See Award-Winning Broadway Musical 'Wicked' in Beijing

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Jan 16, 2017 5:21 pm | 1 comment | 5265 reads

Beijing is blessed with an excellent performing arts scene, from theater to live music of all genres and modern dance, but one thing we (and by we I mostly mean me) are always keen to see more of is Broadway shows.

With a fraction of the audience of Hollywood, Broadway has struggled to capture comparable audience numbers and attention in China but shows such as Into the Woods (adapted into Mandarin) and Phantom of the Opera (performed in Beijing in late 2015) have had successful runs in recent years. Beijing-based Broadway fans have something to celebrate in 2017, then, with the news that the beloved modern Broadway musical Wicked will have a 10-day run at Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from May 24 to June 2. 

Premiering on Broadway in October 2003, Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch. Starring Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda, the original Broadway production of Wicked won three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, and the original cast album won a Grammy.

Many will know Wicked for its show-stopping songs such as "For Good, "Popular," and, of course, "Defying Gravity." The music and lyrics are by multiple Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz, whose other work includes Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted. Side note: Present and former roommates will attest that "Defying Gravity" is pretty much my number one shower ballad of choice, so needless to say that I am pretty stoked to see Wicked in my adopted home city.

The Beijing production (in English, FYI) will be performed by an international company of 70 cast, crew, and musicians, plus local crew and musicians from Shanghai. The production stars Scottish actress Jacqueline Hughes as Elphaba, British actress Carly Anderson as Glinda, and British actor Steven Pinder as The Wizard. Wicked is presented in China by AC Orange in association with The John Gore Organization.

Tickets are priced from RMB 100-RMB 1,280 and can be purchased from English-language ticket sales website Damai. Visit the Damai event page for more details. 

More stories by this author here.

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Re: See Award-Winning Broadway Musical 'Wicked' in Beijing
Posted Jan 31, 2017 6:09am by Kyle Mullin

If you're curious about the music, check out this clip of some of the cast members singing stripped down versions of songs from the musical. There's also this clip of the cast performing onstage last year (though it's a much lower grade cell phone video).