To sum up the musical Wicked, it was absolutely, wonderfully spellbinding.

Based off of the classic children’s series by L. Frank Baum, the movie produced in 1939, and Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name, Wicked tells the stories of the Wicked Witch of the West, renamed Elphaba, and Glinda being the Good Witch of the North.

The musical started and ended with the same scene: the death of the Wicked Witch. However, most of the story is a flashback, told by Glinda (played by Jeanna de Waal) to the citizens of Oz. It tells the backstory of Elphaba (Christine Dwyer) and how she came to be the way she is.

Supporting characters included Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Zarah Mahler), better known as the Wicked Witch of the East, the traitorous school teacher Madame Morrible (Gina Ferrall), the carefree, flirtatious prince Fiyero (Billy Harrigan Tighe), and the Wizard of Oz himself (Paul Kreppel).

The costumes were elegant and suited each character perfectly, from Glinda’s blue, frilly dresses to Elphaba’s dark cloaks. Each actor really put themselves into the role they were playing, and the audience was enraptured in every scene.

There was never a dull moment, either; the dialogue was filled with creativity and humor. To top it off, the music, singing and dancing was very lovely. The songs were rather catchy, and the actors had truly amazing voices that even made me tear up towards the end. “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” were the best songs of the evening.

However, the thing that got me most about Wicked was the hidden messages in the script.

It tells not just the story of the witches of Oz; it tells the audience that there are so much more to appearances – don’t judge a book by its cover, in other words. Values of friendship and loyalty are tested. It could be seen as a commentary of real life, if you choose to look into it.

“Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” Glinda questions the citizens – and the audience – at the beginning. That was the line that made me think the most. It’s a rather good question, not just for the play, it is one that may never be answered.

As the tag line said, “So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.” They were right.