Everyone should see "Wicked" once. That's partly because it has become a touchstone for young women who feel powerless or misunderstood, and partly because it's the Incredible Hulk of musicals: loud, almost never still, seldom subtle, irresistibly powerful and very, very green.

I have now seen it twice, and that's when seams begin to show. Winnie Holzman's book seems more clunky, with undeveloped supporting characters behaving in ill-defined ways. The half-dozen anthems in Stephen Schwartz's score -- numbers where singers tip back their heads, point their hands at the sky and belt -- strike the ear like hammers, though most are rousingly effective. (The score has one hauntingly lovely song, "I'm Not That Girl," which he's smart enough to reprise.)

Gestures that were big on the first national tour are now BIG on the second. Giggling has become whinnying in spots, and people who were always Evil are now Eeeeeevil, as if Austin Powers were visiting Oz. Perhaps the devoted audience (and "Wicked" certainly has one) needs more stimulation to achieve the same level of satisfaction as before.

That second tour has settled into Ovens Auditorium for four weeks, which means there are seats available for almost every show. In some ways, it's more effective than the first: The actors are on par with their talented predecessors, when they hold themselves in check, and the effects look more impressive. (Elphaba's flight in "Defying Gravity," the first-act finale, was more convincing Thursday night than a couple of seasons ago.)

Holzman's references to the original book and film of "The Wizard of Oz" still raise a smile, though she rushes to cram in familiar characters: The Cowardly Lion, seen here only as a serpentine tail, is especially out of place. One crucial change to Gregory Maguire's novel "Wicked," on which the musical is based, seems less of a betrayal now that I'm used to it, though it still panders to the audience.

What emerged more strongly this time was the authors' political viewpoint. To my mind, it's not only anti-authoritarian but an attack on George Bush, who was in the White House when "Wicked" premiered on Broadway in 2003. The Wizard of Oz (amiable Don Amendolia) is depicted as a smiling, seemingly harmless buffoon who tells us he never expected to become a leader. He's of average intelligence but quite cunning: He deprives citizens of freedoms in the name of protecting them, spies on the populace and overstresses threats to his kingdom to stay in power.

Yet the relationship between misjudged Elphaba and Glinda, her irritatingly perky college roommate, remains the focus. Elphaba (clarion-voiced Vicki Noon) has been unloved since birth, which makes her sympathetic to the plights of other outsiders. Glinda (chirrupy Natalie Daradich, who sometimes goes over the top) comes to respect Elphaba but knows authority and popularity lie in accommodating the powers that be. The bone of contention between them is layabout Fiyero, a handsome prince who's more callow than shallow in the appealing performance by Chris Peluso.

The well-drilled chorus and crisp, boisterous orchestra sound fine in their second year on the road, and there's no shortage of energy in this version. The cast may have wondered why the audience sometimes laughed at inappropriate moments, such as the ill-omened birth of Elphaba or the Wizard's tragic revelation in act 2, but nothing threw these actors off their well-practiced game. The Hulk does not turn aside for trifles.