Wicked in DC review

[dylanjackson]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 10:35am

Just saw Wicked at the Kennedy Center yesterday afternoon. It was my second time seeing it. The first time was an early preview on broadway with the original cast.

Overall, the show is in amazing shape. The sets are missing a few components of the original which is fine. The show looks and feels up to par with the original.

The ensemble: AMAZING. They react and act so well together. They are clearly having alot of fun onstage and it definitely shows.

Fiyero: Derrick Williams was on and contrary to other reports, he was very good. His voice was a little weak (more about sound later.) and lacked energy, but he had a very good presence and really developed a chemistry with Elphaba.

Boq: Logan Lipton was a lot better than Christopher Fitzgerald. The current Boq's performance is very memorable and he acted and sung his part with conviction and a set foundation of who he really is. We will see him in the future!!

Nessarose: Maria was on tonight and she was exceptional. She really sbowed a complete cycle of emotions and by the time it came for her Second Act solo she was stunning. By the way, very very good looking. I can't wait to see her Elphaba

Morrible and Wizard: Kane was memorable as always. Glad to have her back. Garrison was very good (the actual part is lacking) but he does what he can and proves to be a wonderful wizard.

Glinda: Emily Rozek was on for Kendra. SOOOOO FUNNNYYYY!! it took a awhile to get used to her more subdued performance but her singing, acting, and comic emotions were frickin genius. She is jus as great as Chenoweth and she will be a star in the future. PLEASE GET OUT AND SEE THIS GIRL IF U CAN!!

Elphaba: Ms. Block was good. Her energy level was definitely down. It seemed as if the show was so energrtic and amazing and when she was on and seemed to die down a litte. Dont get me wrong, she is an amazing singer and actress, but just lacked some needed energy. Her voice is great just not that strong and lacked volume and power. Her defying gravity was a bit of a dissapointment but her no good deed was pure joy. Her strong number was I'm not that girl. She showed complete character change in that song and made people truly root for her. very good performance just needs a red bull or something.

The one complaint I have about the show and maybe the Kennedy Center is the sound. It might have been the fact that I was sitting all the way on the left, but the sound of the performers was definitely weak and it was hard to hear some of the lyrics especially on the big number-gravity. It the sound is intensified and louder, you have an exceptional show on your hands!!! go see it if u can.

P.S didn't see any lottery for tickets.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 10:36am

I thought Carole Shelley was the tour's Morrible?

[o_kheem_o]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 11:06am

i saw it the 21st of dec... and i agree with the sound... for a national tour.. AT the Kennedy Center.. the sound was HORRiBLE. there were parts where you could not hear the leads but the ensemble was blaring, or there was a duet and one person was being drowned-out. the second act was definitely better for sound.

yeah so enough of that... stephanie j. block i say was wonderful. her defying gravity was amazing - no crack, couldn't even distinguish when she switched over to head voice.. or if she even did.. it was a very smooth performance for her and her emotions WELL played out. i know i'm going to be crucified for this... but as of right now i think she's a better elphaba than indina. i would just say idina's got a better hold on the power aspect.

glinda - kendra was it? okie @ first i was so stunned why she got the part at all.. i thought her voice was inadequate.. but as the show progressed she definitely improved.. and her ACTiNG WAS STUUUPENDOUS. the WHOLE HOUSE was ROARiNG from this girl. then people realize why this woman had that part. definitely one of the best acting i've seen @ the kennedy.

everyone else was great too.. i do agree with dylan that the strength was down... like fiyero (williams), and some parts of block's (although hardly - i really think it was just at the beginning.. and due to the sound problems)... overall tho', wicked is exactly what people expect - beautiful. singing was great... the acting was amazingggg....

[cubbiegirl]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 11:35am

Saw the tour in St Louis and there were sound problems there too. Don't know what is going on.

[Mamie]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 12:18pm

I can't speak for St. Louis but I can tell you that there has always been a sound problem in the KC Opera House. There was always a 'dead' area in the orchestra section where you couldn't hear at all. (I did find that sound was better in the balcony.) The Kennedy Center shut the hall down for a full year while they did a lot of reconstruction. Supposedly the sound system was fixed and the issue of the dead space was addressed. These comments tell me that it wasn't.

I have refused to spend a nickel on a ticket for that hall for a long time now. The Eisenhower Theatre (where the Sondheim celebration took place) is much smaller and has a much better sound system. I've also never had a problem with sound in the Concert Hall. But that Opera House has always been bad. (It's why the National Opera wanted to move out of the center altogether.)

[wicked1]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 1:36pm

Thanks for the review. I'll be at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday! Our seats are pretty far away (we're in the 2nd tier, front row, center) so hopefully they have the sound problems corrected by then.

PS - From what I hear, there is no lottery for the Kennedy Center.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 1:48pm

Heh Wicked, I'll be there Tuesday as well...possibly 2nd tier I think.

[jgph]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 1:56pm

Just as a point of interest...the tour of Wicked NEVER uses a venues sound system, as is the case for the vast majority of touring shows. It carries with it an extremely expensive system that was designed by one of broadway's best designer's, Tony Meola. This design is an extremely complex one, and for the tour it is an adapted version of the broadway version.
That design has to be able to fit all venues due to logistics and economics, and therefore some compromises have to be made in terms of making it more generic so that it can fit in an extremely wide variety of venues, all with differing acoustics and seating configurations. This is what causes problems, especially in older venues. Amplified sound didnt exist, or wasnt widely used when alot of the touring houses were built, so consequently there will always be some problems.
The touring sound engineers do their best at each venue with the equipment they have, but due to architecture, the sound can never be as perfect as it is at the Gershwin, where the sound system is designed to the smallest detail specifically for that theatre.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 2:08pm

I had the same feeling about Ms. Block here in Denver. Low energy that, for me, brought the show down a bit. Her Defying Gravity was good but by the time they sang "For Good", I was not feeling the same emotions (I was in tears) I did when I saw the original cast.

[morosco]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 2:14pm

"...Just as a point of interest...the tour of Wicked NEVER uses a venues sound system, as is the case for the vast majority of touring shows..."

This is the very reason I refuse to attend most touring shows. The failure to deliver intelligible sound is inexcusable.

[jgph]

Posted: 12/23/05 at 2:24pm

actually, if most tours used a venues sound system the sound would be considerbaly worse. Every show cannt use the same sound design, it has to be tailored to the technical and dynamic needs of the show and its material. If the producers were more flush with the cash then the sound team would be able to hire all the extra equipment that they needed at each venue, to accomodate for the venues architectural perculiarities. As it is though, the touring sound team has to do the best they can with the equipment and the design that they have.

Here's an article about the broadway design: http://www.meyersound.com/markets/theatre/wicked.htm

as i said, the tour uses an adapted design.

If you want to blame anyone, blame the producers for not being as generous as they could be! lol

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 12/25/05 at 3:30pm

Saw the show yesterday (Dec. 24).

I didn't have that much trouble with the sound system. I was able to hear just fine... we were pretty far back (CC... on the aisle)

At first I was quite upset because Stephanie was out and we were going to see her understudy... the main reason I didn't want to wait until the show went to Seattle (that's where I live) was because I wanted to see her, and was disappointed she wasn't going to be in it. Alas, the understudy (I keep on forgetting her name) was very good, excellent even. And Kendra was very funny. I was thrilled to see Carole Shelley. Overall the show was great; it was especially fun to see with my sister who had no idea what the show was about or anything... she had no idea she was going to fly during Defying Gravity and was totally blown away.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/25/05 at 3:38pm

Toronto had a few sound problems too and that was in a theatre w major renovations, so it must be the adaptations they have to make to each facility .

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 12:46am

I saw a matinee of Wicked at the Kennedy Center on Friday (Dec. 23). I was initially really disappointed to find out that Maria Eberline was going on as Elphaba rather than Stephanie J. Block, whom I had been looking forward to seeing, but we were very pleasantly surprised with Ms. Eberline's performance.

I didn't experience some of the sound issues that other people have mentioned, but I'm not that familiar with the venue. We had about the worst seats that it's possible to have (third tier side) but fortunately were still able to see without any trouble. (And I'm certainly not complaining as I feel fortunate to have gotten three tickets together at all).

As previously mentioned. Maria Eberline was fantastic as Elphaba, with the only indication of her being an understudy being what seemed to be a little confusion on timing when she and Kendra sang together. Her Elphaba, based on what I've seen and heard of others, seems sweeter and more idealistic than the slightly cynical edge that the role can also take. Her singing was fabulous, and the big songs (Wizard and I, No Good Deed, Defying Gravity) were essentially flawless. She did a great job with the ending of "Defying Gravity" in particular.

My feelings about Kendra Kassebaum's performance were a lot more mixed. Based on what I heard during this performance, she is not at all comfortable with the high end of Glinda's range, and her soprano is strained and flimsy. She's obviously not a coloratura, which the role arguably requires. I wasn't impressed by her at all during the first part of the show. On the other hand, her belt voice is very good and appropriate to the part, so the scenes with college-age Glinda were her strong point. Her acting was also quite good. I felt that she could've gotten more laughs out of "Popular" and some of the other funny moments had her comic timing been better, but otherwise no acting complaints. I liked her a lot more during the more serious second act. Overall, it was a good performance for someone who, vocally, might be a little miscast in this role.

I'm just going to say it: I love Derrick Williams as Fiyero, more than anyone else I've ever heard or seen in the part. More than Norbert. His singing could be stronger but isn't at all unpleasant, and I love his take on the part acting-wise. I've never really loved Fiyero's characterization in the musical, especially when comapred to the very complex character of Maguire's novel, but Derrick actually made the character human for me. He presents the most heartfelt and passionate "As Long As You're Mine" that I've seen. I think that he's a fantastic choice to take over the role of Fiyero on Broadway. Very impressed.

Seeing Carole Shelly was one of the highlights of the day. She was great as Morrible, as is to be expected. I'm so happy to get to see her in her short stint on the tour. Garrison did an outstanding job as the Wizard. Jenna Leigh Green was also great as Nessarose, and I loved her "Wicked Witch of the East."

And so ends my too-long review: in summary, a very nice day at the theatre, even though I had been looking forward to seeing Stephanie perform as Elphaba for months. Maria is great, and I'm sure that she has a bright future with this show or others. Updated On: 12/26/05 at 12:46 AM

[Celestial Entropy]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 1:44am

Just came back from the Christmas showing... sat 5th row center from stage and I, too, noticed the sound issue. Sitting THAT close to the stage, sometimes the vocals were lost to the caverns of the Opera house it is playing in. THAT'S the point with the DC stop of the tour: the opera house is a cavern that's pretty much only suited for major voice projection... so that's working against the show, somewhat. But it's something the tour's sound people should be on top of. Thankfully Stephanie puts a lot of her body and facial expressions into the role, so it helped with the sound issue. Kendra as Glinda just doesn't do it for me... but my fiance' found her to be adorable. It was his first time seeing Wicked, so he really didn't have anything to compare her performance to. Carole Shelley was super... I still believe that no one can touch her Madame Morrible. Overall the show was good... ofcourse I loved it and my fiance really liked it and that was an important point for me since he hears me talk about Wicked. It was one of his Christmas gifts to me and it was a special treat that I totally appreciated...
Now, to wait out most of 2006 so I can go to London and see how they bring Wicked to life...