Another Personal Wicked Review

Well, I saw Wicked last night and I have to say that I was overall pleased. Idina and Kristen give really excellent performances -- especially Kristen as Glinda. Her comedic timing was SO excellent and she had me cracking up throughout the entire show. Idina's character was also done well and her belting shakes your bones. In fact, she was so quiet at the stage door that I couldn't believe someone so quiet could make such a huge noise. I'm sure she was probably saving her voice. Both women have a lot of singing. But is it just me, or does Glinda seem to sing more than Elphaba?

I can see where the songs could use some work. Basically all the ensemble songs were kinda' strange, and they just repeated the same words over and over. "Popular" was one of the best songs in the entire show. Kristen performed it so well and so naturally blonde. And most of Idina's songs were impressive, especially "Defying Gravity". Hmm, I like "Thank Goodness" in the second act as well, and "For Good". And the love duet "As Long As Your Mine" didn't hurt.

I hated Joel Grey. His character and his songs all stunk. "Wonderful" was such an out of place song and was pointless. And the bastard wouldn't even come out afterwords. He had supposedly 'left' already, even though there was like 40 people waiting for him right after the show.

The girl who played Nessarose, Michelle Federer, sang well in "The Wicked Witch of The East", and I enjoyed her. Carole Shelley was also delightfully evil.

One thing I couldn't figure out was that stupid dragon over the stage. I had no clue what that, or the clock theme, had to do with the story. I know it is important in the book and something about the TIme Dragon, but they really didn't explain it well in the play, or did I miss something? I think Glina mentions it in the beginning. But I'm sure a lot of money was spent on the dragon that moved its head about 3 times...

Overall it was very enjoyable and definitely makes you take a new look at the Wizard of Oz. And I love Kristen Chenoweth.


Oh yeah, and I hung around the stage door at Little Shop while I was waiting to go to WIcked and I saw Hunter Foster slip into the door. I was stupidly looking for the stage door and I was looking at the wrong one, and then I look like 10 feet along the building and saw him go in. He was wearing the SAME BLACK SHIRT always wears. That's weird. Lol, every picture I've seen of him, he wears the black button down shirt. Even the picture I took with him has him wearing it.

Updated On: 11/8/03 at 03:44 PM

As far as special effects go, I was disappointed in the flying monkeys. It was like they were on clotheslines. I wanted them to fly out over the audience like Peter Pan.

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Thanks for the information. Too bad they didn't explain that in the show. Or did they? I remember the story of her mothers affair, etc. Oh well, it may have been the late-comers who caused an entire row to stand up during the first song.

The Time Clock Dragon is not what made Elphaba green, it's the elixir that the Wizard gives her mom before he rapes her.

Woah Woah Woah, The Wizard does not rape Elphaba's mother. She's very unfaithful to her husband, i.e. Turtle Heart. No raping went on. LOL

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Namo, you were a RENT fan??? Did someone forget to tell me Hell froze over again?! sh*t

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Namo, I doubt that the elixir was the reason for Elphaba's irregular skin color...because if that was the case, everyone who has had a sip of this elixir would have green children, and surely more people have had it besides Elphaba's mother and the Wizard. I got the idea that it was because she was a child of both worlds...that is the reason she is the only one with this power and the only one with this skin color, because there are no other children of both worlds.

P.S. We need to do something about that memory of yours, sounds like it's really starting to go.

Ok ok, I can understand that the song was there for a reason, but I didn't like him dancing with ELphaba amidst all the sadness and chaos. And then as soon as the song ended she changed her mind again.

And Namo, the only way I knew the songs besides Defying Gravity and Popular was with the Playbill, lol. They aren't that memorable, I agree. Oh well.

It looked to me like the contraption was in a "T" shape. The top of the "T" ran along the stage and I believe the stem of the T had a harness on it that attached to Idina somehow, and then the head of the T moved up and she went along with it.

It also looked like they dropped drapes around her and made them flutter, which along with the lighting affects, made it look very cool. But thats what it seemed like to me.

She did walk downstage a little before she flew, but the device could have been able to move, too. I was disappointed she never actually got on the broom and rode.

What about Glinda? Where is she the whole time? I get the chills everytime she belts I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY! after she lifts off.

I heard the scarf or whatever Glinda puts on Elphie when she says "Here, put this around you" contributes to the flying.

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Updated On: 11/8/03 at 10:18 PM

Actually, Elphaba ran upstage as the guards broke in, and if you keep your eye on her, you see her hooking herself up. Meanwhile Glinda is upstage dealing with the guards, and as Elphaba belts "It's MEEEE" the guards release Glinda and they stand down stage watching Elphaba, in awe I guess.

Well, she flies vertically up. It's hard to fly horizontally up.

Hello Gorgeous, about the lighting...you took the words right out of my mouth, lol.