wicked
Ah, it's that time again, kids! You get to read all about my theater adventures!
Our seats were excellent, Orchestra Center, row N. The people in front of me were short (though I'm really tall, so...). The first thing I noticed was a giant steampunk dragon. I asked Jen if the dragon was going to breathe fire, but she wouldn't tell me. Naturally, this made me think the dragon was going to breathe fire. It didn't. :( The set was very steampunk, which I didn't quite understand. A clock with incorrect Roman numerals was the backdrop for most of the show, but there was really no thematic reason for it. Time wasn't a factor. A clock wasn't an important set piece (though Glinda mentioned a Dragon Clock at the beginning). The very opening- the literal opening, in fact, of the set- was grotesquely stunning. I don't know what the creatures were supposed to be, but I know they were supposed to be *wrong*. The body language was so evocative. I wouldn't be surprised if these three had gone to mime school. Their costumes made them look like they were completely made of sinew. The ensemble was one of the best I've ever seen. It was matched only by the ensemble at the Princess of Wales when I saw "Les Mis". Their costumes and hair were remarkable; it was all very Dr. Seuss- except it was way better than Seussical.
I had really been looking forward to the cast. That's what's great about night shows- you don't get the understudies. Some understudies are great, don't get me wong. Ramin started out as an understudy. I had an u/s as my first Christine and loved her. But YouTube has videos of all of these people and I loved their voices. Jen and I were flipping through our Playbills and there were two little slips of paper- my soul almost broke. I *needed* to see this Glinda. Okay, it was the monkey dude's u/s. Also Elphaba's standby. ?!?! This is a THURSDAY NIGHT production; standbys aren't used for those. Thursday *afternoons*, yes, but not nights. Jessica Voss is finishing her run as Elphaba in Cinci and I kinda wanted to see her. *shrug* The standby wasn't blocky. She was very obviously a standby and not an u/s. She had great comedic timing and was a talented actress. She hit that F in "Defying Gravity" easily. She was... okay. In Act II she was much better. She OWNED "No Good Deed". Glinda was more perfect than I had hoped. Fiyero is a boring character with boring songs. The guy who played him was a country singer who was pretty good. He got exponentially better in Act II as well.
But friends, you know my weakness. LIGHTING. I was so curious about what they would do. Obviously there would be a lot of green, so they would need to use red, but red is off-putting. I was afraid they would default to blue/amber and then be like HEY IT'S EMERALD CITY blue/amber again. They handled red *brilliantly*. In Act I, it was often more ruddy, or pink when Galinda was onstage. In Act II, they substituted a very rich plum for red. They backlit the stage with purple and had a fog machine, then had amber and green coming from above- it was spectacular. In the background, the colors always shifted from green to some form of amber to some red. Just so well done.
I wasn't fond of the ending. I feel like they should have died. The reverse "Little Shop" isn't something I like. Or at least let Glinda in on the secret. There was no good reason given in the narrative for keeping her out of the loop.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and cried, naturally.
Then I became intimately acquainted with the sidewalk on 7th when I twisted a heel. Jen saw the holes and blood before I did. Yeah- holes. There's this hunk of missing skin near my ankle. My knee is scraped pretty badly as well. When I came home, I got some soap and a rag and started cleaning the wounds. Nemo wanted to help. First he licked and bit the washrag. Then he licked the soap off of my leg. Then he licked my bloody foot hole. My cat likes feet.
I am so tired.
Our seats were excellent, Orchestra Center, row N. The people in front of me were short (though I'm really tall, so...). The first thing I noticed was a giant steampunk dragon. I asked Jen if the dragon was going to breathe fire, but she wouldn't tell me. Naturally, this made me think the dragon was going to breathe fire. It didn't. :( The set was very steampunk, which I didn't quite understand. A clock with incorrect Roman numerals was the backdrop for most of the show, but there was really no thematic reason for it. Time wasn't a factor. A clock wasn't an important set piece (though Glinda mentioned a Dragon Clock at the beginning). The very opening- the literal opening, in fact, of the set- was grotesquely stunning. I don't know what the creatures were supposed to be, but I know they were supposed to be *wrong*. The body language was so evocative. I wouldn't be surprised if these three had gone to mime school. Their costumes made them look like they were completely made of sinew. The ensemble was one of the best I've ever seen. It was matched only by the ensemble at the Princess of Wales when I saw "Les Mis". Their costumes and hair were remarkable; it was all very Dr. Seuss- except it was way better than Seussical.
I had really been looking forward to the cast. That's what's great about night shows- you don't get the understudies. Some understudies are great, don't get me wong. Ramin started out as an understudy. I had an u/s as my first Christine and loved her. But YouTube has videos of all of these people and I loved their voices. Jen and I were flipping through our Playbills and there were two little slips of paper- my soul almost broke. I *needed* to see this Glinda. Okay, it was the monkey dude's u/s. Also Elphaba's standby. ?!?! This is a THURSDAY NIGHT production; standbys aren't used for those. Thursday *afternoons*, yes, but not nights. Jessica Voss is finishing her run as Elphaba in Cinci and I kinda wanted to see her. *shrug* The standby wasn't blocky. She was very obviously a standby and not an u/s. She had great comedic timing and was a talented actress. She hit that F in "Defying Gravity" easily. She was... okay. In Act II she was much better. She OWNED "No Good Deed". Glinda was more perfect than I had hoped. Fiyero is a boring character with boring songs. The guy who played him was a country singer who was pretty good. He got exponentially better in Act II as well.
But friends, you know my weakness. LIGHTING. I was so curious about what they would do. Obviously there would be a lot of green, so they would need to use red, but red is off-putting. I was afraid they would default to blue/amber and then be like HEY IT'S EMERALD CITY blue/amber again. They handled red *brilliantly*. In Act I, it was often more ruddy, or pink when Galinda was onstage. In Act II, they substituted a very rich plum for red. They backlit the stage with purple and had a fog machine, then had amber and green coming from above- it was spectacular. In the background, the colors always shifted from green to some form of amber to some red. Just so well done.
I wasn't fond of the ending. I feel like they should have died. The reverse "Little Shop" isn't something I like. Or at least let Glinda in on the secret. There was no good reason given in the narrative for keeping her out of the loop.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and cried, naturally.
Then I became intimately acquainted with the sidewalk on 7th when I twisted a heel. Jen saw the holes and blood before I did. Yeah- holes. There's this hunk of missing skin near my ankle. My knee is scraped pretty badly as well. When I came home, I got some soap and a rag and started cleaning the wounds. Nemo wanted to help. First he licked and bit the washrag. Then he licked the soap off of my leg. Then he licked my bloody foot hole. My cat likes feet.
I am so tired.