in turn, discredits her and brands her as evil.

Flynn points out that this theme, particularly in today’s social climate, is part of why the musical resonates with audiences.

“I think that it really speaks to that part of everyone that is about feeling that you don’t fit in — that you’re an outsider at some level,” he said. “And in the end, there’s, theoretically, a happy ending. It’s a bittersweet ending, but a happy ending. I also think that ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is in the collective unconscious of the social fabric of America. Generation after generation gets the lore of it passed down, and that’s built into ‘Wicked.’”

Part of the charm of “Wicked” is the adult-oriented depth of the re-imagining of Oz, which Flynn says even the most stringent fans of the widely beloved children’s story seem to appreciate.

“The show is really popular with the teen crowd and surprisingly the parents come and they find that they love it as much as the young people,” he said. “Early on, anyone who is sort of fringe came to the show. In a certain aspect, even my character or even Elphaba on a metaphorical level, you could draw parallels to being gay. She comes to a school and immediately she’s ousted because she’s different. Nobody wants to be with her. Nobody wants to be around her. They’re judging her on some criteria. In this case, it’s because she’s green. My character is so much about speaking out, fighting the system and not conforming and I’m the one who is led away.”

Flynn said that with the relation to “The Wizard of Oz” and the themes, it’s no surprise that the show draws a significant gay audience.

“The play has a huge gay following,” he said. “Often we see people exiting the theater and there are always tons of groups of gay guys and sometimes there are some really fanatical gay fans that hang out at the backstage door and want autographs. A great deal of gay culture has heard about [the musical].”

The 27-year theater veteran said he is excited to be part of something as big as “Wicked” and hopes that success will continue for a long time.

“It’s one of the biggest hits I’ve ever been in,” he said. “We’re sold out in every city and people leap to their feet at the end of each and every performance. It’s a blessing to get a role like this that is meaty and bold. All of the audience people love Dr. Dillamond and they totally remember who you are. It’s a great job and as long as I can stay with it, I will.”

Flynn, who started his acting career in Los Angeles, has lived and worked in New York City for the last 14 years.

“I came to New York with the Broadway production of The Who’s ‘Tommy’ and then I just stayed,” he said. “At some point, I imagine I might move back to Los Angeles. I have a partner and we live in New York together. His family lives in Arizona, so at some point I think we’ll buy a place back in California.”

“Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz” runs through Sept. 9 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. For more information, visit www.kimmelcenter.org or call (215) 731-3333.