Anyone See Wicked in Chicago Last Night?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 10:53am

I'm really curious about how it was.

[jjdude2000]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 10:56am

theres a review on ATC

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 11:04am

Thanks for the tip.

[Glebb]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 11:11am

Seeing it May 21.
Saw it with Kristin and Idina last July.
I don't even know who it will be here.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 11:17am

what is ATC?

[jjdude2000]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 11:18am

All That Chat...another message board...but not as cool

www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 12:51pm

I'm going thursday..I might not win the lottery though here's hoping!

[Aigoo]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 3:09pm

I'll be seeing it Wednesday, so I'll try and give my thoughts on that. I'm not a very good critic, but I'll see what I can offer. :)

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 3:13pm

Looking forward to your thoughts, Aigoo. It's okay if you're not the best critic, you're adorable :)

[ColumbiaMT]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 7:34pm

So, my friend and I were luky enough to win the lottery for the 2pm show today (Saturday), it was the full cast, no understudies.

From someone who has seen Wicked on broadway and now the tour, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this cast as a whole because they actually sang as opposed to trying to out belt eachother. Tee ensemble worked really well together and there was no weak link in the cast. There was one asian girl who has this wig on that looks like a potted plant is on top of her head, she made me laugh.. several times.

As for the principals..
Stephanie Block was made for this role. She goes very deep with the character. She acts amazingly and has vocal chords to boot. She hit every note in the show and din't sound like she was in pain. She really made you feel for the character as the play progressed. Forgive me for not going into crazy detail - I was really into the show.

I honestly LOVED Kendras Glinda. Her mannerisms were very funny. It seemed that she played Glinda a bit more "nervous confident". Her voice was very fitting for the part. But.. they did cheat on one part. At the end of "Thank Goodness" the high note that Glinda should hit, there is a girl on the bridge who hits the note insead of Glinda.. so look out for that. I can see how some people say she seemed a bit nervous in the part, but I only see her moving up with this role.

Carol Kane. Once again, she was made for this part. Her token voice made Madame Morrible even more memorable. She acts amazingly and the few parts she did have to sing were good. She works very well with David Garrison (The Wizard). David is a very strong actor with a good voice to boot. The two make a very strong "wicked duo."

Derrick Williams as Fiyero was good. He fit the role and all, but wasen't a memorable part of the show. However, I didn't remember Fiyero much on broadway either. But he was good. Very nice voice.

Logan Lipton was my favorite. He is so little and so cute. He plays Boq very "Charlie Brown-ish". I coulden't take my eyes off him because he was so entertaining! I don't have a bad thing to say about him! Definatly one of the strong points of the show.

I really can't complain about the show, I enjoyed it a lot. You can definatly tell where they didn't put as much money into the tour as on broadway. Glindas costumes weren't as flashy as on broadway and her wond just has a little starburst on the stop as opposed as the Star of David on top. I was also suprised to see the stage surround the proceunim, I didn't think they would have that.

Definatly go see this show. As for the lottery, my friend and I tried opening night and there were about 60 people there and they gave away 20 seats. For the 2pm show, there were only about 30. So I guess it depends. Good luck with that!

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll try to answer :) and I'm sorry for any spelling errors.

But take my advice, go see this show - you won't be dissapointed.

-Guerin

[Lorelai]

Posted: 4/30/05 at 7:45pm

I saw it as well and wrote a mini review but I just have to say, after reading this review....the more I think about it, the more I really did not like Kendra's approach to the role. A lot of the laughs she got were from mannerisms she copied from Kristin.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 5/1/05 at 6:31pm

These are some of my thoughts:

I saw the Matinee on Saturday 4/30. I took my seven year old son, we had upper balcony seats. (We saw all original principals at the Gershwin in April 2004.) The Oriental is perfect and it seems like home for Wicked already. There are several Oz Boutiques with short lines and plenty of refreshment stands. (For my Mojito friends, I was third in line at intermission. My son was a little slow getting out of the seat so I missed my usual place in the front of the line.)

The atmosphere in the theatre was that of a rock concert or maybe even a political convention. I sensed much anticipation. When the house lights dimmed (not an empty seat in the theatre) the audience cheered, not polite Opera claps, but a joyous release. My impression is that many in the young audience were finally having the opportunity to see a show (or cultural phenomena) that is familiar and dear to them. I would guess that 30% of the audience was pre teens and teens. The cheers also accompanied the entrance of Glenda, Elphaba and Madame M.

From the upper balcony, the set fit well at the Oriental (with the exception of the banner in “Thank Goodness” which was obstructed.)

From the opening number I realized that we were not seeing a secondary national tour, but a lavish endeavor that spared no major Broadway production value with the exception of the missing opening scene hat (the seven year old told his sisters that there was no hat, but it had the “same director.”)

The chorus vocals were rich, strong and clear. Also, the chorus reminded me more of a Greek chorus commenting on the action. I do not recall that as much on Broadway.

I was reminded why I liked Sweet Charity so much – Cilento. I simply find his choreography fascinating.

The highlight to me was Kendra – she is hilarious. Yes, she is trite at time, but uses a very funny musical comedy style that made my son and I laugh. Her voice was wonderful and her transition in Act II worked for me.

Stephanie blew me away with Defying Gravity and from the upper balcony it was truly an awesome spectacle - worth the price of admission alone.

Carol Kane was excellent as MM. Something was missing for me from Derrick (Fiyero) – he is tall and handsome, but his voice seems a little wavering at times. This was highlighted at the end of “As Long as you Mine” whiched seemed to be off.

I loved Lipton as Boq – very funny. Garrison’s depth of experience was apparent.

Maybe I expected less than I did when I was at the Gershwin last year, but I absolutely loved it and recommend it to anyone that is not Wickedly jaded.

It is a stunning production representing a talented cast.

It will be smashing success and I am excited for yet another cast in June.

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 5/1/05 at 7:12pm

So where are the seats for the lottery?

are they scattered or front row like in NY??
Pray for me on Thursday guys!!

[liotte]

Posted: 5/1/05 at 7:50pm

Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing the tour in Chicago at the end of May.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 5/1/05 at 9:50pm

here are some more reveiws : https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=848186#1001212