#1
Posted: 9/8/05 at 10:58pm
Wicked review 9/7/05:
ACT 1:
Wicked was utterly unbelievable the second time I saw it today. The understudies for this performance were as follows: Glinda (Katie Adams) and Witch¡¦s Mother (Kristin F. Oei). There were also several new additions to the ensemble. All I can say is wow!! The cast gave an unbelievable 150% performance! The show was very different from the first time I saw it August 14th here in San Francisco. The actors had developed their characters so much more!! The audience was so into the show, every little thing got applause. All characters entrances, the house lights dimming, one-liners, mistakes, and the curtain call!!!
Ladies first! The leading ladies:
Eden Espinosa (Elphaba) : What can I say?!?? Simply amazing!! She belted her guts out today! It¡¦s the last week and I think she wanted to leave us with something special. Songs that particularly blew everyone away were her big solo numbers!!! OMG!! Too amazing! I still have a wicked hangover from yesterday and Eden gave me some beautiful vivid memories! Some of her lines seemed and actions seemed a little bit more rushed than last performance, though she seemed to slow down as the show progressed. Her hair toss rendition was hilarious again! Her Elphaba was a lot more soft spoken, and didn¡¦t seem to like to yell, her yelling was soft. It was so touching though, she had a beautiful presence and performance throughout the show and I am so proud!
Katie Adams (Glinda): I have heard so much about Katie, only that she is amazing. I have been anticipating her performance as Glinda for a while. Today I was incredibly honored to see this show. Such presence, just adorable! She had a beautiful soprano voice and handled her songs all very well, was the best Glinda EVER!! Loved her! Her voice was very high pitched and made it even funnier. Some highlights of her night: What is this feeling? She messed up the beginning line ¡§There¡¦s been some confusion for you see my roommate is---¡§she replied ¡§unusually inpeculiarexceeding and impossible to describe¡¨ but it was very funny! Also during Popular! OMG! Too funny!! She was doing leg exercises on her bed when the scene started ¡§Really?!! YOUR FIRST PARTY!!?¡¨ --- ¡§Fiyero and I are going to be married!¡¨ (Rolls over onto her stomach and kicks her feet up and down repeatedly)
Katie was very bouncy and bubbly! Even though some of the more serious lines were there to make you feel for Elphaba, Katie still made me crack up! ¡§Ohhhhhhhh look!! ITS TOMORROW!¡¨---The whole song was hilarious, her hilarious dance across the stage during ¡§la la la la¡¨ --- ¡§oh elphie you musn¡¦t think that way anymore!!¡¨ *Does some jumping jacks and fidgets about to find her wand* ¡§Your whole life is going to change and all because of ME!!¡¨ OMG! I almost pissed my pants!! ¡§Well you¡¦re welcome! --- (to the mirror) oh-hi!!¡¨ As the beds came off the stage, Katie still continued to bounce up and down and shake. Elphaba vs. Glinda was hillarious, you had to laugh! Katie¡¦s little traits were very fun and quirky. ¡§For Good¡¨ and Elphaba¡¦s demise were very touching, you had to be insane if you weren¡¦t touched¡K ¡§Elphie? Oh elphie¡K¡¨ (Bursts into tears) omg! Chills everywhere!
Jenna Leigh Green (Nessarose): Utterly breathtaking!! Jenna has always been my idol. Although, this particular performance of her Nessarose was very touching and gorgeous; Jenna was so very in tune with Nessarose this time around. Even though I loved her performance last time!! Jenna¡¦s deliveries of her lines were very innocent yet menacing! ¡§Elphaba¡XI¡¨ ¡§Well what could he get me?! I clash with everything!¡¨--- transition to ¡§ELPHABA! YOU PROMISED THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT HERE!!¡¨ Somewhere there was a line dropped or forgotten because the pause was a little too long, I can¡¦t quite remember where it was. Jenna¡¦s cameo appearances really added to the scenes. In ¡§Dancing through life¡¨ Jenna¡¦s voice was particularly beautiful, all of her singing was, all of her lines were. When Boq and Nessarose began to dance, the people around me gave a little ¡§aw¡K.¡¨ it was all so touching. Then my favorite scene in the whole show in Act 2!! Jenna is now the governor of Munchkinland, her lines were chilling! Then when she finally could walk, it was so different this time around and very touching, she took her time this performance and I couldn¡¦t be anymore pleased. Her voice soared during ¡§Wicked Witch of the East¡¨ and the line ¡§lost your heart?! Well¡K.we¡¦ll see about that¡Kdid you think I¡¦d let you leave me here flat?!!¡¨ gave me chills everywhere!!!
Carol Kane (Madame Morrible): Brilliant! Her singing lines came along very well this time around, even though she isn¡¦t a singer, I though they were nicely done. From her entrance in the beginning to her exit at the end, she was incredibly brilliant and bold. She gave me chills when she gave her menacing lines ¡§Now listen here missy¡Xall of Oz may have fallen for that ¡¥aren¡¦t I good routine¡¦ but I haven¡¦t. You¡¦ve wanted this from the beginning, now you got what you want, so just smile and wave and SHUT UP!!¡¨ Her mannerisms and gestures were all very appropriate and her performance stuck to my mind throughout the entire show, not a moment did I forget a scene she was in!!
And the men, we cannot forget them!!!
Derrick Williams (Fiyero): Delightful and so very soulful! He has improved so much from the last time I went to see the tour!! Loved his articulation this time, his singing was very beautiful and perfect. His Fiyero brought a new meaning to the word ¡§Arrogance¡¨, in fact if you go look up the word ¡§Arrogance¡¨ right now, the definition would be ¡§Derrick Williams¡¨ ƒº Dancing was very nice and smooth, very soulful man. His lines had so much more feeling when he said them, as opposed to last time when it had something to it, but I couldn¡¦t get the proper feel for the scenes. Derrick is such a delight for WICKED to have.
Logan Lipton (Boq): Logan definitely was definitely running off of high energy and adrenaline!! He was so much funnier than last time and he was pretty damn funny to begin with!!! His little quirks and gestures were so much more exaggerated especially when he was in contact with Glinda, just like a little 10 year old boy. He was too adorable!! I have a suggestion, they should sell Logan Lipton as a piece of WICED souvenir and people can take him home! Hehe! Totally JK! His singing was very beautiful and different than last time! A lot stronger and had a wonderful presence.
David Garrison (The Wizard): Brilliant dancer! Wonderful actor!! Although I just didn¡¦t feel him coming through the barrier, I didn¡¦t really have a strong appreciation for his character this time through. His singing was all very good, but I don¡¦t know what it was that didn¡¦t make me feel this character this time around. He seemed a bit tired, but gave a sufficient performance. I still adore this man¡¦s work, nothing against him at all!
Ensemble: New members!! They were so strong (physically and vocally) I couldn¡¦t believe how good they were!! I adored them the last time as well!! Such strength and agility, Chistery was played so well!! Especially when he had to sit through each song and not say anything! At the end when he said ¡§M-M¡XMiss¡XGlinda¡¨ was so touching. In Dancing through Life, where Elphaba enters and everyone laughs, the characters were so much more into it ¡§Ew¡K¡¨ ¡§I can¡¦t believe her!¡¨ ¡§Is she crazy?¡¨ ¡§God what is that?!¡¨ Their voices and movements were all in sync with one another.
ANNOYANCES: the girls in front of me drove me crazy! They held their hands up right in front of my view looking at their watch they whole time and putting their heads back and looking up. They turned around about 50 times throughout the show to look at the spotlight---what is so special??!!! Stop looking at the spotlight!!! The girls next to me were putting on make up!!! One girl shouted who sat next to me ¡§NICK!! You are blocking my view!!!¡¨ I could¡¦ve slapped her, but I don¡¦t hit girls¡K.So instead during intermission I spoke loudly to my friends ¡§OH YOU KNOW WHAT I COULDN¡¦T STAND?!! WHEN SOME PEOPLE PUT THEIR MAKE UP ON DURING A SHOW, LOOK AT THEIR WATCHES, TURN AROUND TO SEE THE SPOTLIGHT ABOUT 100 TIMES!!¡¨ I was angry at them.
Stage Door: It was a group trip to see WICKED, so I had to remain with my group! I begged the group leader if I could meet the actors afterwards and she agreed!! I only got to stay around for about 20 minutes because I had to catch the ferry home! First came out Emily Rozek (Glinda u/s) who let several people in the stage door who I guess were her family members or something¡K.and I shouted ¡§Emily!¡¨ a few times, until she turned around. ¡§Oh! Hi!¡¨ ¡§Can you sign my playbill?¡¨ ¡§Sure¡KI¡¦m coming back out¡KI just need to do some stuff first¡¨ ¡§ok, thank you!!¡¨ ¡§No prob!¡¨ People were all looking at me crazy, like ¡§who the hell is that?!¡¨ Then came Terra Arrington (Ensemble) who was wearing a black sweat jacket with ¡§Terra¡¨ on the right breast pocket and I shouted ¡§Terra!!¡¨ She came towards me and said ¡§hey! Aw¡K.you know my name!¡¨ ¡§Yea I do! But its also kind of on your jacket¡K¡¨ She started cracking up when I told her and she put her hands on my shoulder and said ¡§oh *cracks up some more* I¡¦m so out of it today---thanks, hope you enjoyed the show! Bye!¡¨ Then Aaron Albano came out (Ensemble) and I shouted once again ¡§Aaron!¡¨ ¡§Oh hey!¡¨ ¡§Can you sign my playbill? ¡§Sure!¡¨ We talked for a bit, yup¡K.Then came Jenna my idol (If you don¡¦t know I have a fan site for Jenna www.jlgfansite.tk) she immediately recognized me and we talked for a bit, then I had to rush off, I was so pleased with my visit. Though I didn¡¦t get to see Logan, Eden, and Katie again¡K.oh well!!
That¡¦s my review, hope you enjoyed it!!
ACT 1:
Wicked was utterly unbelievable the second time I saw it today. The understudies for this performance were as follows: Glinda (Katie Adams) and Witch¡¦s Mother (Kristin F. Oei). There were also several new additions to the ensemble. All I can say is wow!! The cast gave an unbelievable 150% performance! The show was very different from the first time I saw it August 14th here in San Francisco. The actors had developed their characters so much more!! The audience was so into the show, every little thing got applause. All characters entrances, the house lights dimming, one-liners, mistakes, and the curtain call!!!
Ladies first! The leading ladies:
Eden Espinosa (Elphaba) : What can I say?!?? Simply amazing!! She belted her guts out today! It¡¦s the last week and I think she wanted to leave us with something special. Songs that particularly blew everyone away were her big solo numbers!!! OMG!! Too amazing! I still have a wicked hangover from yesterday and Eden gave me some beautiful vivid memories! Some of her lines seemed and actions seemed a little bit more rushed than last performance, though she seemed to slow down as the show progressed. Her hair toss rendition was hilarious again! Her Elphaba was a lot more soft spoken, and didn¡¦t seem to like to yell, her yelling was soft. It was so touching though, she had a beautiful presence and performance throughout the show and I am so proud!
Katie Adams (Glinda): I have heard so much about Katie, only that she is amazing. I have been anticipating her performance as Glinda for a while. Today I was incredibly honored to see this show. Such presence, just adorable! She had a beautiful soprano voice and handled her songs all very well, was the best Glinda EVER!! Loved her! Her voice was very high pitched and made it even funnier. Some highlights of her night: What is this feeling? She messed up the beginning line ¡§There¡¦s been some confusion for you see my roommate is---¡§she replied ¡§unusually inpeculiarexceeding and impossible to describe¡¨ but it was very funny! Also during Popular! OMG! Too funny!! She was doing leg exercises on her bed when the scene started ¡§Really?!! YOUR FIRST PARTY!!?¡¨ --- ¡§Fiyero and I are going to be married!¡¨ (Rolls over onto her stomach and kicks her feet up and down repeatedly)
Katie was very bouncy and bubbly! Even though some of the more serious lines were there to make you feel for Elphaba, Katie still made me crack up! ¡§Ohhhhhhhh look!! ITS TOMORROW!¡¨---The whole song was hilarious, her hilarious dance across the stage during ¡§la la la la¡¨ --- ¡§oh elphie you musn¡¦t think that way anymore!!¡¨ *Does some jumping jacks and fidgets about to find her wand* ¡§Your whole life is going to change and all because of ME!!¡¨ OMG! I almost pissed my pants!! ¡§Well you¡¦re welcome! --- (to the mirror) oh-hi!!¡¨ As the beds came off the stage, Katie still continued to bounce up and down and shake. Elphaba vs. Glinda was hillarious, you had to laugh! Katie¡¦s little traits were very fun and quirky. ¡§For Good¡¨ and Elphaba¡¦s demise were very touching, you had to be insane if you weren¡¦t touched¡K ¡§Elphie? Oh elphie¡K¡¨ (Bursts into tears) omg! Chills everywhere!
Jenna Leigh Green (Nessarose): Utterly breathtaking!! Jenna has always been my idol. Although, this particular performance of her Nessarose was very touching and gorgeous; Jenna was so very in tune with Nessarose this time around. Even though I loved her performance last time!! Jenna¡¦s deliveries of her lines were very innocent yet menacing! ¡§Elphaba¡XI¡¨ ¡§Well what could he get me?! I clash with everything!¡¨--- transition to ¡§ELPHABA! YOU PROMISED THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT HERE!!¡¨ Somewhere there was a line dropped or forgotten because the pause was a little too long, I can¡¦t quite remember where it was. Jenna¡¦s cameo appearances really added to the scenes. In ¡§Dancing through life¡¨ Jenna¡¦s voice was particularly beautiful, all of her singing was, all of her lines were. When Boq and Nessarose began to dance, the people around me gave a little ¡§aw¡K.¡¨ it was all so touching. Then my favorite scene in the whole show in Act 2!! Jenna is now the governor of Munchkinland, her lines were chilling! Then when she finally could walk, it was so different this time around and very touching, she took her time this performance and I couldn¡¦t be anymore pleased. Her voice soared during ¡§Wicked Witch of the East¡¨ and the line ¡§lost your heart?! Well¡K.we¡¦ll see about that¡Kdid you think I¡¦d let you leave me here flat?!!¡¨ gave me chills everywhere!!!
Carol Kane (Madame Morrible): Brilliant! Her singing lines came along very well this time around, even though she isn¡¦t a singer, I though they were nicely done. From her entrance in the beginning to her exit at the end, she was incredibly brilliant and bold. She gave me chills when she gave her menacing lines ¡§Now listen here missy¡Xall of Oz may have fallen for that ¡¥aren¡¦t I good routine¡¦ but I haven¡¦t. You¡¦ve wanted this from the beginning, now you got what you want, so just smile and wave and SHUT UP!!¡¨ Her mannerisms and gestures were all very appropriate and her performance stuck to my mind throughout the entire show, not a moment did I forget a scene she was in!!
And the men, we cannot forget them!!!
Derrick Williams (Fiyero): Delightful and so very soulful! He has improved so much from the last time I went to see the tour!! Loved his articulation this time, his singing was very beautiful and perfect. His Fiyero brought a new meaning to the word ¡§Arrogance¡¨, in fact if you go look up the word ¡§Arrogance¡¨ right now, the definition would be ¡§Derrick Williams¡¨ ƒº Dancing was very nice and smooth, very soulful man. His lines had so much more feeling when he said them, as opposed to last time when it had something to it, but I couldn¡¦t get the proper feel for the scenes. Derrick is such a delight for WICKED to have.
Logan Lipton (Boq): Logan definitely was definitely running off of high energy and adrenaline!! He was so much funnier than last time and he was pretty damn funny to begin with!!! His little quirks and gestures were so much more exaggerated especially when he was in contact with Glinda, just like a little 10 year old boy. He was too adorable!! I have a suggestion, they should sell Logan Lipton as a piece of WICED souvenir and people can take him home! Hehe! Totally JK! His singing was very beautiful and different than last time! A lot stronger and had a wonderful presence.
David Garrison (The Wizard): Brilliant dancer! Wonderful actor!! Although I just didn¡¦t feel him coming through the barrier, I didn¡¦t really have a strong appreciation for his character this time through. His singing was all very good, but I don¡¦t know what it was that didn¡¦t make me feel this character this time around. He seemed a bit tired, but gave a sufficient performance. I still adore this man¡¦s work, nothing against him at all!
Ensemble: New members!! They were so strong (physically and vocally) I couldn¡¦t believe how good they were!! I adored them the last time as well!! Such strength and agility, Chistery was played so well!! Especially when he had to sit through each song and not say anything! At the end when he said ¡§M-M¡XMiss¡XGlinda¡¨ was so touching. In Dancing through Life, where Elphaba enters and everyone laughs, the characters were so much more into it ¡§Ew¡K¡¨ ¡§I can¡¦t believe her!¡¨ ¡§Is she crazy?¡¨ ¡§God what is that?!¡¨ Their voices and movements were all in sync with one another.
ANNOYANCES: the girls in front of me drove me crazy! They held their hands up right in front of my view looking at their watch they whole time and putting their heads back and looking up. They turned around about 50 times throughout the show to look at the spotlight---what is so special??!!! Stop looking at the spotlight!!! The girls next to me were putting on make up!!! One girl shouted who sat next to me ¡§NICK!! You are blocking my view!!!¡¨ I could¡¦ve slapped her, but I don¡¦t hit girls¡K.So instead during intermission I spoke loudly to my friends ¡§OH YOU KNOW WHAT I COULDN¡¦T STAND?!! WHEN SOME PEOPLE PUT THEIR MAKE UP ON DURING A SHOW, LOOK AT THEIR WATCHES, TURN AROUND TO SEE THE SPOTLIGHT ABOUT 100 TIMES!!¡¨ I was angry at them.
Stage Door: It was a group trip to see WICKED, so I had to remain with my group! I begged the group leader if I could meet the actors afterwards and she agreed!! I only got to stay around for about 20 minutes because I had to catch the ferry home! First came out Emily Rozek (Glinda u/s) who let several people in the stage door who I guess were her family members or something¡K.and I shouted ¡§Emily!¡¨ a few times, until she turned around. ¡§Oh! Hi!¡¨ ¡§Can you sign my playbill?¡¨ ¡§Sure¡KI¡¦m coming back out¡KI just need to do some stuff first¡¨ ¡§ok, thank you!!¡¨ ¡§No prob!¡¨ People were all looking at me crazy, like ¡§who the hell is that?!¡¨ Then came Terra Arrington (Ensemble) who was wearing a black sweat jacket with ¡§Terra¡¨ on the right breast pocket and I shouted ¡§Terra!!¡¨ She came towards me and said ¡§hey! Aw¡K.you know my name!¡¨ ¡§Yea I do! But its also kind of on your jacket¡K¡¨ She started cracking up when I told her and she put her hands on my shoulder and said ¡§oh *cracks up some more* I¡¦m so out of it today---thanks, hope you enjoyed the show! Bye!¡¨ Then Aaron Albano came out (Ensemble) and I shouted once again ¡§Aaron!¡¨ ¡§Oh hey!¡¨ ¡§Can you sign my playbill? ¡§Sure!¡¨ We talked for a bit, yup¡K.Then came Jenna my idol (If you don¡¦t know I have a fan site for Jenna www.jlgfansite.tk) she immediately recognized me and we talked for a bit, then I had to rush off, I was so pleased with my visit. Though I didn¡¦t get to see Logan, Eden, and Katie again¡K.oh well!!
That¡¦s my review, hope you enjoyed it!!
