Wicked
Max and I went to the Orpheum to see Wicked last night.
I was not sick. But I did get sick in the middle of the night last night, so today, I have been a useless lump. I don't have the illness as bad as Max and Jack did. I feel incredibly babyish for staying in bed almost all day for this.
Anyway... enough complaining... on to the musical!
I read the synopsis of Wicked, the musical recently, because I had a hard time understanding exactly what was going on from the music. The musical is very different than the book. I didn't particularly care for the book, so that's OK by me. Max has listened to Wicked 1-1/2 times, and doesn't know the story of the musical.
The women playing Elphaba (Teal Wicks) and Glinda (Kendra Kassebaum) were awesome! Still, I would have loved to see Kristen Chenoweth. The man playing Fiyero was great too, especially in the first part of the second act.
Carol Kane played Madame Morrible. She's being replaced by Patty Duke next month. I'm very glad I saw Carol Kane instead. Max and I always read the program before the show, and we were awed by Carol Kane's bio. We also saw that some of the actors included their web site addresses in their bios. How gauche.
Steve from Married with Children played the wizard. He was quite good too.
The set and lighting were incredible! However, the ensemble hammed it up so much, it reminded me of a high school production of Guys and Dolls.
I was disappointed in the lack of words. Somewhat like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie, Wicked went from song to plot point to song, sacrificing characterization.
Did Glinda actually have any talent? In the book she does, but the musical indicates otherwise. However, we don't know, because it's never really discussed. We never see a sorcery lesson, never see how or if Elphaba is learning to control her "talent". At one point, Glinda tries to turn Elphaba's frock into a ball gown, and it would have been nice if a corsage or something could have materialized.
Speaking of Elphaba's talent, I didn't mind the first display, but in the classroom, when she and Fiyero snag the lion cub, Elphaba appeared to make everyone in the classroom dance. Why? Shouldn't they freeze, or act like animals, or something?
It rains, and Elphaba stands out in the rain, thus showing us that she cannot be melted with water. Where's the suspense?
Why does Boq feel bound to stay with Nessarose? How exactly is Nessarose evil? Boq tells us she's taken the Munchkins' rights away, but we never in the entire play see her do anything of substance. Also, Max pointed out that they cast an Asian woman as the "Wicked Witch of the East".
The staging was incredibly uneven. Some of it was great, with artful scene changes. Some of it was "Um, are we supposed to be able to see that happening?". Some of the direction was very much "take up as much of the stage as you possibly can" and the finale was crowded.
It's way too easy for the characters to get in to see the Wizard, and the end is absolutely rushed. In the span of 3 minutes, we find out that the Wizard is Elphaba's father, he leaves, Glinda has Madame Morrible arrested, and the townspeople celebrate.
I thought that the Wizard knew Elphaba was his daughter. It was heavily implied in his first song. But at the end, it comes as a surprise to him, and we don't really get much of a reaction. He just gets sent away. Gone.
They didn't show the Cowardly Lion, and it's unclear if Fiyero is *the* Scarecrow, or if he just happens to have been turned into a scarecrow during "No Good Deeds Go Unpunished." When Nessarose dies, Fiyero seems to be pulled somewhere, but then shows up at the scene with a ridiculous gun, which somehow convinces the guards to let Elphaba go. But then the guards realize they outnumber Fiyero, and Glinda just lets them take Fiyero away and string him up.
I'm very, very happy to have seen the musical. There were some great performances, and "Defying Gravity" was f-ing amazing! I just feel a little let down by the script.
I was not sick. But I did get sick in the middle of the night last night, so today, I have been a useless lump. I don't have the illness as bad as Max and Jack did. I feel incredibly babyish for staying in bed almost all day for this.
Anyway... enough complaining... on to the musical!
I read the synopsis of Wicked, the musical recently, because I had a hard time understanding exactly what was going on from the music. The musical is very different than the book. I didn't particularly care for the book, so that's OK by me. Max has listened to Wicked 1-1/2 times, and doesn't know the story of the musical.
The women playing Elphaba (Teal Wicks) and Glinda (Kendra Kassebaum) were awesome! Still, I would have loved to see Kristen Chenoweth. The man playing Fiyero was great too, especially in the first part of the second act.
Carol Kane played Madame Morrible. She's being replaced by Patty Duke next month. I'm very glad I saw Carol Kane instead. Max and I always read the program before the show, and we were awed by Carol Kane's bio. We also saw that some of the actors included their web site addresses in their bios. How gauche.
Steve from Married with Children played the wizard. He was quite good too.
The set and lighting were incredible! However, the ensemble hammed it up so much, it reminded me of a high school production of Guys and Dolls.
I was disappointed in the lack of words. Somewhat like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie, Wicked went from song to plot point to song, sacrificing characterization.
Did Glinda actually have any talent? In the book she does, but the musical indicates otherwise. However, we don't know, because it's never really discussed. We never see a sorcery lesson, never see how or if Elphaba is learning to control her "talent". At one point, Glinda tries to turn Elphaba's frock into a ball gown, and it would have been nice if a corsage or something could have materialized.
Speaking of Elphaba's talent, I didn't mind the first display, but in the classroom, when she and Fiyero snag the lion cub, Elphaba appeared to make everyone in the classroom dance. Why? Shouldn't they freeze, or act like animals, or something?
It rains, and Elphaba stands out in the rain, thus showing us that she cannot be melted with water. Where's the suspense?
Why does Boq feel bound to stay with Nessarose? How exactly is Nessarose evil? Boq tells us she's taken the Munchkins' rights away, but we never in the entire play see her do anything of substance. Also, Max pointed out that they cast an Asian woman as the "Wicked Witch of the East".
The staging was incredibly uneven. Some of it was great, with artful scene changes. Some of it was "Um, are we supposed to be able to see that happening?". Some of the direction was very much "take up as much of the stage as you possibly can" and the finale was crowded.
It's way too easy for the characters to get in to see the Wizard, and the end is absolutely rushed. In the span of 3 minutes, we find out that the Wizard is Elphaba's father, he leaves, Glinda has Madame Morrible arrested, and the townspeople celebrate.
I thought that the Wizard knew Elphaba was his daughter. It was heavily implied in his first song. But at the end, it comes as a surprise to him, and we don't really get much of a reaction. He just gets sent away. Gone.
They didn't show the Cowardly Lion, and it's unclear if Fiyero is *the* Scarecrow, or if he just happens to have been turned into a scarecrow during "No Good Deeds Go Unpunished." When Nessarose dies, Fiyero seems to be pulled somewhere, but then shows up at the scene with a ridiculous gun, which somehow convinces the guards to let Elphaba go. But then the guards realize they outnumber Fiyero, and Glinda just lets them take Fiyero away and string him up.
I'm very, very happy to have seen the musical. There were some great performances, and "Defying Gravity" was f-ing amazing! I just feel a little let down by the script.