Salt Lake City, UT — “Oh, it’s good to see me, isn’t it? No need to respond—that was rhetorical.”

So begins Glinda’s sparkling entrance in Wicked, floating down in her bubble with practiced charm and theatrical poise. It’s a quick laugh line—but also a quiet thesis. From the very first scene, Wicked draws our attention to rhetoric: not just as a way of speaking, but as a tool of persuasion, perception, and ultimately, power. The national tour of Wicked, presented by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone, continues to defy gravity—and in 2025, it also defies political complacency. What begins as a glittering spectacle of emerald lights and jaw-dropping vocals quickly reveals itself to be a trenchant allegory about narrative control, misinformation, and the manufacturing of public truth. This is a production with teeth, and the one smiling behind them is the Wizard—a figure who, in this iteration, reads as a stunningly relevant stand-in for Donald Trump.

But how did this allegorical powerhouse come to life on stage? The creative vision behind Wicked is rooted in its novelistic origins—transformed by a team deeply committed to storytelling that resonates across time.

Directed by Joe Mantello, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire‘s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which reimagines the classic Wizard of Oz story from the perspective of the witches. But what’s subtext in the novel becomes front-and-center social critique on stage, especially in this production’s chilling take on charisma and power. Since its debut, Wicked has not only captured imaginations—it has become a cultural juggernaut. Its early success on Broadway speaks to the show’s ability to blend spectacle with substance. The musical medium heightens both fantasy and emotion, making this story uniquely suited for the stage.

The musical premiered in 2003 and quickly became a global phenomenon—likely due in part to powerhouse performances by Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba. When the musical adaptation debuted on Broadway, it was an immediate sensation, becoming one of the longest-running Broadway shows and gaining a massive, devoted following.

Wicked has shattered numerous records, cementing its place as one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history. It is currently the second-highest grossing Broadway production of all time, with over $1.5 billion in Broadway ticket sales alone and more than $6 billion in worldwide revenue (Clement, 2023; Playbill, 2024). In 2016, it became the fastest musical to reach $1 billion in Broadway grosses (The Broadway League, 2016), and it continues to top weekly box office charts, often surpassing newer blockbusters. Wicked also holds the distinction of being the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history as of 2025. The Original Broadway Cast Recording, featuring Chenoweth and Menzel, won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA, a rare achievement for a cast album (RIAA, 2009). Songs like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” remain cultural touchstones, amassing tens of millions of streams and regularly charting on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums list (Billboard, 2024). These milestones underscore Wicked‘s enduring popularity and cultural impact across both stage and sound.

Renowned for its spectacular design, powerful performances, and beloved songs like “Defying Gravity” and “For Good,” Wicked has earned critical and commercial acclaim, including Tony and Grammy Awards, and continues to break box office records on Broadway and in international productions. Its enduring popularity has inspired countless fans and will soon reach new audiences with a highly anticipated two-part film adaptation, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, that opened in 2024, with the second part due to come out in late 2025.

Plot

Long before Dorothy’s arrival, Wicked follows Elphaba, a fiercely intelligent young woman born with emerald-green skin, and her unlikely friendship with the popular and bubbly Glinda. As their bond deepens, the world around them imposes labels—one is hailed as “good,” the other condemned as “wicked.”

The emotional immediacy crafted into the story shines in the performances of the current touring cast, who inject renewed urgency and depth into the story’s timeless themes.

Lauren Samuels brings a richly textured performance to Elphaba, capturing the aching tension between alienation and idealism. Her rendition of “Defying Gravity” is both vocally thrilling and politically searing—an anthem for those fighting systems that label them “wicked” simply for questioning power.

With impressive tonal agility, Austen Danielle Bohmer brings Glinda to life with precision and charm. Her “Popular” is hilarious and biting, but it’s her transformation in “For Good” that lends the show its moral resonance. Erica Ito, as Nessarose, delivers a nuanced performance that underscores how power corrupts even those who begin with good intentions.

Blake Hammond, as the Wizard, balances charm and control with a frightening ease. He doesn’t play a villain—he plays a man who doesn’t believe he’s doing anything wrong. That subtlety makes him all the more dangerous.

The ensemble—including standout performances from Xavier McKinnon (Fiyero), Alex Vinh (Boq), Aymee Garcia (Madame Morrible), Kingsley Leggs (Doctor Dillamond), Jennifer Mariela Bermeo, and Matt Densky—brings a kinetic pulse to the production. Choreography by Wayne Cilento is smartly integrated, especially in “One Short Day” and “Dancing Through Life,” where stylized movement reflects the underlying contradictions of Oz’s faux-utopia.

Visually, the production remains a marvel. Eugene Lee’s scenic design—especially the ticking Clock of the Time Dragon—is both steampunk fantasy and metaphor for a culture obsessed with surveillance and control. Susan Hilferty’s costumes, particularly the opulent Emerald City couture with embedded animal textures are a visual feast asserting that “politics are at the heart of this play” (Educators Guide, p. 16). Elaine J. McCarthy’s projections and Kenneth Posner’s lighting conjure seamless scene transitions while emphasizing mood and manipulation.

“One element I wanted to work in…was the use of animals. If you look closely, many of the costumes have fur or feathers. Thematically, I thought it was important to show how people in Emerald City, who have money and live the high life, have animal remnants in their couture. It’s despicable, like having somebody’s scalps on your sleeves… Animals’ rights are being taken away, but the people of Oz let it happen because the Wizard keeps them wealthy and entertained. Politics are at the heart of this play…it was really important for all of us designers to hold on to it, instead of simply telling a funny story.”

SUSAN HILFERTY, COSTUME DESIGNER, p.16

The sound design by Tony Meola and orchestrations by William David Brohn ensure that Schwartz’s score doesn’t just underscore emotion—it argues, persuades, and resists. Under the music direction of Faith Seetoo, the pit orchestra delivers both punch and poignancy. Yet for all its heart and harmony, the production’s sentimental surface conceals a razor-sharp lesson in manipulation. Wicked dazzles visually, but language—not spectacle—is the machinery that governs Oz.

Rhetoric in Oz: A Deep-Dive

This production, more than many before it, foregrounds rhetoric as the engine of Oz. The Wicked Educator’s Guide introduces students to terms such as scapegoating, propaganda, euphemism, rhetorical questions, consensus fallacy, and epideictic rhetoric—and this tour animates each one.

Propaganda & Scapegoating

The Wizard’s regime thrives on propaganda: messages engineered to produce emotion rather than critical thought. Morrible acts as his press secretary, using scapegoating to redirect public fear onto Elphaba. Scapegoating—assigning blame to a single figure to relieve collective anxiety—has long been a hallmark of demagogues. In Oz, it turns a curious, justice-oriented young woman into a public enemy.

Doxa Over Logos

The Wizard’s chilling philosophy—

“The truth is just what everyone agrees on.”

—reveals a reliance not on logos (reason) but on doxa (public belief). His method echoes Hannah Arendt’s warning: authoritarian systems don’t require convincing lies; they require confusion about the existence of truth. Repetition becomes reality.

Epideictic Rhetoric: Celebration as Control

In “Wonderful,” the Wizard employs epideictic rhetoric—celebratory persuasion that reinforces shared values while distracting from injustice. The upbeat vaudeville style serves as a political smokescreen: if Oz appears unified and joyful, who will question its foundations?

“Where I come from, we believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. We call it history.”

His charm is the spoonful of sugar that helps propaganda go down.

Paralipsis and Performative Innocence

Glinda’s “Thank Goodness” exemplifies paralipsis, a rhetorical move where a speaker reveals information while pretending to avoid it.

“There are bridges you cross, you didn’t know you crossed until you’ve crossed.”

This line is a masterclass in paralipsis—a rhetorical move where a speaker reveals something while pretending not to acknowledge it. Glinda simultaneously admits wrongdoing and softens it, framing her complicity as accidental rather than intentional. Delivered with her signature warmth and sincerity, the lyric becomes a form of performative innocence, insulating her from responsibility while maintaining her public image. The moment exposes how authoritarian rhetoric often hides behind sentimentality, mirroring the political tactic of framing harmful policies as compassionate or misunderstood. Glinda’s charm doesn’t simply mask manipulation—it becomes part of the machinery that enables it.

Charismatic Authority

Max Weber’s concept of charismatic authority—power derived from personal magnetism rather than legitimacy—applies cleanly to the Wizard. His emotional manipulation, symbolic branding, and ease with self-contradiction resonate with Trump-era tactics: define the narrative, discredit opponents, and use spectacle to drown out accountability. This production never imitates Trump’s style, yet the structural parallels to how contemporary demagoguery operates are unmistakable.

Silence as Rhetoric

The most devastating rhetorical strategy in Oz is silencing. When Animals lose their voices, they lose the ability to participate in public discourse. Their disenfranchisement is both literal and symbolic—an allegory for how marginalized groups throughout history have been denied speech, citizenship, or recognition. Elphaba’s quiet insistence—“It’s just wrong to treat others as if they’re less than you.”—anchors the show’s moral argument.

In this tour, rhetoric isn’t background, it’s the architecture of the world. This production foregrounds Wicked’s core themes: propaganda, discrimination, and mob mentality

Themes: Power, discrimination, and mob mentality

This production foregrounds Wicked’s core themes—propaganda, discrimination and mob mentality. Madame Morrible weaponizes language to label dissenters as threats to public safety, operating in lockstep with the Wizard. The Educator’s Guide defines “acting in tandem” as working collaboratively toward a shared goal. Here, tandem becomes collusion—a political partnership that keeps power stable by destabilizing truth.

The Wizard’s manipulation is most vividly expressed through the treatment of Animals, whose systemic silencing becomes a chilling metaphor for real-world histories of dispossession. Together, these scenes challenge audiences to consider how their own perceptions are shaped by repetition, emotional spectacle, and strategic omission.

Final Reflections: Who Tells the Story?

Wicked’s timeless question—Who gets to tell the story?—has never felt more urgent. In a moment when books are banned, protest is vilified, and histories are rewritten, the musical refuses the comfort of a single narrative. Instead, it exposes how easily stories can be weaponized, how quickly truth can be manufactured, and how power depends on controlling both.

What lingers isn’t the spectacle or the soaring vocals—it’s the show’s insistence that audiences recognize their own place inside the politics of storytelling. The Wizard is no longer merely a man behind a curtain; he is the embodiment of any system that relies on confusion, consensus, and performance to maintain control.

Wicked endures because it doesn’t just reimagine Oz. It forces us to reckon with our own narratives—what we choose to see, what we are encouraged to forget, and what power demands we believe.

VENUE

George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater
131 Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

PERFORMANCE DATES

April 16 – May 25, 2025
Presented by Broadway Across America

TICKETS

Broadway-at-the-Eccles.com
Phone: 801-355-2787 (ARTS)
In person: Eccles Theater Box Office

Group orders (10+):
317-632-5183

Student Rush tickets available. curtain with valid student I.D., 2 per student, while supplies last, quantities limited.

Study guide here

For more information about WICKED, please visit www.WickedTheMusical.com.
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References

Billboard. (2024). Top cast albums chart. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/charts/cast-albums/

Clement, O. (2023). Wicked becomes second-highest grossing Broadway show of all time. Playbill. https://www.playbill.com

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). (2009). Gold & Platinum: Wicked cast recording. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/

The Broadway League. (2016). Broadway grosses: Wicked hits $1 billion faster than any other show. https://www.broadwayleague.com/

Playbill. (2024). Wicked grosses and performance statistics. https://www.playbill.com