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Okay folks. Let's see how far I get since I just worked like 12 hours straight haha.
Okay firstly casting info.
3/20 matinee:
Elphaba: Anne Brummel-Gallagher
Glinda: Michelle London
Nessa: Lesley McKinnell
Witch's Mother: Shylo Martinez
3/20 evening (changes from above only):
Elphaba: Marcie Dodd
3/21 matinee (changes from 3/20 matt only):
Witch's Mother: (someone else whose name I forgot...Will look tomorrow.)
Again, I'm not going to specifically review each individual performance. Only the overall differences I noticed, etc. First show, we sat lotto, front row, all the way to the left. Second show, we sat first level mezz. I was second row mezz, all the way to the right for the first act and then I moved to sit next to Kacey all the way on the other side for act two. Third show, we were again in lotto seats, third row, all the way to the left. We could see lots of things in the wings. It was fun.
NOMTW: Michelle London came down in her bubble and I honestly didn't have ANY idea what to expect. Like...I barely knew this girl's NAME before seeing her, let alone what to expect from her Glinda. It took me about five seconds to determine that, if nothing else, I was going to absolutely ADORE her acting. Vocally, she had no trouble hitting the notes (though she did sound a little bit off the first show), but she was swallowing a lot her vowels (ala Kendra, though not nearly as noticeable as that. I've just seen it nailed, so I know how it SHOULD sound and this was not QUITE it.). I think that is literally my only critique about Michelle's entire show, just to get that out of the way. Anyway, visually, she reminded me of Kendra here, which was weird. She looked nothing like her for the rest of the show. IDK what that was about. Performance wise, she made it VERY clear that Glinda was trying to give her little spiel and leave as quickly as possible, because hearing the Ozians sing about the downfall of ELphaba was simply far too trying for her to deal with for any prolonged period of time. I think that was the most well played NOMTW I've ever seen. She broke my heart. And she was so affectionate toward the Ozian's too, lots of hand squeezing and face touching. Speaking of the Ozians, I love 2NT ensemble. They've got their shit together, acting-wise and vocally. I loved them in each and every scene. Perfect. I was NOT a fan of Shylo's performance. It's small but Kristen Leigh Gorski IS that part to me. She may be the understudy/swing cover for it but I've seen her more than anyone else and she rocks it out.
DoS: Neither Marcie nor Anne sang along, which is really weird for tour, especially since I'm almost positive Marcie DID sing along on Broadway when I saw her. I could be mistaken though. And she may have simply not been singing because she was still not vocally all there. In any case. It was very clear, right from the start, that Anne's and Marcie's approaches to Elphaba were distinctly different. Alot of their mannerisms were simliar but the reasoning behind the actions was different. Anne's Elphaba was much more self-critical in an almost self-deprecating way. Marcie definitely played more the uncertain, hopeful card. Upon spotting Elphaba, Michelle's reaction was mostly one of total surprise, like she'd never seen anything like that, though she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Her expression changed quite nicely over the course of the start of the scene, once she sees her classmates' reactions. I didn't fully notice this until Kacey pointed it out to me, but I was watching for it in the third show and it was definitely very true. Also, this was our introduction to Lesley, who, again, I had NO idea what I would think of her. We got to "Jewelled shoes!" before I knew I loved her. She had much better chemistry with Marcie than she did with Anne...But I think that's because a) Marcie loves her Nessas and b) because Anne and Michelle's chemistry was so fabulous that anything else on that stage just dulled in comparison. I loved watching Anne's face while Galinda tried weasling her way into Morrible's seminar. Lots of eyerolling and heavy sighing. Priceless. And Michelle did this adorably hilarious thing at the end of her "Magic wands: Need they have a point?" where she like...clucked her tongue and did this cute little gesture. I don't know how to explain it. Lesley's reaction to Morrible telling Elphaba her powers might help her meet the Wizard was so freaking adorable. She got all smiley and excited. I wanted to squish her. I think this is the most I've ever written about this scene. Haha.
TWAI: This is Anne's song. I don't know what else to say about that. This is not my favourite Elphaba song and it's rarely very impactful. It's a good gage for how vocally sound the Elphaba is, definitely, and a decent tell of how the rest of the show will go but that's about it. Anne gave me CHILLS. Forever. And it wasn't like she was riffing all over the place...She actually sang 99% to score. She just...I don't know. Her voice is incredible. Marcie, I've heard kick the crap out of this song, but I knew within a few notes that she was just not feeling up to the show at all. Poor girl needs a break. She had to take a few notes down and while no one who hasn't seen her and/or the show before would notice...it was pretty obvious.
WiTF: Fabulous chemistry for both pairs. Marcie's acting wasn't suffering at all. She was spot on. Anne and Michelle had a little more fun, because they have such an awesome rapport off stage. It was interesting to see how Marcie's interactions with Michelle were shaped by their history of going on as Elphaba and Nessa instead of Elphie and Galinda. Michelle was definitely a lot less...pushy? I guess? With Marcie. Anne's hip-check for both their shows almost knocked Michelle clear off her feet, which was hysterical, and made Michelle even more into the scene.
Classroom Scene 1/SB: Again with the awesome ensemble. They were all at least a little bit involved with the lecture. Galinda's lackeys were being hilarious. Pfannee was goading Elphaba from across the aisle anytime Dr. Dillamond wasn't watching. Marcie's whole tirade at Galinda about her name was a lot more defensive than Anne's, who just said it because she was so sick of Galinda's bullshit. The subtlety of Michelle's acting was pure brilliance. Everything she did was calculated for maximum effect (Galinda's, not Michelle's). She was definitely weighing every word and every action. David DeVries as Dr. D was fantastic. He made a part I normally get bored with interesting. He was great at all his lines and genuinely seemed to care about his students and the material in a way that it made sense for the ensemble to be involved in his class. It made later scenes a lot sadder. Something really subtle I noticed and really liked that Anne did that I'd never heard, and that Marcie didn't do: her delivery of "You shouldn't let ignorant statements like that bother you. I mean, I ALWAYS do, but you shouldn't." Love. The chalkboard had different writing on it, particularly noticeable for the "Animals should be seen and not heard." text.
Fiyero's Entrance/DTL: Chris Peluso is an incredible Fiyero. I mean, I'll put it this way: Kacey is obsessed with Andy Karl. And she just about forgot his name about 60 seconds after Chris rolled on stage. He's THAT good. He's perfect for the part, he can sing, he's got chemistry with everyone, he LOOKS the part (damn he can fill out those pants) and his acting choices were brilliant. His biggest weakness was his dancing but even that was not bad. Oh, and the fact that he fucked up "I've been kicked out of enough of them to know" at ALL THREE SHOWS. Haha. I absolutely love his choice to watch Elphaba when she walks away. He watched off stage until Galinda came up behind him and tapped his shoulder. I don't understand why this choice isn't in the blocking for every Fiyero ever. It's perfect and entirely necessary. Zach Hanna's Boq was so cute. Definitely not like...Robb Sapp level of awesome but he was definitely very adorable and played his part well. I also love his voice. I noticed that when Fiyero tosses the book off stage, someone's standing in the wings to catch it. While Galinda's singing to Boq about asking Nessa, Chris was sneaking around the statue, watching like "Wow, she's worse than I am..." and seemed wholly impressed. Fitting. Michelle messed up on the whole "You're perfect...So we're perfect together" line, again at I think...Two of three shows. IDK what's going on with that. Anyway. Michelle waved and giggled at Lesley after Zach went over to ask her to the dance, which was a very cute interaction, again, which made total sense and should just be in the blocking. Lesley's face when Elphaba starts her tirade about "Everyone's off to worship him at some cultish social gathering" was great. She was very clearly like "Oh, I know you're just saying that to make me feel better and that's really, really nice but OMG I actually got asked to go!" Marcie played her reaction a little more sadly, of course, and Anne just scoffed and then was like "Well okay. I really just want you to have fun so yeah. Go do that. Good for you."
Ugh Ozdust. Okay. The first two shows, Michelle and Chris were VERY chatty/giggly over in their little corner. They were being super flirty and cute. And then in the third show, Michelle just kind of collapsed against his chest and closed her eyes and just quietly rested there until they had to do more stuff. I love them. I also love that they actually like...turned around and danced a little faster when the music picked up for the Nessa/Boq dance. Michelle also waved to Lesley while she was dancing which I've seen once before and I can't remember who it was. Elphaba's entrance with both girls was heartbreaking as usual. Marcie just looked absolutely shattered about the whole thing. Anne stared Michelle down and held out her hat like "REALLY? You just HAD to add insult to injury, didn't you?" and shook her head a bit before putting the hat back on and dancing. When Michelle walked over to join her, Anne's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline and she smirked like "Oh really? Now you're gonna make it WORSE?" so her gesture when Galinda paused was very much like "Oh no, you dug yourself into this hole. You get yourself out and keep dancing or I'm gonna kick your ass." Michelle's Elphie dance is probably one of the most spastic hilarious things ever. Seconded only by...
Popular!: I don't even know what to say. This is something you have to witness for yourself. I've seen many a performance of this song and I've cracked up at most of them but this was a whole new category of hilarious. Michelle basically took every single amazing thing Annaleigh ever did with this song and then like...enhanced it all and added to it. It was basically some ridiculous amalgamation of Annaleigh, KRC, Lindsday, and Megan Hilty. And then a lot of new things. I don't know how she did it. And I don't know how Anne and Marcie managed to keep straight faces for the most part because I was legit dying. She made a show of pouting adorably until Elphie told her a secret, did splits and then walked herself back up to standing, she tapped Elphaba's nose and made the little clucking sound she made with her speech in DoS, her ballgown was just priceless, and the toss-toss with the hands on the hips and the giggle-squeaking...Oh Lord. On a more serious note, while watching Elphaba's speech, you could just see in Michelle's face how confused Galinda was that Elphaba would blame herself for something that was so clearly not her fault. It was kind of adorable. And then she laid her hand on Elphaba's arm and both Anne and Marcie kind of jumped and looked at her like "OMG, you're touching me..." So cute.
Classroom Scene 2/Lion cub: Chris's tossing was fantastic. He did the hands on the hips and everything. He definitely played this scene a lot more seriously than most. The ensemble were more invested in losing their professor than most other casts. They were all very obviously concerned by this whole "cages" thing. It also occurred to me finally why Nessa and Galinda couldn't be there, as far as plot goes (because, duh, Elphaba wouldn't have cast her spell on either of them either and would therefore have hindered her whole interaction with Fiyero. I am so smart.). Because of Chris's smart acting choices earlier, the whole rest of the scene made SO MUCH MORE SENSE. This is probably one of my favourite scenes to watch Marcie do because she's so great at it. Love. The next scene too, actually.
NTG/Off to meet the Wizard: Yeah, again, Marcie and Anne totally approached it differently. Marcie was on the more emotional side, which is how just about everyone plays it. Except Anne who is more mad at herself than anything. She was scoffing at her own stupidity, like why would anyone want HER and how could she ever even let herself consider that? Which I can totally relate to and aw. So sad. But Marcie just made me want to hug her. Also, 2NT set was definitely made on a lower budget. They were missing a few of the larger set pieces, one of which being the bridge in this scene, which is here but only as a skeleton. Galinda and Fiyero just walk across the back of the stage and Elphaba hides around the front and peeks around the corner at them. Nothing else really of note for this scene...
Train Station/OSD: Again with more awesome acting from everybody. Anne's delivery of "Not that I expected him to say goodbye..." was mostly scolding herself, which, again, sad times. Marcie's was definitely a cover-up "OMG I hope Galinda doesn't notice that I want her boyfriend...". I have not seen a more perfect version of this scene since the Megan/Eden/Derrick awesomeness of 2006. Anne's face when Chris said "I think about that day a lot." I wish I had a picture of how perfectly conflicted it was. A combination of "OMGREALLY?!" and "Holy crap, don't say that in front of her, she's gonna get the wrong idea, idiot." Michelle is very good at fake-crying. Lesley's entire part in this scene was Fed-lever awesomeness. She never once played the pity card, and she was truly so happy for Elphaba to finally be getting what she wanted and she really just didn't want to interfere with her own angsting. I love when Nessa's not played as weak or needy/pathetic. Michelle's name change announcement was followed by a deep curtsy and lots of applause from the audience. Hee. And I don't know what Michelle did or said to Marcie but Marcie was cracking her ass up after they hugged the second time before running off to the Emerald City. They were almost late back on stage. I could see Marcie standing there like bouncing and waiting for Michelle to catch up.
Wizard's Chambers/SM: Don Amendola is a very, very good Wizard. I don't know where 2NT got all their blocking/choices from and how they are all SO fantastic but seriously. I want some of whatever crack they've been taking. It's good stuff. Again, Marcie and Michelle played this differently as a pair than Anne and Michelle. Marcie was playing the protector because her Elphaba is used to that, because she's been taking the heat for just about everything and shouldering the blame for years. It's how she shows affection. Anne played protector because Galinda's her best friend and she's never had a real friend and Galinda's only there because of her anyway so she'd better make sure she's safe. There was a lot of cowering and hand clutching and just general cuteness that I haven't seen in a while. Actually probably the last time I saw this scene done this well was tour in Baltimore with Victoria and Christina. When the Wizard tells them to prove themselves, Michelle stepped forward like "Okay!" and then paused and turned back to ELphaba and was like "Do it!" She smacked Anne on the ass both times. I was amused. Also, it always bothered me when the Wizard sang "as son or daughter" and held out his hand to Glinda on "son" because that's just silly. I appreciate that Don did not.
DG: There was no balcony for Morrible to give her speech from so it was done from off stage, which, whatever. Michelle's fear and then determined outrage at the whole thing was petulantly adorable. It was very clear in watching her where her mind was changed, how she went from "We could be so great together" to "Oh God, I'm really not brave enough for this..." was very apparent. And obviously broke her own heart. Marcie's acting, again, was totally solid. But vocally, Anne completely owned this song. She only seemed to get more powerful as the weekend went on. Chills and flailing as the lights went out. Love them so hard. All three of them.
Okay firstly casting info.
3/20 matinee:
Elphaba: Anne Brummel-Gallagher
Glinda: Michelle London
Nessa: Lesley McKinnell
Witch's Mother: Shylo Martinez
3/20 evening (changes from above only):
Elphaba: Marcie Dodd
3/21 matinee (changes from 3/20 matt only):
Witch's Mother: (someone else whose name I forgot...Will look tomorrow.)
Again, I'm not going to specifically review each individual performance. Only the overall differences I noticed, etc. First show, we sat lotto, front row, all the way to the left. Second show, we sat first level mezz. I was second row mezz, all the way to the right for the first act and then I moved to sit next to Kacey all the way on the other side for act two. Third show, we were again in lotto seats, third row, all the way to the left. We could see lots of things in the wings. It was fun.
NOMTW: Michelle London came down in her bubble and I honestly didn't have ANY idea what to expect. Like...I barely knew this girl's NAME before seeing her, let alone what to expect from her Glinda. It took me about five seconds to determine that, if nothing else, I was going to absolutely ADORE her acting. Vocally, she had no trouble hitting the notes (though she did sound a little bit off the first show), but she was swallowing a lot her vowels (ala Kendra, though not nearly as noticeable as that. I've just seen it nailed, so I know how it SHOULD sound and this was not QUITE it.). I think that is literally my only critique about Michelle's entire show, just to get that out of the way. Anyway, visually, she reminded me of Kendra here, which was weird. She looked nothing like her for the rest of the show. IDK what that was about. Performance wise, she made it VERY clear that Glinda was trying to give her little spiel and leave as quickly as possible, because hearing the Ozians sing about the downfall of ELphaba was simply far too trying for her to deal with for any prolonged period of time. I think that was the most well played NOMTW I've ever seen. She broke my heart. And she was so affectionate toward the Ozian's too, lots of hand squeezing and face touching. Speaking of the Ozians, I love 2NT ensemble. They've got their shit together, acting-wise and vocally. I loved them in each and every scene. Perfect. I was NOT a fan of Shylo's performance. It's small but Kristen Leigh Gorski IS that part to me. She may be the understudy/swing cover for it but I've seen her more than anyone else and she rocks it out.
DoS: Neither Marcie nor Anne sang along, which is really weird for tour, especially since I'm almost positive Marcie DID sing along on Broadway when I saw her. I could be mistaken though. And she may have simply not been singing because she was still not vocally all there. In any case. It was very clear, right from the start, that Anne's and Marcie's approaches to Elphaba were distinctly different. Alot of their mannerisms were simliar but the reasoning behind the actions was different. Anne's Elphaba was much more self-critical in an almost self-deprecating way. Marcie definitely played more the uncertain, hopeful card. Upon spotting Elphaba, Michelle's reaction was mostly one of total surprise, like she'd never seen anything like that, though she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Her expression changed quite nicely over the course of the start of the scene, once she sees her classmates' reactions. I didn't fully notice this until Kacey pointed it out to me, but I was watching for it in the third show and it was definitely very true. Also, this was our introduction to Lesley, who, again, I had NO idea what I would think of her. We got to "Jewelled shoes!" before I knew I loved her. She had much better chemistry with Marcie than she did with Anne...But I think that's because a) Marcie loves her Nessas and b) because Anne and Michelle's chemistry was so fabulous that anything else on that stage just dulled in comparison. I loved watching Anne's face while Galinda tried weasling her way into Morrible's seminar. Lots of eyerolling and heavy sighing. Priceless. And Michelle did this adorably hilarious thing at the end of her "Magic wands: Need they have a point?" where she like...clucked her tongue and did this cute little gesture. I don't know how to explain it. Lesley's reaction to Morrible telling Elphaba her powers might help her meet the Wizard was so freaking adorable. She got all smiley and excited. I wanted to squish her. I think this is the most I've ever written about this scene. Haha.
TWAI: This is Anne's song. I don't know what else to say about that. This is not my favourite Elphaba song and it's rarely very impactful. It's a good gage for how vocally sound the Elphaba is, definitely, and a decent tell of how the rest of the show will go but that's about it. Anne gave me CHILLS. Forever. And it wasn't like she was riffing all over the place...She actually sang 99% to score. She just...I don't know. Her voice is incredible. Marcie, I've heard kick the crap out of this song, but I knew within a few notes that she was just not feeling up to the show at all. Poor girl needs a break. She had to take a few notes down and while no one who hasn't seen her and/or the show before would notice...it was pretty obvious.
WiTF: Fabulous chemistry for both pairs. Marcie's acting wasn't suffering at all. She was spot on. Anne and Michelle had a little more fun, because they have such an awesome rapport off stage. It was interesting to see how Marcie's interactions with Michelle were shaped by their history of going on as Elphaba and Nessa instead of Elphie and Galinda. Michelle was definitely a lot less...pushy? I guess? With Marcie. Anne's hip-check for both their shows almost knocked Michelle clear off her feet, which was hysterical, and made Michelle even more into the scene.
Classroom Scene 1/SB: Again with the awesome ensemble. They were all at least a little bit involved with the lecture. Galinda's lackeys were being hilarious. Pfannee was goading Elphaba from across the aisle anytime Dr. Dillamond wasn't watching. Marcie's whole tirade at Galinda about her name was a lot more defensive than Anne's, who just said it because she was so sick of Galinda's bullshit. The subtlety of Michelle's acting was pure brilliance. Everything she did was calculated for maximum effect (Galinda's, not Michelle's). She was definitely weighing every word and every action. David DeVries as Dr. D was fantastic. He made a part I normally get bored with interesting. He was great at all his lines and genuinely seemed to care about his students and the material in a way that it made sense for the ensemble to be involved in his class. It made later scenes a lot sadder. Something really subtle I noticed and really liked that Anne did that I'd never heard, and that Marcie didn't do: her delivery of "You shouldn't let ignorant statements like that bother you. I mean, I ALWAYS do, but you shouldn't." Love. The chalkboard had different writing on it, particularly noticeable for the "Animals should be seen and not heard." text.
Fiyero's Entrance/DTL: Chris Peluso is an incredible Fiyero. I mean, I'll put it this way: Kacey is obsessed with Andy Karl. And she just about forgot his name about 60 seconds after Chris rolled on stage. He's THAT good. He's perfect for the part, he can sing, he's got chemistry with everyone, he LOOKS the part (damn he can fill out those pants) and his acting choices were brilliant. His biggest weakness was his dancing but even that was not bad. Oh, and the fact that he fucked up "I've been kicked out of enough of them to know" at ALL THREE SHOWS. Haha. I absolutely love his choice to watch Elphaba when she walks away. He watched off stage until Galinda came up behind him and tapped his shoulder. I don't understand why this choice isn't in the blocking for every Fiyero ever. It's perfect and entirely necessary. Zach Hanna's Boq was so cute. Definitely not like...Robb Sapp level of awesome but he was definitely very adorable and played his part well. I also love his voice. I noticed that when Fiyero tosses the book off stage, someone's standing in the wings to catch it. While Galinda's singing to Boq about asking Nessa, Chris was sneaking around the statue, watching like "Wow, she's worse than I am..." and seemed wholly impressed. Fitting. Michelle messed up on the whole "You're perfect...So we're perfect together" line, again at I think...Two of three shows. IDK what's going on with that. Anyway. Michelle waved and giggled at Lesley after Zach went over to ask her to the dance, which was a very cute interaction, again, which made total sense and should just be in the blocking. Lesley's face when Elphaba starts her tirade about "Everyone's off to worship him at some cultish social gathering" was great. She was very clearly like "Oh, I know you're just saying that to make me feel better and that's really, really nice but OMG I actually got asked to go!" Marcie played her reaction a little more sadly, of course, and Anne just scoffed and then was like "Well okay. I really just want you to have fun so yeah. Go do that. Good for you."
Ugh Ozdust. Okay. The first two shows, Michelle and Chris were VERY chatty/giggly over in their little corner. They were being super flirty and cute. And then in the third show, Michelle just kind of collapsed against his chest and closed her eyes and just quietly rested there until they had to do more stuff. I love them. I also love that they actually like...turned around and danced a little faster when the music picked up for the Nessa/Boq dance. Michelle also waved to Lesley while she was dancing which I've seen once before and I can't remember who it was. Elphaba's entrance with both girls was heartbreaking as usual. Marcie just looked absolutely shattered about the whole thing. Anne stared Michelle down and held out her hat like "REALLY? You just HAD to add insult to injury, didn't you?" and shook her head a bit before putting the hat back on and dancing. When Michelle walked over to join her, Anne's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline and she smirked like "Oh really? Now you're gonna make it WORSE?" so her gesture when Galinda paused was very much like "Oh no, you dug yourself into this hole. You get yourself out and keep dancing or I'm gonna kick your ass." Michelle's Elphie dance is probably one of the most spastic hilarious things ever. Seconded only by...
Popular!: I don't even know what to say. This is something you have to witness for yourself. I've seen many a performance of this song and I've cracked up at most of them but this was a whole new category of hilarious. Michelle basically took every single amazing thing Annaleigh ever did with this song and then like...enhanced it all and added to it. It was basically some ridiculous amalgamation of Annaleigh, KRC, Lindsday, and Megan Hilty. And then a lot of new things. I don't know how she did it. And I don't know how Anne and Marcie managed to keep straight faces for the most part because I was legit dying. She made a show of pouting adorably until Elphie told her a secret, did splits and then walked herself back up to standing, she tapped Elphaba's nose and made the little clucking sound she made with her speech in DoS, her ballgown was just priceless, and the toss-toss with the hands on the hips and the giggle-squeaking...Oh Lord. On a more serious note, while watching Elphaba's speech, you could just see in Michelle's face how confused Galinda was that Elphaba would blame herself for something that was so clearly not her fault. It was kind of adorable. And then she laid her hand on Elphaba's arm and both Anne and Marcie kind of jumped and looked at her like "OMG, you're touching me..." So cute.
Classroom Scene 2/Lion cub: Chris's tossing was fantastic. He did the hands on the hips and everything. He definitely played this scene a lot more seriously than most. The ensemble were more invested in losing their professor than most other casts. They were all very obviously concerned by this whole "cages" thing. It also occurred to me finally why Nessa and Galinda couldn't be there, as far as plot goes (because, duh, Elphaba wouldn't have cast her spell on either of them either and would therefore have hindered her whole interaction with Fiyero. I am so smart.). Because of Chris's smart acting choices earlier, the whole rest of the scene made SO MUCH MORE SENSE. This is probably one of my favourite scenes to watch Marcie do because she's so great at it. Love. The next scene too, actually.
NTG/Off to meet the Wizard: Yeah, again, Marcie and Anne totally approached it differently. Marcie was on the more emotional side, which is how just about everyone plays it. Except Anne who is more mad at herself than anything. She was scoffing at her own stupidity, like why would anyone want HER and how could she ever even let herself consider that? Which I can totally relate to and aw. So sad. But Marcie just made me want to hug her. Also, 2NT set was definitely made on a lower budget. They were missing a few of the larger set pieces, one of which being the bridge in this scene, which is here but only as a skeleton. Galinda and Fiyero just walk across the back of the stage and Elphaba hides around the front and peeks around the corner at them. Nothing else really of note for this scene...
Train Station/OSD: Again with more awesome acting from everybody. Anne's delivery of "Not that I expected him to say goodbye..." was mostly scolding herself, which, again, sad times. Marcie's was definitely a cover-up "OMG I hope Galinda doesn't notice that I want her boyfriend...". I have not seen a more perfect version of this scene since the Megan/Eden/Derrick awesomeness of 2006. Anne's face when Chris said "I think about that day a lot." I wish I had a picture of how perfectly conflicted it was. A combination of "OMGREALLY?!" and "Holy crap, don't say that in front of her, she's gonna get the wrong idea, idiot." Michelle is very good at fake-crying. Lesley's entire part in this scene was Fed-lever awesomeness. She never once played the pity card, and she was truly so happy for Elphaba to finally be getting what she wanted and she really just didn't want to interfere with her own angsting. I love when Nessa's not played as weak or needy/pathetic. Michelle's name change announcement was followed by a deep curtsy and lots of applause from the audience. Hee. And I don't know what Michelle did or said to Marcie but Marcie was cracking her ass up after they hugged the second time before running off to the Emerald City. They were almost late back on stage. I could see Marcie standing there like bouncing and waiting for Michelle to catch up.
Wizard's Chambers/SM: Don Amendola is a very, very good Wizard. I don't know where 2NT got all their blocking/choices from and how they are all SO fantastic but seriously. I want some of whatever crack they've been taking. It's good stuff. Again, Marcie and Michelle played this differently as a pair than Anne and Michelle. Marcie was playing the protector because her Elphaba is used to that, because she's been taking the heat for just about everything and shouldering the blame for years. It's how she shows affection. Anne played protector because Galinda's her best friend and she's never had a real friend and Galinda's only there because of her anyway so she'd better make sure she's safe. There was a lot of cowering and hand clutching and just general cuteness that I haven't seen in a while. Actually probably the last time I saw this scene done this well was tour in Baltimore with Victoria and Christina. When the Wizard tells them to prove themselves, Michelle stepped forward like "Okay!" and then paused and turned back to ELphaba and was like "Do it!" She smacked Anne on the ass both times. I was amused. Also, it always bothered me when the Wizard sang "as son or daughter" and held out his hand to Glinda on "son" because that's just silly. I appreciate that Don did not.
DG: There was no balcony for Morrible to give her speech from so it was done from off stage, which, whatever. Michelle's fear and then determined outrage at the whole thing was petulantly adorable. It was very clear in watching her where her mind was changed, how she went from "We could be so great together" to "Oh God, I'm really not brave enough for this..." was very apparent. And obviously broke her own heart. Marcie's acting, again, was totally solid. But vocally, Anne completely owned this song. She only seemed to get more powerful as the weekend went on. Chills and flailing as the lights went out. Love them so hard. All three of them.