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Okay, I've decided to make this post be unlocked because I didn't feel like posting this two places and I feel there are probably at least some random facebook people who would like to read this review. So. I will probably make a second, locked post about certain aspects of the trip/shows but this is the bulk of it! :)
I've decided to do my review a little differently than normal, because this was how it ended up being broken down in my head. Performer-split instead of song-split. We'll see how it works.
First, some general notes: This was the closest I've ever sat, save for my one time winning NY lotto last year with my Nana. I feel like it was great for us, because, hi, we're analysing every little thing and we know what to look at, but as a whole, I feel second row is not really premium seating. You get a better feel for the show from say row D or so, a few rows back. But, like I said, perfect for our purposes.
I was actually really shocked by how little had changed, as far as the cast. It's been a year since I really paid attention to the ensemble. It was really nice to come back to a familiar supporting cast, though, since the entire main cast was basically completely new to me. It was really quite exciting. OKAY. Now.
Roughly in order of appearance.
Erin Mackey...I had really no expectations of her performance. I knew very little of her. I'd barely heard her sing or seen her perform in anything. Her Act One was somewhat lacking. I told rysler at intermission that she was a little like Annaleigh-lite. She had the vocals for the part (still a big plus for me after seeing Kendra so many times), but she doesn't enunciate on the higher notes, which frustrated me because I knew she COULD. Also, I'm really tough on my Glinda interpretation during the intro because I have seen it NAILED. Erin did not do that. Her Galinda wasn't a caricature. She made a lot of really solid acting choices. But after seeing Alli and Annaleigh (and Lindsay too, actually), it takes more than that to catch my attention. DoS was unremarkable. WitF did actually spark my interest, both because Erin's interactions with Dee were so spot-on (they are SO aware of each other and it's totally effortless) and because, for the first time that I can remember, I saw Galinda played as being just plain annoyed/frustrated at the Elphaba situation. She wasn't disgusted, she wasn't afraid, she was just kind of pouty. And it worked really well. It definitely proved a better transition for the next few scenes. The tricky part of doing a review like this is that the performers interact and make it hard to do it just by one performer. But I'll do my best. Erin's interactions with Kevin Kern, the Fiyero, were...lacking. The flirting was fine, at least on Erin's part. Kevin was playing up his pompous attitude for 99% of this scene. But the chemistry didn't GO anywhere.
The ballroom scene was so...flat where their interactions were concerned. Their kiss was non-existent (really, I think Kevin must've been sick recently. Both Erin and Dee basically treated him like he had the plague) and this is literally only the second time (my first time seeing the show being the other time) that I watched the Nessa/Boq scene instead of the Glinda/Fiyero one. Part of that was because, hello, Michelle! But not all of it. So that's my two cents on that.
Erin's Popular only truly shone in my opinion, again because of her closeness with Dee. They very obviously know how to play off each other and while, in the past, when I've watched the E/G dynamic of a pair that was previously familiar with each other but had since gone on with other actresses, they'd been lacking, Dee and Erin certainly were not. There was absolutely no inkling of Annaleigh's absence on that stage. There was so much touching (platonic touching that made me not feel like I was missing something, which is so very rare) and I felt, for once, that rather than this scene just being a funny little song with a touching ending, it truly served as a believable turning point for their relationship through the rest of the act.
As far as the train station scene went, because there had been such a good build up of their relationship to this point, I actually bought them going off together. I don't even feel it's worth mentioning Kevin's part in this scene and his interactions with the girls because it was unmemorable. So the girls ran off together. The end. I would also like to add that the Galinda/Nessa interaction here was sort of meh. Michelle nailed her part. Erin just didn't have the build-up with her that I've seen in that dynamic in the past so yes.
The rest of act two was fantastic as far as the girls go. The blocking wasn't done in a choreographed way. More of just them and their awesome chemistry (still entirely platonic, still really not lacking at all). You could see Erin's Glinda maturing appropriately. She seemed appropriately terrified/sad at the thought of Elphaba screwing everything up for them. She actually fought the guards when they broke in and watched Dee's finale, reaching for her and clutching at her chest instead of sort of cowering/crying as many Glindas do.
I was hopeful for Erin's act two impressing me more than act one (not that I was disappointed. It just wasn't top-three material). TG is a hard, hard song to get me to enjoy. I am probably more critical of this song than any of the others. Don't know why, that's just how it is. I think maybe because I was so terribly spoiled between Megan's and Kendra's performances of this. Anyway. The point is, Erin completely owned this song. I didn't even miss the lack of the Megan-only note change on "bridges you crossed" which is shocking. Kevin's presence was again sort of a low point. They seemed more friendly than anything, which would've worked, except Dee and Erin were also playing so platonically that it was like a friendship-triangle and it was just kind of whatever. Erin's delivery of the entire speech to Fiyero was pure brilliance. I kind of got the impression her Glinda was torturing herself, like playing so hard that she wasn't a worthy person, that she was this shallow remnant of her innocent, care-free past self. It wasn't quite that she believed in what they were doing, or that she was playing along as part of a greater plan, because she had no better ideas, it was because, in some messed up way, if Elphaba was suffering for a cause, Glinda would do, regardless of whether she had a legitimate cause or not. I guess, in some ways, her cause was Elphie.
Their reunion was a little heart-breaking. Like nothing went as planned, like this was the thing Glinda had been relying on for all this time, hoping that, if they were ever reunited, things would magically make sense and then...they really don't. At all. INTG reprise was so terribly sad. I was a little disappointed that Erin couldn't hit the last note and had to up it an octave but that's just the way the part is written and it's written HARD. Can't blame a soprano for not being able to hit that. It's just so low.
With all her hope gone, and her maturity basically evaporating (because it was mostly a brave-face for Elphaba, after all), Glinda's suggestion to Morrible and the Wizard to use Nessa makes perfect sense. It's petulant, but hopeful, too. Because then she has a chance of seeing her friend again. And hey, it works just like that, right? Girl's smart. Gotta give her that.
The cornfield...ugh, I will gush about Dee breaking my heart in her section. Suffice it to say, Erin's childish pouting melted so convincingly into horrified heartbreak, that Elphaba would ever blame herself for such an act, that I was heartbroken right there with her. And I'd like to point out that this reaction fits perfectly into Erin's portrayal (or rather my interpretation of it) in the earlier scene. She knows what it's like to punish herself and she really doesn't want her perfect Elphaba to be in a similar predicament. The catfight was a joy to watch, both as a relief from the intense emotions before it and because, yet AGAIN, Dee and Erin are total win together. When Fiyero swings in to save the day and Glinda calls a stop to it, the line is almost always delivered "He loves her." But Erin did not do that! Instead it was "Don't you see? He loves her." Subtle but hey, that's what 16 times gets you, haha.
FG and the lead up into it were just...ugh. They killed me. Both the girls held it together basically the entire show. The emotion was definitely played and felt but not out of control until this point. I am so not used to both girls crying through the entire song (unless it's a last show but those are rare, obviously) but oh, they both cried, a lot. And there was hugging and hand holding and tear wiping and just ugh! My heart. It broke. Erin watched the melting, not hiding, just staring in horror and I was really amazed she held it together enough to speak her next lines but she did it. From here through the finale, Erin just solidified her performance in my mind. Nothing was out of place. She was so invested in finishing the story out, in doing it justice. By the closing notes, she had me completely enthralled. Standing up in her bubble singing her beautifully controlled soprano, being tortured about losing the two people she was closest to in the span of a few short hours. Erin Mackey certainly did not disappoint.
Dee Roscioli Oh my goodness. I really had no clue what to expect from her Elphaba. I knew she could perform, but, again, as with Erin, I'd seen so little of her performance beforehand and knew so little about her portrayal that I didn't know what kind of show I could expect from her. My first thought upon seeing her run out on stage was that she really reminded me, visually, of Stephanie in a lot of ways. I could certainly tell the difference between them, but I think they have similar features and their way of approaching the character (at least for Act One) is very similar...Sort of dorky and innocent. Marcie plays it that way, too. I could really see Dee's hopefulness fade at the other students' reaction to her. It made me very sympathetic to her right off the bat. Her spitfire attitude after that seemed very much a guise, an insecurity. I loved her already.
Dee's relationship on stage with Michelle was either something they've spent a lot of time working on or they are both just truly that brilliant. I think it was genuinely the most developed I've ever seen. They not only made sense within their own characters but they made sense as a team of sorts. There was a definite history there, one that had occurred entirely off-stage, entirely pre-show. I'll rave more about this in Michelle's individual review but I was so impressed by them. Very sisterly.
TWAI...I cannot think of the last time I heard this sung entirely to score but it was nice to go back to the good old days, before all the riffing and speacialising. Because I'd heard it done so many different ways, it almost took away from the impact of it. Hearing it the way it was written was very powerful. Dee, vocally, is very solid. I can't say she's got the best voice ever or anything but she is a strong performer, solid and reliable and I enjoyed listening to her a great deal.
Running into Fiyero the first time, I think Dee played it like she was a little bit surprised at her own reaction. To me, watching, it was obvious that her character had already developed in the time between her entrance and this point in the show. The confidence gained from knowing that what she'd always viewed as being "wrong" about herself was actually something that could make her dream come true, was subtly obvious. Really great.
But her self-consciousness wasn't entirely eradicated, which was important. Nessa's invitation to the dance, Elphaba's reaction to that, was very uncertain. She didn't want Nessa to go through the same sort of pain but didn't want to take away her fun, either. And her own invitation was met similarly, like she didn't want to get hurt but didn't want to give up all hope at leading a somewhat normal life. Dee was so distraught by the way the dance started. She just...broke my heart. She was just so obviously effected by the whole thing. Her Elphie dance was so just...uncoordinated and sad. I loved, though, that when Galinda went to dance with her, Dee sort of was like "Oh really? You're really gonna make more fun of me and make this even worse? I don't think so. You want to dance, dance" and left the ball in her court.
Popular was pure brilliance. I already talked about most everything I wanted to but I will say, as far as Elphie development in this scene, Dee kind of played the whole thing like "I have no idea what is going on here. Why are we friends now? What have I gotten myself into?" and it was so cute.
The classroom scene and the lion cub and INTG...Well. Dee played it up, she did a really good job, technically, with all of it. She was absolutely heart-broken about Dr. Dillamond and the lion cub. And as far as her and Kevin's relationship in this scene...It actually worked fine 99% of the time because this scene was meant to be about them being friends. I was only unhappy with the tension that was meant to develop at the end of that scene, to lead into INTG. It just felt kind of nonexistent. I was quite happy that Dee could comfortably hit the bottom note in the song though. I mean, that's a pretty big deal. I didn't even wonder about it. It was just there and fantastic. Like I said, solid.
Ummm I feel I covered most of the things I wanted to say about the rest of Act One. DG was lovely. The impact, sitting that close to the stage, was actually completely stunning. I may have forgotten to breathe for a few seconds. Again, she stayed mostly to score. There was very little riffing going on, but it WORKED. When the lights came up, I was just as excited as I always am. Love.
Act two...I'm going to leave WWotE for Michelle's portion of the review. More awesome chemistry between the girls. That's all I'll say about that.
Wonderful was interesting. PJ played a strong wizard, he was very...likable. It made this whole scene a lot more sympathetic, rather than manipulative. The lead up exponentially intensified the impact of the end of the song, with Dr. Dillamond being rediscovered. Dee gave the impression that she'd just been burned so many times, she was wondering what she'd done to deserve all this pain. FANTASTIC precursor to NGD. But we're not there yet. The reunion was not as intense as it usually is, but I think that's because they were all just playing friends. As I said earlier, it was a friendship triangle. There was no love conflict, despite what was actually written for the scene.
Now, I was highly disappointed in ALAYM. Dee can nail this song, not just vocally, but chemistry-wise too. I've seen her do it (on Youtube, but still). And there was absolutely none of that. Dee sung her face off but, I kid you not, they never kissed. They sort of turned their heads perpendicular to the audience and fake-kissed a few times but yeah. Seriously lacking. Ergo my assumption that Kevin was either sick of just getting over illness. Sad times.
Again, I feel I said most everything about the cornfield/catfight scene. Dee broke my heart again, maybe because her portrayal with Nessa to this point had been so strong but it was seriously the saddest version of this scene I've ever seen.
Okay now, NGD. I just...there are no words. None. She OWNED it. I have heard probably at least 100 versions of this song from different Elphabas at different performances. None of them gave me chills the way this one did, except MAYBE for a particular Toronto audio of Shoshana from tour, where she just about fell apart on that stage. But I feel that was more about Tyler and less about Elphaba. Dee was 100% Elphaba. She finally did a few riffs, deviated a bit, but it was all with purpose and held so much more weight because she hadn't done it before. This song basically stopped the show for me. I paid attention to the rest of the performance obviously, but every time I tried to actually think about things, I came back to this. This is the way this song should be sung. Every single time. Fucking blew me away. Ugh, even thinking about it now gives me chills.
I genuinely don't feel I can say anything else about Dee's performance haha. I already talked about FG so yes. I will leave it here. But I loved Dee and I hope I get the chance to see her again.
Okay, still only managed to get Dee and Erin done. I promise the rest are coming! I'm just being very thorough.
I've decided to do my review a little differently than normal, because this was how it ended up being broken down in my head. Performer-split instead of song-split. We'll see how it works.
First, some general notes: This was the closest I've ever sat, save for my one time winning NY lotto last year with my Nana. I feel like it was great for us, because, hi, we're analysing every little thing and we know what to look at, but as a whole, I feel second row is not really premium seating. You get a better feel for the show from say row D or so, a few rows back. But, like I said, perfect for our purposes.
I was actually really shocked by how little had changed, as far as the cast. It's been a year since I really paid attention to the ensemble. It was really nice to come back to a familiar supporting cast, though, since the entire main cast was basically completely new to me. It was really quite exciting. OKAY. Now.
Roughly in order of appearance.
Erin Mackey...I had really no expectations of her performance. I knew very little of her. I'd barely heard her sing or seen her perform in anything. Her Act One was somewhat lacking. I told rysler at intermission that she was a little like Annaleigh-lite. She had the vocals for the part (still a big plus for me after seeing Kendra so many times), but she doesn't enunciate on the higher notes, which frustrated me because I knew she COULD. Also, I'm really tough on my Glinda interpretation during the intro because I have seen it NAILED. Erin did not do that. Her Galinda wasn't a caricature. She made a lot of really solid acting choices. But after seeing Alli and Annaleigh (and Lindsay too, actually), it takes more than that to catch my attention. DoS was unremarkable. WitF did actually spark my interest, both because Erin's interactions with Dee were so spot-on (they are SO aware of each other and it's totally effortless) and because, for the first time that I can remember, I saw Galinda played as being just plain annoyed/frustrated at the Elphaba situation. She wasn't disgusted, she wasn't afraid, she was just kind of pouty. And it worked really well. It definitely proved a better transition for the next few scenes. The tricky part of doing a review like this is that the performers interact and make it hard to do it just by one performer. But I'll do my best. Erin's interactions with Kevin Kern, the Fiyero, were...lacking. The flirting was fine, at least on Erin's part. Kevin was playing up his pompous attitude for 99% of this scene. But the chemistry didn't GO anywhere.
The ballroom scene was so...flat where their interactions were concerned. Their kiss was non-existent (really, I think Kevin must've been sick recently. Both Erin and Dee basically treated him like he had the plague) and this is literally only the second time (my first time seeing the show being the other time) that I watched the Nessa/Boq scene instead of the Glinda/Fiyero one. Part of that was because, hello, Michelle! But not all of it. So that's my two cents on that.
Erin's Popular only truly shone in my opinion, again because of her closeness with Dee. They very obviously know how to play off each other and while, in the past, when I've watched the E/G dynamic of a pair that was previously familiar with each other but had since gone on with other actresses, they'd been lacking, Dee and Erin certainly were not. There was absolutely no inkling of Annaleigh's absence on that stage. There was so much touching (platonic touching that made me not feel like I was missing something, which is so very rare) and I felt, for once, that rather than this scene just being a funny little song with a touching ending, it truly served as a believable turning point for their relationship through the rest of the act.
As far as the train station scene went, because there had been such a good build up of their relationship to this point, I actually bought them going off together. I don't even feel it's worth mentioning Kevin's part in this scene and his interactions with the girls because it was unmemorable. So the girls ran off together. The end. I would also like to add that the Galinda/Nessa interaction here was sort of meh. Michelle nailed her part. Erin just didn't have the build-up with her that I've seen in that dynamic in the past so yes.
The rest of act two was fantastic as far as the girls go. The blocking wasn't done in a choreographed way. More of just them and their awesome chemistry (still entirely platonic, still really not lacking at all). You could see Erin's Glinda maturing appropriately. She seemed appropriately terrified/sad at the thought of Elphaba screwing everything up for them. She actually fought the guards when they broke in and watched Dee's finale, reaching for her and clutching at her chest instead of sort of cowering/crying as many Glindas do.
I was hopeful for Erin's act two impressing me more than act one (not that I was disappointed. It just wasn't top-three material). TG is a hard, hard song to get me to enjoy. I am probably more critical of this song than any of the others. Don't know why, that's just how it is. I think maybe because I was so terribly spoiled between Megan's and Kendra's performances of this. Anyway. The point is, Erin completely owned this song. I didn't even miss the lack of the Megan-only note change on "bridges you crossed" which is shocking. Kevin's presence was again sort of a low point. They seemed more friendly than anything, which would've worked, except Dee and Erin were also playing so platonically that it was like a friendship-triangle and it was just kind of whatever. Erin's delivery of the entire speech to Fiyero was pure brilliance. I kind of got the impression her Glinda was torturing herself, like playing so hard that she wasn't a worthy person, that she was this shallow remnant of her innocent, care-free past self. It wasn't quite that she believed in what they were doing, or that she was playing along as part of a greater plan, because she had no better ideas, it was because, in some messed up way, if Elphaba was suffering for a cause, Glinda would do, regardless of whether she had a legitimate cause or not. I guess, in some ways, her cause was Elphie.
Their reunion was a little heart-breaking. Like nothing went as planned, like this was the thing Glinda had been relying on for all this time, hoping that, if they were ever reunited, things would magically make sense and then...they really don't. At all. INTG reprise was so terribly sad. I was a little disappointed that Erin couldn't hit the last note and had to up it an octave but that's just the way the part is written and it's written HARD. Can't blame a soprano for not being able to hit that. It's just so low.
With all her hope gone, and her maturity basically evaporating (because it was mostly a brave-face for Elphaba, after all), Glinda's suggestion to Morrible and the Wizard to use Nessa makes perfect sense. It's petulant, but hopeful, too. Because then she has a chance of seeing her friend again. And hey, it works just like that, right? Girl's smart. Gotta give her that.
The cornfield...ugh, I will gush about Dee breaking my heart in her section. Suffice it to say, Erin's childish pouting melted so convincingly into horrified heartbreak, that Elphaba would ever blame herself for such an act, that I was heartbroken right there with her. And I'd like to point out that this reaction fits perfectly into Erin's portrayal (or rather my interpretation of it) in the earlier scene. She knows what it's like to punish herself and she really doesn't want her perfect Elphaba to be in a similar predicament. The catfight was a joy to watch, both as a relief from the intense emotions before it and because, yet AGAIN, Dee and Erin are total win together. When Fiyero swings in to save the day and Glinda calls a stop to it, the line is almost always delivered "He loves her." But Erin did not do that! Instead it was "Don't you see? He loves her." Subtle but hey, that's what 16 times gets you, haha.
FG and the lead up into it were just...ugh. They killed me. Both the girls held it together basically the entire show. The emotion was definitely played and felt but not out of control until this point. I am so not used to both girls crying through the entire song (unless it's a last show but those are rare, obviously) but oh, they both cried, a lot. And there was hugging and hand holding and tear wiping and just ugh! My heart. It broke. Erin watched the melting, not hiding, just staring in horror and I was really amazed she held it together enough to speak her next lines but she did it. From here through the finale, Erin just solidified her performance in my mind. Nothing was out of place. She was so invested in finishing the story out, in doing it justice. By the closing notes, she had me completely enthralled. Standing up in her bubble singing her beautifully controlled soprano, being tortured about losing the two people she was closest to in the span of a few short hours. Erin Mackey certainly did not disappoint.
Dee Roscioli Oh my goodness. I really had no clue what to expect from her Elphaba. I knew she could perform, but, again, as with Erin, I'd seen so little of her performance beforehand and knew so little about her portrayal that I didn't know what kind of show I could expect from her. My first thought upon seeing her run out on stage was that she really reminded me, visually, of Stephanie in a lot of ways. I could certainly tell the difference between them, but I think they have similar features and their way of approaching the character (at least for Act One) is very similar...Sort of dorky and innocent. Marcie plays it that way, too. I could really see Dee's hopefulness fade at the other students' reaction to her. It made me very sympathetic to her right off the bat. Her spitfire attitude after that seemed very much a guise, an insecurity. I loved her already.
Dee's relationship on stage with Michelle was either something they've spent a lot of time working on or they are both just truly that brilliant. I think it was genuinely the most developed I've ever seen. They not only made sense within their own characters but they made sense as a team of sorts. There was a definite history there, one that had occurred entirely off-stage, entirely pre-show. I'll rave more about this in Michelle's individual review but I was so impressed by them. Very sisterly.
TWAI...I cannot think of the last time I heard this sung entirely to score but it was nice to go back to the good old days, before all the riffing and speacialising. Because I'd heard it done so many different ways, it almost took away from the impact of it. Hearing it the way it was written was very powerful. Dee, vocally, is very solid. I can't say she's got the best voice ever or anything but she is a strong performer, solid and reliable and I enjoyed listening to her a great deal.
Running into Fiyero the first time, I think Dee played it like she was a little bit surprised at her own reaction. To me, watching, it was obvious that her character had already developed in the time between her entrance and this point in the show. The confidence gained from knowing that what she'd always viewed as being "wrong" about herself was actually something that could make her dream come true, was subtly obvious. Really great.
But her self-consciousness wasn't entirely eradicated, which was important. Nessa's invitation to the dance, Elphaba's reaction to that, was very uncertain. She didn't want Nessa to go through the same sort of pain but didn't want to take away her fun, either. And her own invitation was met similarly, like she didn't want to get hurt but didn't want to give up all hope at leading a somewhat normal life. Dee was so distraught by the way the dance started. She just...broke my heart. She was just so obviously effected by the whole thing. Her Elphie dance was so just...uncoordinated and sad. I loved, though, that when Galinda went to dance with her, Dee sort of was like "Oh really? You're really gonna make more fun of me and make this even worse? I don't think so. You want to dance, dance" and left the ball in her court.
Popular was pure brilliance. I already talked about most everything I wanted to but I will say, as far as Elphie development in this scene, Dee kind of played the whole thing like "I have no idea what is going on here. Why are we friends now? What have I gotten myself into?" and it was so cute.
The classroom scene and the lion cub and INTG...Well. Dee played it up, she did a really good job, technically, with all of it. She was absolutely heart-broken about Dr. Dillamond and the lion cub. And as far as her and Kevin's relationship in this scene...It actually worked fine 99% of the time because this scene was meant to be about them being friends. I was only unhappy with the tension that was meant to develop at the end of that scene, to lead into INTG. It just felt kind of nonexistent. I was quite happy that Dee could comfortably hit the bottom note in the song though. I mean, that's a pretty big deal. I didn't even wonder about it. It was just there and fantastic. Like I said, solid.
Ummm I feel I covered most of the things I wanted to say about the rest of Act One. DG was lovely. The impact, sitting that close to the stage, was actually completely stunning. I may have forgotten to breathe for a few seconds. Again, she stayed mostly to score. There was very little riffing going on, but it WORKED. When the lights came up, I was just as excited as I always am. Love.
Act two...I'm going to leave WWotE for Michelle's portion of the review. More awesome chemistry between the girls. That's all I'll say about that.
Wonderful was interesting. PJ played a strong wizard, he was very...likable. It made this whole scene a lot more sympathetic, rather than manipulative. The lead up exponentially intensified the impact of the end of the song, with Dr. Dillamond being rediscovered. Dee gave the impression that she'd just been burned so many times, she was wondering what she'd done to deserve all this pain. FANTASTIC precursor to NGD. But we're not there yet. The reunion was not as intense as it usually is, but I think that's because they were all just playing friends. As I said earlier, it was a friendship triangle. There was no love conflict, despite what was actually written for the scene.
Now, I was highly disappointed in ALAYM. Dee can nail this song, not just vocally, but chemistry-wise too. I've seen her do it (on Youtube, but still). And there was absolutely none of that. Dee sung her face off but, I kid you not, they never kissed. They sort of turned their heads perpendicular to the audience and fake-kissed a few times but yeah. Seriously lacking. Ergo my assumption that Kevin was either sick of just getting over illness. Sad times.
Again, I feel I said most everything about the cornfield/catfight scene. Dee broke my heart again, maybe because her portrayal with Nessa to this point had been so strong but it was seriously the saddest version of this scene I've ever seen.
Okay now, NGD. I just...there are no words. None. She OWNED it. I have heard probably at least 100 versions of this song from different Elphabas at different performances. None of them gave me chills the way this one did, except MAYBE for a particular Toronto audio of Shoshana from tour, where she just about fell apart on that stage. But I feel that was more about Tyler and less about Elphaba. Dee was 100% Elphaba. She finally did a few riffs, deviated a bit, but it was all with purpose and held so much more weight because she hadn't done it before. This song basically stopped the show for me. I paid attention to the rest of the performance obviously, but every time I tried to actually think about things, I came back to this. This is the way this song should be sung. Every single time. Fucking blew me away. Ugh, even thinking about it now gives me chills.
I genuinely don't feel I can say anything else about Dee's performance haha. I already talked about FG so yes. I will leave it here. But I loved Dee and I hope I get the chance to see her again.
Okay, still only managed to get Dee and Erin done. I promise the rest are coming! I'm just being very thorough.