WICKED takes an alternative musical route through L Frank Baum's Wizard Of Oz story, one that follows the story of witches Elphaba and Glinda rather than the familiar yellow brick road.

Adapted from novelist Gregory Maguire's "re-imagining of the same world", the musical with more than 90 awards to its name is in Leeds until Saturday with a cast featuring Marilyn Cutts, founder member of those savvy cabaret satirists Fascinating Aida.

"You know the story but this show takes you down a different path, a rather more interesting path that delivers what you wanted but more than you anticipated, and that is extremely rewarding," says Marilyn.

She plays Madame Morrible, 'headshizstress' of Shiz University, where Glinda and Elphaba are sorcery students en route to their divergent destinies as witches. "She's a very interesting character, as all the characters are to play, because so often in musicals characters are a bit too stock and you play them that way, but in Wicked every character ends up in a different place.

"As the story progresses, you realise Madame Morrible may not be who she seems. In a way it provides some sort of comforting answer to why she's different from everyone else, with all these terrible teenage dilemmas around her."

Marilyn enjoys how her character "misleads the audience" by presenting herself in a certain way. "There's just these little hints until you find out in the second half you really wouldn't want to tangle with her," she says. "I like having that cat and mouse element. The only other role I can think of like her was the character played by Marlene Dietrich in Witness For The Prosecution, though there the changes were physical and vocal; this is more of a mental change."

Above all, Marilyn is struck by Wicked's theme of the power of friendship, whatever the circumstances thrown at Glinda and Elphaba in the clash of good and villainy. "The message is that friendship is not easy; and it touches us all, that thought of whether a friendship is going to get through a particular situation."

Wicked runs at Grand Opera House, Leeds, until Saturday. Box office: 0844 848 2700 or leedsgrandtheatre.com