Wicked 6/3/08
Okay, so Wicked was what I expected it to be, mindless entertainment high quality mindless entertainment.
My sister absolutely loved it, which made me happy. There's something about showing someone a movie, or in my case, a musical, that he/she has never seen before, and watching them experience it for the first time. That's what made last night so enjoyable for me.
Anyways here's my review, for anyone that's interested. It's long, and long-winded so read at your own risk.
Wicked 2008 Equity Tour
Rochester Auditorium Center - Rochester New York
June 3, 2008
Donna Vivino: u/s for Elphaba
Melissa Bohon: u/s for G(a)linda
Wicked is one of those shows that epitomizes everything that Broadway is about, complete with flash, bang, pizzazz, comedy, drama, and a “timeless” story. It is not a stretch of the imagination in any way to predict it matching, if not beating, Phantom of the Opera’s legendary twenty-one year run on the Great White Way.
That being said, Wicked is very shallow and extremely vapid. There is no depth or layers to any aspect of the story, including the characters. What you see is what you get. The plotline is intentionally generic, appealing to everyone. Who hasn’t felt like an outsider? Who hasn’t wanted to fall in love? How many people feel like he lives to please everyone else rather than himself? Everyone of all ages, nationalities, and races can find something to relate to, which is why this show is such an enormous success.
This touring production was pretty good as far as tours go. The theatre where it played didn’t have most of the trap doors used in the London/Broadway productions so a couple of the entrances/exits were a little awkward, but other than that, the show was exactly the same as in the stationary productions. Our seats were amazing (second row center), giving us a perfect view of the actor’s expressions while still allowing us to appreciate the scope of the staging and direction.
Understudies were in for the two lead roles, causing a good deal of grumbling before curtain about how the show was going to be “sub-par” because the regular actor was out, which is mostly ignorance on the audience’s part. For some reason, understudies have gotten a bad rap, despite the fact that they are as equally talented as everyone else on that stage. Yes, understudies really are just as good as the regular actors, especially in high-profile shows like Wicked (I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but it drives me nuts that understudies aren’t given any respect when they have to step in and perform a role they have had little rehearsal with, with very little notice). They don’t have the opportunity to go on that often so when they get the chance, they tend to give 150%, meaning that understudies can bring the show up to a higher level.
In the case of last night’s show, the Elphaba understudy, Donna Vivino was fantastic. Her acting abilities were spot on as she guided her character through the desire to belong while still holding true to her beliefs throughout the first act, to the powerful “witch” of the second act, adding in just enough humor and sarcasm to make the audience fall in love with the character. On top of that, she was the vocal standout of the night, with Defying Gravity and No Good Deed managing to step up and be the true show-stoppers that they were meant to be. I was very impressed with every aspect of Vivino’s performance and I’m sure she will meet with some great success after her run in Wicked.
Melissa Bohon’s performance as Galinda was good, but definitely upstaged by Vivino. Vocally she was not up to par. Her head voice was gorgeous, she hit notes impossible for most singers to reach, all without showing the slightest effort. Unfortunately, Wicked’s score did not allow for her to remain in head voice throughout the show. In fact, most of it required Galinda to be in chest voice, and Bohon needed some drastic improvement in that area. Popular was very breathy, pitchy, and nasal. It was to the point where I was struggling to like the character because I was unable to get past how obnoxious her singing-voice was. Acting-wise, Bohon was a very capable comedic actress. She got laughs in all of the appropriate places, despite the fact she rushed through a lot of her lines. I don’t think she stretched the character to its full potential, but that is probably due to a lack of experience in the role. She was still very good, and the audience ate up her performance.
Overall, I thought Wicked was a good show. It is nothing earth-shattering, it doesn’t really make you think, which is (in my opinion) what theatre is supposed to do. Still, it is worth the price just to witness the amount of talent on that stage, and all of the work and effort that goes into each and every performance. It’s a good night out, allowing the audience to easily fall into the magical land of Oz and forget about everything else for a couple hours.
Has anyone ever read any of Bruce Coville's short stories? I just picked up the book my Grandma gave me when I was little and fell in love with them all again. If you're looking for something to read, and aren't turned off by "fantasy," I highly, highly, highly recommend finding the book Oddly Enough. It's a compliation of Coville's short stories. I admit that some are juvenile, but most of them are incredible, even now ten years after I first read them.
My legs are killing me. I did lunges for the first time in two weeks yesterday, and had lost count half-way through and just kind of guesstimated, which was a stupid thing to do in retreospect, and am now paying the price. I have the mobility of a 90 year old woman, and show no shame in vocalizing my agony each time I'm forced to stand up or sit down.
My sister absolutely loved it, which made me happy. There's something about showing someone a movie, or in my case, a musical, that he/she has never seen before, and watching them experience it for the first time. That's what made last night so enjoyable for me.
Anyways here's my review, for anyone that's interested. It's long, and long-winded so read at your own risk.
Wicked 2008 Equity Tour
Rochester Auditorium Center - Rochester New York
June 3, 2008
Donna Vivino: u/s for Elphaba
Melissa Bohon: u/s for G(a)linda
Wicked is one of those shows that epitomizes everything that Broadway is about, complete with flash, bang, pizzazz, comedy, drama, and a “timeless” story. It is not a stretch of the imagination in any way to predict it matching, if not beating, Phantom of the Opera’s legendary twenty-one year run on the Great White Way.
That being said, Wicked is very shallow and extremely vapid. There is no depth or layers to any aspect of the story, including the characters. What you see is what you get. The plotline is intentionally generic, appealing to everyone. Who hasn’t felt like an outsider? Who hasn’t wanted to fall in love? How many people feel like he lives to please everyone else rather than himself? Everyone of all ages, nationalities, and races can find something to relate to, which is why this show is such an enormous success.
This touring production was pretty good as far as tours go. The theatre where it played didn’t have most of the trap doors used in the London/Broadway productions so a couple of the entrances/exits were a little awkward, but other than that, the show was exactly the same as in the stationary productions. Our seats were amazing (second row center), giving us a perfect view of the actor’s expressions while still allowing us to appreciate the scope of the staging and direction.
Understudies were in for the two lead roles, causing a good deal of grumbling before curtain about how the show was going to be “sub-par” because the regular actor was out, which is mostly ignorance on the audience’s part. For some reason, understudies have gotten a bad rap, despite the fact that they are as equally talented as everyone else on that stage. Yes, understudies really are just as good as the regular actors, especially in high-profile shows like Wicked (I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but it drives me nuts that understudies aren’t given any respect when they have to step in and perform a role they have had little rehearsal with, with very little notice). They don’t have the opportunity to go on that often so when they get the chance, they tend to give 150%, meaning that understudies can bring the show up to a higher level.
In the case of last night’s show, the Elphaba understudy, Donna Vivino was fantastic. Her acting abilities were spot on as she guided her character through the desire to belong while still holding true to her beliefs throughout the first act, to the powerful “witch” of the second act, adding in just enough humor and sarcasm to make the audience fall in love with the character. On top of that, she was the vocal standout of the night, with Defying Gravity and No Good Deed managing to step up and be the true show-stoppers that they were meant to be. I was very impressed with every aspect of Vivino’s performance and I’m sure she will meet with some great success after her run in Wicked.
Melissa Bohon’s performance as Galinda was good, but definitely upstaged by Vivino. Vocally she was not up to par. Her head voice was gorgeous, she hit notes impossible for most singers to reach, all without showing the slightest effort. Unfortunately, Wicked’s score did not allow for her to remain in head voice throughout the show. In fact, most of it required Galinda to be in chest voice, and Bohon needed some drastic improvement in that area. Popular was very breathy, pitchy, and nasal. It was to the point where I was struggling to like the character because I was unable to get past how obnoxious her singing-voice was. Acting-wise, Bohon was a very capable comedic actress. She got laughs in all of the appropriate places, despite the fact she rushed through a lot of her lines. I don’t think she stretched the character to its full potential, but that is probably due to a lack of experience in the role. She was still very good, and the audience ate up her performance.
Overall, I thought Wicked was a good show. It is nothing earth-shattering, it doesn’t really make you think, which is (in my opinion) what theatre is supposed to do. Still, it is worth the price just to witness the amount of talent on that stage, and all of the work and effort that goes into each and every performance. It’s a good night out, allowing the audience to easily fall into the magical land of Oz and forget about everything else for a couple hours.
Has anyone ever read any of Bruce Coville's short stories? I just picked up the book my Grandma gave me when I was little and fell in love with them all again. If you're looking for something to read, and aren't turned off by "fantasy," I highly, highly, highly recommend finding the book Oddly Enough. It's a compliation of Coville's short stories. I admit that some are juvenile, but most of them are incredible, even now ten years after I first read them.
My legs are killing me. I did lunges for the first time in two weeks yesterday, and had lost count half-way through and just kind of guesstimated, which was a stupid thing to do in retreospect, and am now paying the price. I have the mobility of a 90 year old woman, and show no shame in vocalizing my agony each time I'm forced to stand up or sit down.