The WICKED poster -- the real star?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 2:30pm

Despite all the hand-wringing here about I vs K, T vs N (or vs. C) I think the real star of WICKED is that sexy poster of the two whispering gals with come-hither looks, seemingly in cahoots. It offers something for Oz-philes, Friends of Dorothy, straight men with lesbian fantasies, lesbians, families, white and green people, and people who like big floppy hats. It promises something for everyone, including people who don't know Menzel is, who Taye is, and think Rent is something you give up when you move to the 'burbs. WICKED, the name, is the star, and will be after all those folk win/don't win awards, and get big sitcoms that last 3 episodes on WB-11.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 2:35pm

I like it.. it is simple, conveys the message of the show, and it is modern looking and not overdone.. look at many old show posters.. you could tell if they were 40s, 50s, etc and were articstis.. WICKED is like that too, but the modern equivelant.

I enjoy the logo

[tpdc]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 2:49pm

The poster helps the show a lot, but I think it is the story that is bringing people in. Good word of mouth has pushed it into the hit category though. Much of the positive buzz is due to Chenoweth and Menzel. People might have come due to the story and advertising campaign but they leave gushing about the stars. I went with my sister and she didn't know either woman before the show. At intermission, I couldn't tell her enough about Menzel. I would not be surprised to see the box office fall off after they leave unless the replacements are very strong.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 3:00pm

I was kind of disappointed by the poster. It just doesn't grab me. I would rather have seen something simpler like just the traditional pointed black hat against a green backround or something to suggest the story is really about Elphaba and not so Glinda-focused. The growth of the Glinda character is a real problem for me. It takes away from the entire purpose of the show. The novel was written expressly for Elphaba's point-of-view. Why make the central character compete for focus?

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 5:24pm

Yes, but I think that people also want to see how Glinda plays a role in the show. Like The Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, we know next to nothing about Glinda either. If it were just Elphaba on the poster, I would be curious of course, but the fact that it is the Good Witch who is whispering things in her ear, it makes you wonder just how much Glinda had to do with the story's outcome.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 5:32pm

HAHAHAHA Auggie. Your post made me laugh. Lesbians and people who like big floppy hats.

[BillyLawlor]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 5:36pm

The poster is okay- It definitely gets you thinking and draws you in, I suppose, but like Matt said, it didn't grab me right away. It's grown on me, though.

I also agree that the story is what's bringing people in.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 5:38pm

I would also be curious to see how Glinda plays a role in the show, just as she plays a role in the novel. But the cover of the novel made it very clear that it was not the story of Elphaba and Glinda or the story of their relationship. I think Idina was really robbed of the spotlight with the decision of the producers and director. It's great for Kristen, but not so much deserved.

[Becky]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 5:42pm

I bought a signed WICKED poster at the theater for BCEFA, and Joel Grey had signed his name inside a spoken/thought bubble next to Glinda's hands as if she were whispering his name. For the rest of the weekend when I'd see the billboard in Times Square my friend and I would whisper "Joel Grey!"

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 5:48pm

For some reason I wish the poster had a darker tone to it, I don't know exactly why. I think it's a pretty cool logo though. I think it's a pretty good representation of the show, it has this cartoony-ness to it, and at the same time it's kind of dark and serious looking.

[PJ]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 9:24pm

I loved the Wicked Ads. I think they're quite well designed.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/23/03 at 9:33pm

I don't want to start a fight -- too much a non-topic, the poster -- but I actually think it perfectly represents, not the sensibility of the novel, but that of Holzman's musical-comedy book. The show's tone is on/off wink-wink, and the lyrics are loaded with anachronisms ("...think of it as personality dialysis...." in approximately the time of Teddy R? If one is true to the Baum timeline.)

So the cuteness actually fits--in the interest of truth in advertising. The drawing on Maguire's cover is vivid, poignant (holding the animals--I was moved, as I was by the book). But that reflects a sort of monosyllabic Holly Hunter-as-Elphaba sensibility that isn't about what's on the Gershwin stage.