A Wicked Set by Brandon Barker

Wicked is one of the most internationally recognized musicals of this millennium. The show has been running for 16 years making it one of the longest running shows in Broadway history. The first national tour ran for 10 years, making it also one of the longest running touring shows in history. The current national tour has been running since 2009. It will arrive in East Lansing November 9^th through the 27^th 2016. There are many different productions of Wicked being produced all over the world.            

The national tour moves around all over the country. This means the set must be able to deconstructed, and rebuilt every couple weeks. Designing the set itself was a feat itself. The Wicked: The Musical YouTube channel uploaded a video about the set. It interviews the set designer, Eugene Lee, about his process and his choices for the set. Eugene talks about how he built his model, and how he came up with the concept. I found this really interesting because the set is so magnificent and intricate. Later in the video Eugene talks about how he adapted his set so it can be taken on the road. This is my favorite part of the video because I find it so amazing how a full scale Broadway show can be taken on the road, and still be just as fantastic. The assistant scenic designer, Nick Francone, talks about how he and Eugene had to translate their drafting’s into different languages so the set could be built in other countries. This is pretty cool to me, just to imagine being the person who is behind the whole process gives me chills just to think about. Wicked is a beautiful story, and the set is just as beautiful. I can’t wait to be making beautiful sets just like it in the future.

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