A question for WICKED lovers---Chenoweth backlash?- Page 2

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 2:17am

Yeah that's true.

[markcohenwannabe69]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 2:42am

personally, i prefer Jennifer Laura Thompson.... i havent seen Chenoweth, but she really gets on my nerves when i listen to the CD, im sure she was great in the role, but i dont think i could have sat through 2 hours and 45 minutes of her whiney voice! ugh the thought makes me shudder. but like i said im sure she was brilliant, i mean you dont get nominated for a tony award because you suck! and i honestly dont think you can really compare Jennifer and Kristen, i mean they are two completely different actresses, portraying that character differently. i spoke to a few people who saw Kristen and most of them said Jennifer brought more depth to the character, but also said they liked Kristin more cause she was the original Galinda. they both bring something completely different to the table so its hard to really say either one is better than the other....only that i prefer Jennifer because shes the only person i have seen play the part, and she always has me on the verge of peeing the whole show. and shes just a really sweet person!!

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 9:36am

I like Jen the most.

[bunchamuncha]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 9:44am

I think Chenoweth is the kind of actress that people either love her or hate her and not much in between.
I think some of the "backlash" is two-fold. It's part Wicked (because it WAS discussed so much) and then there's the Chenoweth "controversies".
I don't think I could possibly pick one over the other in terms of Jen and Kristin's portrayals, they're so different. I give Jen a lot of props (and anyone who replaces someone) for getting out of Chenoweth's shadow. The show really belongs to her now and while some have said she copied Kristin, I would disagree completely. She took what worked and then added her own touches. Smart lady and somehow managed to stay above all the hoopla.

[mikewood]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 11:06am

I'm a single person who prefers Cheno over Thompson.

[TheColorOfFlame]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 12:02pm

It's my belief that whether people know it consciously or not, they tend to enjoy performers that they think are *personally more appealing*. I am a huge Kristin fan and think she's leagues more brilliant than anybody else, let alone people who've played Galinda (Megan's Anna Nicole interpretation was horrifying to me), but I can see how people would get turned off to her because she's been known to be a diva, which is in turn why she lost many Tony votes (ps - Idina was indeed one of the reasons she left, as I promise I can verify from discussing it with a friend from the cast). Wouldn't you say that JLT tends to win more fans because she *personally* appeals to a wider group - aka, she's just a nicer person?

I personally love divas, especially if they're comic geniuses, so maybe that's why I love Cheno more :)

[bunchamuncha]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 12:14pm

"Wouldn't you say that JLT tends to win more fans because she *personally* appeals to a wider group - aka, she's just a nicer person? "
How would anyone know sitting in a seat in a theater if she's nicer or not????!!! JLT doesn't promote herself or try to win fans.

Well if people are only going to the theater to see people they think are "personally more appealing" I feel bad for them, they're missing the point.

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 1:17pm

TheColor, I have to agree with you.

While I do enjoy the "Mrs. Won" (SP??) sketches on MADTv, the annoying nature and supposedly "funny" manner of speaking of Stuart irritates me and is just plain unfunny. Thus, I am not at all a fan of JLT's portrayal of Glinda. Linking back to TheColor's reply, I have heard that JLT is probably one of the nicest people toward fans, not only in WICKED, but on Broadway, period.

Have seen Chenoweth & JLT. Have heard Cheno, JLT, Stacie, Megan, Kendra, & LBB. Below is my personal fav. order:
Chenoweth
Stacie
Kendra
Megan
JLT
LBB

[Sant]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 2:56pm

I've only seen JLT as Glinda so I can't say anything about who acts the role better. But when it comes to singing the role (JLT-live; Cheno-cd), I prefer JLT.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 6:02pm

I love how we discuss this every 2 weeks...

[defy_gravity]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 6:24pm

My personal order:

Kristin
JLT
Megan
Kendra
LBB

I love Cheno-squeak. She was so cute in the role, and JLT does have a deeper character, but it's needlessly deep. Some of it is good, but some moments take away the light-heartedness of her character.
JLT was good, she did bring depth to Glinda, made her a much more round character. But you can't compare her to Kristin's singing.
Megan was okay... when I saw her she was still relatively new to the show, so she wasn't used to it yet. She did well, though. I bet she's better now. She has a nice voice. I liked her "For Good" and "Thank Goodness" and "What is this Feeling?" and most of it, but I disliked her "Popular" very much.
Kendra, well, she was okay. She managed, and she did it well, but not as good as Cheno/JLT/Megan. The whole tour is worse, in my opinion, than the B-way production. I don't really like Shoshana or Stephanie, but I think Shoshana is better, same with all the roles.
I HATED LBB. HATED HER. She didn't seem right for the part... I didn't like her portrayal, at ALL. I only saw her in it once, thank goodness.

I never saw Stacie.