The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

It had been a while since I'd seen a Broadway musical, so what struck me most about Wicked (playing now through Dec. 7 at the Orpheum Theater) was the grand scale of the production. The last Broadway show I saw was John Doyle's recent revival of Sonheim's Company, in which the actors themselves provided the musical accompaniment on a small and understated set. Wicked's set was much more integral to the production. The stage design felt like a giant mechanical organism that evolved fluidly between scenes. The exposed gears and pulleys seemed to propel the characters through the story like dancers in a jewelry box — deus ex machina in the literal sense.

As noted in some other reviews, the story is darkly amusing, but not completely capitivating.  Obviously, the plot is a bit contrived, but the music and performances more than make up for it.  It was a fun show and definitely worth seeing while it's still in town.