Current WICKED cast?

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 12:40am

hi all. saw WICKED years ago with Ms. Menzel. taking my beau to see it this Sat. night for a Valentine's Day gift. i see from the web site that the cast recently switched again. curious - anyone know how the current cast members are - kyle dean massey as fiyero, jenny fellner as nessarose, kathy fitzgerald as morrible, katie clark as glinda, teal wicks as elphaba? i think i have only heard of fitzgerald and massey. any thoughts on how the others are in this or other shows? just curious, as i am unfamiliar with these folks. thanks. VERY curious about this teal and katie.

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 12:44am

Here is a thread with some people discussing Teal Wicks:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1027926&dt=6&boardid=1

Haven't seen either of them, so I can't commend personally, but enjoy!

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 12:48am

thanks. and of anyone else would care to chime in i'd love to hear people's opinions on these performers. thanks all! :)

[threetwoone]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 12:54am

I loved Katie's Glinda when I saw her about a year and a half ago. There's something so earnest about her portrayal. Is she one of the more over-the-top Glindas? Yes. But I've found it was always done tastefully as opposed to some others. I'm sure you and your date will just love her.

Teal I have also seen and while I haven't been the biggest fan personally, she really is a great actress and vocalist. I really can't think of anything negative to say about her.

Have a great time!

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 12:59am

Personally I think Katie Clark is one of the best ever Glindas. Jenny Fellner was wonderful in Pal Joey but Nessarose doesn't really show her off.

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 1:07am

thanks three and mallardo. i am grateful for your feedback. i wanted to make it a memorable evening for him. we're sitting a few rows from the stage, dead center. i think he'll enjoy it. :) oh, i saw PAL JOEY. who did jenny play? was she the sweet girlfriend who works in the men's clothing store who had the duet with stockard channing near the end?

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 1:14am

Yes, I can't remember the character's name but that was her.

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 1:45am

groovy. we really enjoyed her in that other role.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 4:28pm

Katie Rose Clarke is the best Glinda Wicked has had, IMO.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 4:31pm

^ If she shows up..... Her attendance has been consistently awful.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 5:37pm

I don't even agree with that statement. Beyond just her atrocious attendance, she's BY FAR the weakest singer they've ever had play the role of Glinda. Not even close. Every time I hear her sing, I think she's ill, and then I remember, that's just how she sounds.

Her acting is very meh...a strong final 10 minutes does not make up for the rest of the show, where she's completely over the top, playing a cartoon character. She has little to no arc at all and consistently goes for the cheap laughs.

It's a shame she's extended until September. That role desperately needs new blood.

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 6:09pm

What do people think of Kathy as Morrible?

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 6:46pm

^ Nothing special. Rondi Reed was much better.

Posted: 2/11/11 at 7:15pm

Kathy was awesome the night I saw her... Having seen Rondi and Kathy, Kathy blew Rondi out of the park. Rodi didn't sing ...she talked. Kathy had a great voice for the role and he acting was great to. In my opinion she added a little something the role needed that Rondi just couldn't do.

[CandiceElyse]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 10:00pm

i saw Kyle Dean back when he was an understudy, and he is the best Fiyero I have seen yet. He just has that swagger and presence.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 10:13pm

adamgreer, I couldn't disagree more about KRC. I'd say she one of the weaker Glindas vocally, but in no way the weakest. She gives by far the most layered, intricate performance I've seen or "seen" of any Glinda. For me, she turned a cartoon character into a human being. It's a shame her attendance isn't better.

[shrekster224]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 10:45pm

I agree with Elphaba3. KRC is really great. Her performance, like Elphaba3 said, is very layered and the dimensions make it so interesting. She's also hilarious, and great with fans.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 10:56pm

I'm curious who you would rank as a weaker vocalist than KRC, because I've seen all the Broadway Glindas (and most of the understudies), and none were even close. As it currently stands, both her standby (Laura Woyasz) and understudy (Lindsay Northen) are giving far superior performances than she is.

And yeah, she's funny if you enjoy cheap gags and over the top business (starting with that stupid "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelll" she does during Loathing) at the expense of any characterization.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 11:13pm

Kendra Kassebaum is the weakest vocally, IMO. Her voice made me cringe, as did Annaleigh Ashford's head voice (her chest voice is gorgeous). I'm not fond of Erin Mackey's upper register either.

In my experience, Katie's Glinda isn't nearly as hyper as others (Megan Hilty, Kate Reinders, Kendra, Annaleigh, etc.). She does go overboard sometimes and I usually can't tolerate hyper/spastic Glindas, but I feel that the layers and intricacy of her performance more than make up for it.

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 2/11/11 at 11:23pm

I think for the most part KRC is good. Every once in a while she seemed bored and was just saying her lines. But I thought her and Mandy had good chemistry. And when they were both on stage I thought it was pretty magical. I can't speak on her and Teal but I'm eager to hear what you think adamgreer. I'm undecided as to weather I will be heading back to see Teal or not. There do seem to be a lot of positive reviews around for her though. But I'm not quite convinced.

Everyone else was pretty good, the first time I saw Kyle I wasn't really convinced (I thought he was amazing in N2N and Fiyero just isn't as good of a character as Gabe is so I think that led to most of the disappointment). But the second time I saw him I really enjoyed him.

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 2/12/11 at 1:47am

everyone, this is wonderful. thank you! i am thankful for everyone's feedback. i saw the show quite awhile back. my partner, i think, will love it. a friend of ours saw it recently and LOVED the actress playing elphie, she had also been in THE HEIGHTS. (Mandy? Sorry, I am not sure of her name.) I figured, oh, ok....well we should see a good crew. Then I hopped onto the WICKED web site the other day, only to learn of the 2/1 replacements. Oy! Just hoping the central leads give us a good one. My partner has no clue we are even going to see WICKED and has never seen it. We're in row B, center, so we sound to be in prime location for everything to just leap out at him. It's our first Valentine's Day together and I wanted to give him a special gift that would be memorable. He truly deserves it, esp. given all he does for others....and because he honestly has heart, courage and brains. Okay, cue the sappy violins. LOL If anyone wishes to share more opinions here, please feel free.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 2/12/11 at 3:15am

I think Katie Rose Clarke and Teal Wicks are top notch. I disagree about Katie being cartoonish as Glinda--in fact, I found her to be the most human Glinda I've seen (alongside Jennifer Laura Thompson). I wouldn't call her voice weak, but her lower register isn't quite as rich as some of the others, though her soprano notes were glorious.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I was really taken with Teal Wicks. I think she's more of an actress than a singer, but that's exactly why I loved her so much. That's not to say her singing was lacking to me, but I know a lot of Wicked fans like their Elphabas to come with lots of vocal acrobatics; instead, Teal is all about the story. Thank God. (I should also mention these two ladies had charming chemistry on stage)

I think PJ Benjamin as The Wizard is also noteworthy. The rest of the cast was pretty serviceable--nothing special, but they do the job.

[luvbrdway]

Posted: 2/12/11 at 10:37am

I've seen my fair share of Glinda's/Elphies. KRC runs a very close 2nd to Megan Hilty for me. Megan has a better voice, but Katie is a better actress/comedienne, IMHO. Teal is the most beautiful Elphaba ever. I saw her in LA before her voice problems, and she was very good.

Great seats you have! I won the lottery in May, so sat front row. Just a whole different, wonderful experience being that close. Hope you have a good time.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 2/12/11 at 11:46am

Kendra has a lower voice than most Glindas, but is in no way a weak singer.



On another note, my opinion with the role of Glinda on Broadway: find a way to get Alli Mauzey back or bump up Lindsay K. Northen!

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 2/12/11 at 2:58pm

I really liked Katie Rose Clarke when I saw her back in July with Mandy Gonzalez...she was one of the most human and real Glindas I've seen, apart from Jennifer Laura Thompson. I also really loved Kathy Fitzgerald. I haven't seen Kyle Dean Massey as Fiyero yet (though I'd like to), but he was wonderful in Next to Normal and I'm sure he looks very good in the Fiyero pants. :)