Wicked
Happy Rememberance Day! I made sure to wear my poppy on my jacket collar when I went out today. I hope everyone did a little something to show support for our veterans of the First and Second World Wars. My grandfather, who is still alive and as healthy as he can be at age 83, was in WWII and I'm just so proud of him. Today is the day to honour
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I'd say that Wicked is definitely not for everyone. There are many against it for really strange reasons, valid reasons and really it's a pretty good play. I understand what you mean about the sung dialogue in the show. For example there's Dr. Dillamond's "Something Bad". I don't even think the audience understands what the problem is at this point. I mean, did you even understand that the problem was that they were banning animals from teaching and turning them back into just animals without the ability to talk? I'm sure that you didn't because people who haven't read the book go into the play just thinking it's about the relationship of Glinda and Elphaba.
The first time I saw Wicked on the stage was with Shoshana Bean and I agree that her register doesn't compare to Idina Menzel's. Doesn't mean that she makes the role any less fun though. There are plenty of people out there that don't really like belters and I think Shoshana brought Elphaba down to earth for me. She made her more relatable while I think Idina kept it at a distance because she puts herself at a distance by being a little arrogant about that role. It's a validated arrogance but arrogant, nevertheless.
Personally, I love this play for several reasons. I'm a big fan of pop music and this play is drenched in power pop. It's not even rock/pop, it's pure sugar, teen, boy band kind of pop designated for the fourteen year old girls in the audience but I still love every moment of it. There are some moments that just HIT me and they make me smile. Dancing Through Life, Defying Gravity, As Long As You're Mine, For Good -- I can either cry at the drop of a note or laugh or just get that flutter of a feeling in my stomach. I love the stage production, the set design, the way that they make you feel like you're actually there with them. Again, this is just my opinion and I am touched by the play because it gives me a feeling of nostalgia, whimsy that I miss in my adult life.
I am glad that you enjoyed it and thanks for the Toronto review! I'll be seeing it again in Los Angeles the month of my birthday in February.
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Why are some people so against the play? I mean, I really enjoyed it but it wasn't my favourite of all-time or anything. I really loved the story. It was a clever take on the original plot.
As for that Dr. Dillament scene...no, I wasn't quite sure what was happening at the time. I didn't know about the animal subplot. I just assumed that he had some magic power like everyone else so he could sense that danger was lurking, or something like that. lol.
I've never seen Idina Menzel perform. But, to me, a lead actor should be able to belt out a song when needed, and "Defying Gravity", especially, was such a power ballad that I felt anything less wouldn't work. But, other than that, I thought Shoshanna Bean was excellent. She was very believable. Who did you see as Glinda?
There were a lot of little moments in the play that really got to me. I loved how sorry I felt for Elphaba when she wore that black hat to the dance. Or when she was explaining to Glinda that she would rather be known as someone wicked because anyone who tries to perform good deeds ultimately gets screwed over. I thought it did a really great job of showing the cliques and awkwardness of high school and rivalries.
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