wicked is a wonderful modern musical about what happened to the witches of Oz before "The Wizard of Oz". it's a bittersweet story with a great libretto...all of the songs are memorable and have great lyrics. i had the pleasure of seeing wicked with it's original female lead cast members (idina menzel as "elpheba" and kristin chenowith as "galinda", pictured above). the musical was made with idina menzel and kristin chenowith in mind for the main characters. sadly, they have both moved on to different projects, but i know people who have seen the touring version of the musical and have loved it just as much i did.
it sounds corny, but yes it does make you laugh AND cry. if you like musicals, you'll love the soundtrack.