We're off to see the rapturous 'Wicked'.(Theater review)

Byline: Howard Shapiro

Jul. 28--Wicked broomsticked into town this week, fresh as ever and with a cast that makes you believe in Gregory Maguire's clever backstory to The Wizard of Oz. The show uses magic as one of its themes, and it is theatrical magic as well -- not just characters flying around or turning into, say, a tin man (sure, there's some of that), but the magic that comes from a mixture of compelling storytelling and stagecraft.

And witchcraft, of course. Wicked is the tale of how the wicked witch of Oz may not have been so wicked, and the good witch may have been anything but. Its main color scheme is green, from the Emerald City to Elphaba, a …