 International productions have opened to similarly ambivalent critical reception . The West End production opened to a slightly more upbeat response . The majority of critics have appreciated the spectacle of the lavish production , and the " powerhouse " performances of actors in the roles of the two witches . However , contemporaries have characterized the production as overblown , occasionally preachy , and suffering from more hype than heart . Although Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph described it as " at times ... a bit of a mess , " he praised Holzman 's script , described Kenneth Posner 's lighting design as " magical " and lauded Menzel 's Elphaba and Helen Dallimore 's Glinda . Michael Billington of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars and remarked on the competence of all the lead actors ; however , he complained that Wicked was " all too typical of the modern Broadway musical : efficient , knowing and highly professional but more like a piece of industrial product than something that genuinely touches the heart or mind " . Paul Taylor of The Independent gave extremely negative remarks to his viewing of the London production , calling the attempt at topical political allegory " well @-@ meaning but also melodramatic , incoherent and dreadfully superficial " while deploring the acting , songs and book , concluding that " the production manages to feel at once overblown and empty . " 
