wicked 3/16 eve review

[chrisshin]

Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:11am

i was lucky enough to get the lottery for wicked tonight. i haven't seen the show sicne kristin's last week in july so i was excited to see a very new cast. was pleasantly surprised to get megan hilty the standby for glinda tonight. i heard great things about her and was excited to see her.

unfortunately, my expectations were not met. i was expected to be blown away from everything i'd been hearing. especially by shoshana. but i was let down. megan has a beautiful operatic voice. her entrance was absolutely charming. i feel like she makes the part her own. i think her thank goodness was WONDERFUL. i think she is wonderful as a standby. like a lot of people say, i think she'll do even more beautifully once she takes over. i really liked her take on glinda. her character had such an arc.

shoshana bean has a fierce voice. i felt like acting wise she was trying to explain too much. like, as an acting student, she had every single intention laid out and ready. which is great. but i felt like she didn't just trust taking the journey. she didn't react. a lot of big moments like when glinda says "two b est friends" in one short day, it didn't affect her. same with all of "wonderful." one minute she was pissed at the wiz and the second she was smiling and dancing. i must say, defying gravity just about put the button on the act. vocally, it was out of this world. and the second act, her no good deed just was beautiful.

other notables: george hearn is a hero for me. in a mediocre part, he made it memorable for me. he has such a great honesty and great presence on stage. carole shelley was hilarious. she really milked every little joke of hers for all it was worth. david ayers is pretty to look at. and dancing through life was fine. but he lacked any type of chemistry with shosh in as long as your mine. it was about the singing and i didn't feel the need and urge for one another. michelle has been doing different choices as nessa and i appreciate that to keep the part fresh. and jeffrey kuhn as boq was more surprising. i was delighted by him more than i thought because i am a huge fan of christopher fitzgerald. he was very good though.

overall, the show was fine. i really appreciate bernard telsey for casting younger people in lead parts. (shosh and megan) they will grow into their parts. i missed idina. even though her vocals got lazy occasionally, she really knew the character. they are two completely different actresses. and two completely different singers. my preference is still idina because the character is so complex. i can't wait to see the show in the future when shosh has been in the part for a while.

ah yes. i was off to the extreme left side so i could see into the stage left wings. definitley saw some of the ensemble playing around back there. i didn't find it amusing. they should be more aware of the sight lines.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:21am

Glad to hear it!

So sad you didn't get to see JLT!

[kim1061]

Posted: 3/17/05 at 6:53am

i thought megan was on vacation??
hah i love your avatar