It took a lot of calling around but I did eventually get tickets to see the hottest show in town – Wicked the musical. It was a full house on Saturday evening and I held on tight to my two very-difficult-to-get-hold-of tickets when I stepped into Apollo Theatre in Victoria to see what the craze is about.

Indeed – it was a craze.

I was immediately drawn into the fairy tale, and joined the audience in quiet ‘wow’s, when the good witch Glinda, played by Helen Dallimore, gracefully flew to earth from the sky, dressed in sparkles and surrounded by bubbles. And when the wicked witch Elphaba, played by Idina Menzel, stepped onto the stage, some audience applauded while others stood up to show their appreciation.

For any show or stars, let alone one which has started in less than a month, responses like these are very impressive.

Wicked opened in the West End on 7 September and they brought with them members of the original cast from Broadway to give it the added sparkle and cast a spell over other rivalling new musicals such as Avenue Q (which is hilariously brilliant and a must-see!) and Cabaret.

But when these award-winning stars leave the show in January 2007, will the bubble burst for a very different – but extremely promising – show?

The storyline is brilliant and the work of a genius. I’ve never been a big fan of The Wizard of Oz but this ‘other side’ of the story is brilliant.

What’s really interesting now is how popular will this show be in the next few months. At the moment, the PR push is the original cast from Broadway. And I will be honest to put my hand up and admit that I went to see the show because it is the original cast and I will go back to see the show before January because it is the original cast.

No doubt many will agree with me. Many of the audience came from abroad, mainly the U.S., to see their newly found idols and their performance in the West End, and almost everyone there was talking about ‘the original cast’.

Wicked is a very entertaining show with great songs, funny acts, and don’t forget the sparkles and bubbles. But it remains me more of a pantomime than a musical – and it certainly isn’t Andrew Lloyd Weber!

What will happen in January is most interesting as it could possibly define the fate of the show. Can it maintain its popularity when the cast is changed and they can no longer rely on the glitzy originality of the stars? And how will the British audience see to the light-hearted performance compared to the history of West End? Indeed, this is one to watch.