Wicked (National Tour)

It’s rare for us to give a Preview Night! Critic’s Pick to a national tour, even though most national tour productions are indeed enjoyable. With a few exceptions, the below average shows simply don’t go on tour and/or don’t get programmed by the regional theatres, so the ones on tour tend to be good shows. However, most national tour productions, while overall good and enjoyable, are just average to above average productions.

Since the theatres re-opened after the pandemic closures, only a handful of national tours stand out as truly exceptional productions. These include the tours of Jagged Little Pill (2022), Dear Evan Hansen (2023), Les Misérables (2023), Beetlejuice (2024), Life of Pi (2025), and this current tour of Wicked.

This is my sixth time seeing the Wicked musical, the fourth time this tour, and the first time with these leads and at this venue and in this city. This was also my first time experiencing Wicked since watching the movie. The movie did change my experience a bit; primarily, I just felt like Act 1 was moving so quickly! It is such a faster pace than the movie. There was a buzz in the audience at intermission with many people excited to see Act 2, since they said they came in only knowing the story in Act 1 (from the movie).

I first saw Wicked in 2007 at the Hollywood Pantages theatre and didn’t see it again until a national tour in 2019 in Seattle. I most recently saw it three times in November 2024 during this tour’s stop in Seattle. I will be attending and reviewing Wicked on Broadway in a few weeks, and I’ll just throw it out there now that Zoe Jensen has raised the bar for what I now hope to see in Glinda. More on Zoe in a bit.

I don’t always comment on the venue or an audience, but I feel the need to comment that out of the hundreds of shows I have attended, this was the noisiest and most disruptive audience I have ever experienced. I only bring this up to compliment the cast on their skills and ability to stay focused despite the commotion in the audience. The most significant disruption was in Act 2 when the huge number of late arrivals were allowed to return to their seats. Some of this may be the venue’s fault, as the balcony flooring was just so loud as what seemed like a hundred people loudly walked to their seats while the performance was underway. Yes, it’s a 90 minute Act 1 with very long restroom lines, but many shows have 90 minute first acts and long restroom lines, and I have just never before experienced so much loud disruption during a show. The other continuous disruption throughout the entire show was the loud handling of candy wrappers by so much of the audience, whereas at other shows and venues, the audience members do this very quietly. On the flip side, this audience was energetic and great at cheering and applauding.

I observed outside the venue that there were four semi trailers to haul everything needed for this production. This set is truly impressive for a tour, and the costumes and lighting are also very good. The sound engineering was mostly excellent with just a few minor issues related to microphones cutting out. The orchestra was very good. This venue has some sightline issues in the side “Royalty” sections, so try to sit as center as you can. The orchestra section does not have much slope, so if you are on the shorter side, the balcony is going to be preferred over orchestra seating. The balcony has a decent slope to help you see over the person in front of you. The stage appeared to me to be too high to enjoy front row orchestra at this venue for this show. The inner seats on the sides of “Royalty” in Row C (e.g., ROY-R, Row C, Seats 1-2) are fun, as there is no one in front of you. Just note it is not actually an aisle seat, even though it might look like one on the seating chart.

When I saw this Wicked tour in Seattle in late 2024, I felt like it was one of the best national tour productions I had seen, and I thought the cast was fantastic. I wondered how this new cast would compare. This cast did not disappoint. They were outstanding. The vocals, the acting, and the dancing are all what you would expect from a top tier Broadway production. I haven’t had a chance to check just how many company members are new, and some of the performers did look familiar, but I do know that both Zoe Jensen (Glinda) and Jessie Davidson (Elphaba) are new in their roles. When I have seen Wicked in the past, I would frequently leave a show thinking, “Elphaba was the best tonight” or “Glinda was the best tonight,” but tonight, I left thinking Glinda owned Act 1, and Elphaba owned Act 2 (and of course the end of Act 1). I do think Zoe is the best Glinda I have ever seen. Zoe’s physical acting and her minor nuances make her stand out, especially in Act 1, and you can feel her energy and presence. Zoe is an actor I will look for in other shows in the future. Jessie is similarly excellent, and I very much enjoyed her Elphaba. Jessie’s performance especially in Act 2 reminds us why this show never gets old. The vocals and acting throughout this entire company are so good. At intermission, I did go off a bit on my soap box about how the musical ends Act 1 with perfection, while the otherwise excellent movie messes up the ending. I want the movie to abruptly end with “To Be Continued” at the exact moment the curtain drops in Act 1. Instead, the movie adds unnecessary seconds (minutes?) that take away from the power of “Defying Gravity.” I don’t think it will ever get old seeing the end of Act 1 in this musical. It’s just so good.

This current national tour of Wicked is highly recommended, and I am so curious to see how Wicked on Broadway compares. Follow us on social media (links are at the top of this page) to find out when we publish our review of Wicked (and a bunch of other new shows) on Broadway in just a couple of weeks.

See more show reviews from 2025.