Derrick Williams STILL in wicked???

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 11:57am

Any truth to the fact that he will be joining the LA cast in May???

This guy is past his wicked prime. Hes SO over it, and needs to be replaced ASAP.

[mikeyb16]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 12:37pm

Now I can understand why Recycling gets on people's nerves. Maybe the Company members from all the WICKED Productions have so much fun in the show they find it impossible to leave. Ok, I can understand the Recycling gets old the more times it is done. Maybe the Producers feel that they want to make more money by recycling so audiences don't mind.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 12:39pm

He was Fieyro on the 1st national tour and I wasn't really impressed. I also saw him with the original cast on Broadway.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 12:42pm

I tend to not mind recycling, when they recycle TALENT. Williams was in the 1st national tour, a stint on broadway, a stint in chicago, ANOTHER stint on broadway(or in chicago i believe?) and now a stint in LA?!?! It only frustrates me because he is BAD. He half asses the entire performance, and just goes through the steps. He doesnt perform.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 12:56pm

His melisma makes me seasick.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 1:06pm

If anyone needs a "STILL in wicked???" thread it's Stephanie Block. She was in the original readings for chrissakes !!!!

I saw Williams. He was fine. The producers must think so too. I'm not really sure what you can do with such a thankless role. That character is pretty much a singing prop.. usually cast to give the teenage girls and gay boys some eye-candy.

I think the Fiyero doesn't work if he doesn't turn you on a little. And since no one actor can turn on everyone...

Updated On: 5/1/08 at 01:06 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 1:14pm

I found him a little too queeny for the role (and yes, I know he's straight, but his Fiyero read so queeny), but that melisma just killed it for me. I don't think it's possible for him to stay on one note. Ever.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 1:17pm

I thought Fiyero was gay..?

Updated On: 5/1/08 at 01:17 PM

[mallardo]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 1:23pm

Norbert made you care about Fiyero, so it IS possible.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 1:27pm

Exactly, Mallardo! That says something about Butz's engaging personality, his sexy confidence and of course talent.

Each Fiyero I've seen since is just singing eye-candy. One just about as bland as another.

Again, I think casting of Fiyero today mostly has to do with who will make the little girls and gay boys squeal.

Updated On: 5/1/08 at 01:27 PM

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 1:41pm

Saw Derrick in the 1st National Tour and in Wicked this past December and enjoyed him both times. If he is going to be in the LA cast, then I say good for him!

[Anna_Elizabeth]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 3:24pm

I think the point is that he has been in the show for years, without ever leaving. He was in the ensemble for the Pre-Broadway in SF, so it has been a long time. Unlike Stephanie, who has left the show to do other things, and eventually found her way back into it again.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 3:29pm

Ah... I see.

Well I don't begrudge him going where the work is.

Weren't there a couple women in Cats and Phantom for 20 plus years?

I say if you they keep hiring you.. keep working. Better than waiting tables.

[DG]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 3:47pm

BFB - there have been people in the past around here who have questioned why some actors just don't 'go and do some other show' - as if the jobs just magically appear for everyone.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 3:57pm

Thank you Phyllis! I was going to say that but decided not to. Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that. He kinda stuck out when I saw it on Broadway with the original cast. And when we went for intermission my friend and I turned to each other and said "So who is that big queen in the ensemble"? And if I remember correctly, his costume stood out a bit also.

[DG]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:02pm

"So who is that big queen in the ensemble"?

Like it's a bad thing? Or it was too weird to have a big 'queen' in the Emerald City?

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:05pm

No, it wasn't a negative thing. We just noticed him and that's what we said to each other.

[Anna_Elizabeth]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:11pm

For me, if an actor can still keep the role fresh and the powers that be don't have a problem with said actor staying, then fine. Especially when said actor is doing readings and other things are the side. Then there is the other side of the coin where said actor is just staying because it is "a job", and not because s/he wants to improve on their craft. Each "job" brings something new.
I think Derrick has a lot of talent. He should start using that talent in other roles, whether it is regional or on-broadway. I'm sure he has a good reason for staying in Wicked as he visits all the different productions, but I for one would like to see him take on something new that will push him more.

[DG]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:22pm

"He should start using that talent in other roles"

You know, he just might want to do that - but unless he starts producing his own shows and casting himself, he has to work with what he's offered. In the meantime, he has steady work - unlike most of those trying to make a living in the BUSINESS.

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:27pm

I have never seen Derrick Williams in Wicked, but I doubt he is as bad as David Ayers in the role. Now that was awful.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:31pm

*sigh* With all these young'uns swinging from one show to another, can we just have another heart-warming moment of silence to remember that YES! Norbert DID originate the role! Slap me... I seriously had almost forgotten (following all these pin-up boys that've followed)

I will not deny my roots, however embarrassing. I was a Wicked fan-boy back when it was "cool"... and saw Derrick Williams as a satisfying Fiyero in San Francisco (the 3rd-stop on the 1NT) Summer 2005. I may (or may not) have presented him with a "swankified" hand-drawn picture of him swinging around a Market Street sign-post with his toothy grin and tight-butt pants. Saw him again in the role on Broadway Summer 2006, when he was a new first-time daddy.
Updated On: 5/1/08 at 04:31 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:43pm

When I saw him as Fiyero I didn't find him to be queeny. I just didn't care for his performance. He was kind of just walking through the role and had no chemistry with his 2 leading ladies.

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 4:50pm

I saw Derrick Williams during his stint in the Chicago production, and I found his performance to be very bland. I agree with the ones who thought he had no chemistry whatsoever with the Elphaba or Glinda, and our entire group found him to be a bit, er, "queeny" as mentioned before (it was a group of a few hundred people). And yes, they all still found him to be eye-candy. So basically...I'm agreeing with everything that's been said so far, and am pointlessly posting

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 6:17pm

Anyone remember when people didn't like him in the role because there weren't any black people in OZ?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/1/08 at 6:27pm

To answer the initial question, yes, he will be joining the LA company and Kris Cusick will be moving to the Chicago company.