WICKED Fans Should Avoid New iPhone App - At Least For Now

Broadway fans know all about Wicked, the story of what happens in OZ before Dorothy and Toto arrive. Now, NBC Universal, Inc. has released an interesting new app called WICKED mosaic. Unfortunately, in its present form, the app could be a tough sale. Based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked arrived at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre in October 2003. Since then, other productions have been staged in London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other locations across the world. Wicked is produced by Universal Pictures. At its core, the WICKED mosaic app is a slick marketing tool, for better or worse. Fans of the musical will ove the app’s main feature: a Mosaic of 1700 production stills. These photos come from the original Broadway cast and from productions around the globe. Double tapping or pinching the screen will let you inspect each of the individual photos. Tapping on the “info” button flips the photo to offer Wicked facts, favorite lyrics, quotes, and more. Under Stories, you’ll learn more about the show and how it relates to L. Frank Baum’s classic story, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 1939 movie classic, The Wizard of Oz. Finally, become engrossed in all things Wicked, by gaining access to the Broadway show’s original reviews, a Wicked timeline and more about the staging of the original production. From there, the WICKED mosaic app includes links to buy tickets to current shows, including those on Broadway, London, Australia, and Japan. You can also purchase tickets for the North American Tour, which is current playing in Washington, D.C. Finally, no promotional app would be complete without a mobile store. Here, you’re able to purchase t-shirts, the show’s soundtrack, and other items. The WICKED mosaic app also includes links to the show’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. As someone who has seen Wicked on Broadway, I was happy to download and report on this app. Regrettably, it isn’t close to being perfect. First and foremost, WICKED mosaic is lacking the one component that makes the show so fascinating – its music. For an app about a musical, to lack music is just plain dumb. A similar iPhone app, The Beatles LOVE, does this making it a much more immersive experience. Here, Beatles fans can not only listen to the entire LOVE album while using the app, but also make an album purchase through iTunes. WICKED mosaic includes no music, nor an iTunes link. Finally, WICKED mosaic is priced at $1.99, which is really unacceptable. As a promotional piece, the app should be free. Consequently, while the WICKED mosaic app has many strengths (the photos are wonderful), its limitations make it touch to recommend, at least as a Version 1.0 release. Our advice: Before downloading the app, wait until it includes music from the show and/or it becomes free.

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