Saw Wicked early in San Francisco tryout run and knew it was going to run for years. Even though at that point Fiyero's opening song died and Robert Morse wandered all over the place, the show had thrilling energy and stunning visuals. The book is unusually excellent in defining the characters, paralleling Wizard of Oz, and making relevant political commentary on our current scene (even more relevant in 2024 than 2003). It deserves all the success it has enjoyed. It is a far better show than Avenue Q.