Caroline Bowman in Wicked

[whatacharacter]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 1:30pm

Did anyone see Caroline Bowman as Elphaba yesterday? Cant wait to hear how she evolves in this role!

[trpguyy]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 2:16pm

Yes, around 1,900 people saw her as Elphaba last night.

But really, she was probably incredible as always.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 2:57pm

A friend of mine who has seen the show an unmentionable amount of times was there, and didn't care for her. He said she was his least favorite out of everyone he's seen. Apparently her defying gravity is still very shouty, and she placed the rest of the show in an odd soft mix. He did say that she wasn't bad in any sense of the word, but he did not enjoy her. He was also there with someone who had never seen the show before, and his guest didn't respond warmly to Caroline either . They both LOVED Kara though.

Perhaps she was nervous, and will find her footing over the course of her run.

Updated On: 12/17/14 at 02:57 PM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 3:28pm

I was there last night and I did not care for her either. I have seen every Elphaba/Glinda replacement throughout the entirety of the run of WICKED and Caroline barely registered for me. I suppose I could chalk it up to nerves, but I thought she would improve throughout the night, and sadly, she did not.

Kara Lindsay, who I loathed in NEWSIES, was hysterial in WICKED last night. I loved her portrayal of Glinda and her voice was much better than I remember from NEWSIES. She was a pleasant surprise.

Kathy Fitzgerald, who I had seen before, was excellent as usual. I didn't think either Matt Shingledecker or Robin De Jesus were very good. Tom McGowan didn't really register in the small role of The Wizard. I did enjoy Kelli Barrett as Nessarose and Timothy Britten Parker as Dr. Dillamond (who I had seen before).

The ensemble as a whole seemed very fresh though, and despite a few mishaps in principal casting, I still enjoyed myself overall last night.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 9:59pm

Very interesting. I saw her twice as Eva on the national your of EVITA and was phenomenal. I've heard older audio of her as Elphaba and I thought she sounded great!

[RW3]

Posted: 12/23/14 at 11:43pm

I was reading comments about Caroline's first "Defying Gravity" and someone posted that they heard that Caroline doesn't have a 9 month contract and that she is just filling in. I wanted to know if anyone could confirm or deny this.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 12:06am

I've been hearing similar rumblings, maybe she's there until the 1st national tour closes and Emma Hunton will succeed her? I hope that's not the case, as I'm not a fan of Emma's Elphaba, but it seems likely. Or, which is what I hope, they're waiting for Alison Luff's Matilda contract to end. Alison Luff succeeding would bring me exquisite joy.

I was listening to Caroline's latest defying gravity, and I have to say I'm not confident that she can sustain herself in this role. It's so weird because she was such a kick ass Eva, and her singing sounded so healthy in Evita which is considered more vocally demanding than Elphaba. Somehow the way she sings Elphaba doesn't sound healthy to me. I sincerely hope that I'm wrong, as I would never wish poor health on anyone.

Updated On: 12/24/14 at 12:06 AM

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 11:01am

I've been listening to the audios that are out there, and it seems like at points she just forgets how to sing with proper vocal technique. She hits so many rough patches in No Good Deed and The Wizard and I. Also, she's consistently out of breath, which is not good to sustain the belty songs.

[smallworld]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 11:07am

One could only hope she's a temporary replacement.

[steven22]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 11:17am

Really hoping Emma or Alison join the broadway cast soon.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 11:30am

I hope it's not Emma. I hope it's someone new

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 11:46am

She was horrendous in the Evita tour. Better than Elena Roger, but that's not saying anything.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 12:07pm

Apparently adamgreer saw a different Evita tour than everybody else.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 12:16pm

I also disliked Caroline Bowman’s performance in “Evita”. She just didn’t have the presence or the voice. This description of her in “Wicked” is on par with how I would describe her vocals in “Evita”:

Apparently her defying gravity is still very shouty, and she placed the rest of the show in an odd soft mix.

When I heard she was cast as Elphaba, I had a hard time picturing her being able to handle the belty-ness of the score.

[Starship]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 1:49pm

Caroline seems like a sweet girl, but I think it's the first time I've been worried that an Elphie wasn't going to make half of her notes.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 2:13pm

She has a lot of potential, but she needs more control in the belty part of her voice to take some of that shouty sound away, and her voice also doesn't have a clear line to it. Those are both things that can be developed. She is very young, isn't she?

[JamesBroadwayWiner]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 4:12pm

I would love to see Lena Hall as Elphaba. I think that would be amazing. But I guess Tony winners do not usually join casts of long running shows like that.

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 4:34pm

^^ Can we see more of Lena Hall in anything?

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 4:56pm

I finaI finally heard the audio, and based off The Wizard And I, I think Caroline might have been slightly under the weather. I think she'll be great as she settles in and her voice did have some moments that were a little yell-y (although they were cleanly in pitch and sounded healthy/powerful) but I think she might be slightly under.

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 6:42pm

Caroline is 26. Despite the fact that she finished a BFA program and has had 3 shows on Broadway, I think her voice is still evolving and she's still learning all the parts of it. The "shouty" part of her voice does come out in parts of her belt, but that can be fixed. A shouty belt is so common in Elphabas. So many actresses just need time to develop into that role--which is also why some actresses come out of the role with vocal issues.

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 1/16/15 at 11:37pm

Searched for this thread so I didn't have to post a new one.

Just gotta say that Kara Lindsay is FANTASTIC as Glinda - she is doing things I haven't seen anyone else do before, it all felt so fresh.

Caroline... she's fine. She's not amazing, she's not bad. She doesn't sing it the best, she doesn't act it the best, but it wasn't terrible. She definitely gives off the impression that she is filling in for the time being - I agree with whoever said it before me though, this was the first time I was worried that the Elphaba wasn't actually going to be able to sing everything.

Had a Fiyero understudy who was super disappointing. Other than Kara, the show feels like it's kind of lost it's groove. Sometimes the pace is flying by, othertimes it stops in its tracks in places that it never did before. It all just seems like it needs a fresh coat of paint.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 12:46am

Having heard more recent audio, I can tell that she has grown in the role and hope she becomes more comfortable with playing the role in New York.

[Blabla3]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 8:01am

I saw Wicked again last week and I feel exactly the same.

I loved Kara Lindsay as Glinda, would definitely like to see her again! Then Caroline.. I'm not a big fan of her Elphaba. I was also hoping that she was going to be able to hit all the notes, it just didn't feel like she was singing comfortably (yet?). Hopefully she can develop a bit more in the role.

However, if Caroline is indeed temporary, I'm hoping that Rachel Tucker will succeed her now The Last Ship is closing early.. I'm dying to see her green!

[StageyAndProud]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 9:04am

I think Rachel Tucker (The Last Ship) should take over from Caroline. I saw her multiple times in the West End and I really think she would please American audiences.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 5:54pm

It would be amazing if Rachel Tucker took over. I really hope that Caroline's temporary replacement contract is almost up, not because of anything negative, but it's been a few weeks and there seems to be a unanimous concern about her voice. 1 I don't want her to her herself, but 2, audience members shouldn't have to worry if the actress they're seeing is going to make it through the show. That's a little ridiculous.