MIDDLETOWN - Wicked: The untold story of the witches of Oz spins and lands magically onto the Bushnell stage beginning Nov. 5 and remains through Nov. 23. Three weeks, three magical weeks of Glinda, Elphaba, the Wizard and all the citizens of Oz that includes all the magic and spectacular effects that any stage can handle. Add to this costumes somewhere between Lady GaGa and Cher, music that sends you soaring, a story as airtight as a scuba suit and Wicked is the phenomenal result.

       Twenty-four performances of a magical spectacle to make you laugh, cry, think and drop your jaw in awe over the things--magical things--that are happening on stage. Personally I think Wicked is one of the best, most solid, well-written and just plain entertaining musicals to come our way in a long time.

       I’ve seen it twice now and my daughter-in-law, an instant convert to Wicked-dom has seen it once and we’re both waiting patiently for its return to the Bushnell in November.

       Having earned a solid place in musical history, Wicked celebrated yet another anniversary in late October while playing to sold-out audiences and breaking its own attendance record again and again--the latest one on Broadway where it has earned over $3 million in one week in ticket sales!

       There’s got to be something wonderful going on; let’s go take a look.

       For us here in Hartford, it all begins with the previous venue. In this case the touring show is leaving Toronto, Canada, Sunday night, Nov. 2, and traveling the 493-mile route that will bring it to its next venue--this time, as luck would have it, The Bushnell in Hartford. I know they immediately start packing the 14 trucks that it takes to bring Wicked here--or anywhere. It’s not an easy task and it was once explained to me that the trucks have to be carefully packed like a jigsaw puzzle so that everything fits where it should. Then they travel, I’m assuming all through the night and into the wee hours of Monday morning when they arrive at the next theater and begin to unload the trucks and start setting up.

       This is a mammoth production heavy on the scenic design and very heavy on the costumes (so heavy that Elphaba’s dress at the end of Act I when she decides to defy gravity weighs in at a bit over 30 lbs. Try dancing and singing in that!) So the scenic designs arrive and, as always, everything has a place in the theater. So all day Monday and all day Tuesday, Wicked is put into place. Wednesday night the public gets it first--or second, or whatever--view of the show. Traveling with costumes that cost from $5,000 to $20,000, not to even mention the staging and all its intricacies, has to be a daunting task. But they treat it as opening night in a new city and we’re soon set for the first show on Wednesday.

       Wicked is about as entertaining and as popular a show as you can have. It opened on Broadway back in October 2003, and it continues to this day to draw stellar crowds and people who will try to do anything for a ticket. My daughter-in-law is my guest this time and every time this show is in town. After she sees Wicked, she returns to teaching kindergarten and will star in the school’s production of Oz the very next day. And yes, she is Dorothy.

       n any case, young or old, Democrat or Republican, this is one show that crosses party lines and is a party unto itself. Act quickly for tickets; try www.The Bushnell.org or call 860-987-5900. I hope you can make one of the performances before Wicked leaves. Like Becky and I, once you’ve seen it, you’ll be dancing through life. And what a way to live!