UK vs USA
I've been listening to extracts from the Broadway cast recording of Wicked, and comparing it to the West End version we saw, and...
The London cast we saw seem to be much better at the songs. Yes, it was originally Broadway, and it's based on an American classic story retold by an American author, and adapted to the stage by an American composer, but it just sounds better with British accents! I don't know why, but I've listened to several US actresses versions, and to the British actresses who've played Elpheba, and all the British versions of Defying Gravity in particular sound so much better - amazing what the voiced t at the end of gravity does. It takes the song from good to great, and all down to a puff of air...
The British version's Galinda is also more irritating, but in a good way. The US ones appear to be irritating, but not as irritating, and for the character, that's a bad thing...
It's also not a seen first thing - the first version of Defying Gravity I heard was a US version, and the British version kicked it into touch.
I'm told the British changes to Avenue Q have fed back to the US shows, so maybe it's just down to it being a later revision of the show, or maybe the West End is better for musicals than Broadway!
The London cast we saw seem to be much better at the songs. Yes, it was originally Broadway, and it's based on an American classic story retold by an American author, and adapted to the stage by an American composer, but it just sounds better with British accents! I don't know why, but I've listened to several US actresses versions, and to the British actresses who've played Elpheba, and all the British versions of Defying Gravity in particular sound so much better - amazing what the voiced t at the end of gravity does. It takes the song from good to great, and all down to a puff of air...
The British version's Galinda is also more irritating, but in a good way. The US ones appear to be irritating, but not as irritating, and for the character, that's a bad thing...
It's also not a seen first thing - the first version of Defying Gravity I heard was a US version, and the British version kicked it into touch.
I'm told the British changes to Avenue Q have fed back to the US shows, so maybe it's just down to it being a later revision of the show, or maybe the West End is better for musicals than Broadway!