Flying Effect in 'Wicked'- Page 2

[theatreguy]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 5:18pm

Speaking as a person who has experienced being in a harness, it would be VERY difficult to have to fly and belt those high notes at the same time.

[jgph]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 5:35pm

good weekend was it then?

[mominator]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 5:37pm

Amen theatreguy. I was in one for Fiddler and all I can say is ouch!
B

Updated On: 5/20/04 at 05:37 PM

[iruvyou]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 6:35pm

I think one of those monkeys almose hit me during wicked and i was a bit dissapointed when idina was just lifted in the air and didn't go anywhere

[HunterFosterIsMyGod]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 6:38pm

that's nifty!

[Janki]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 7:34pm

I agree with Bertrande...and just wait until Chitty Chitty Bang Bang arrives on Broadway...if they can get a car to fly, why can't they do better with Idina...surely she is lighter than Chitty ( or at least I hope so)

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 7:50pm

I do agree that they could have made the flying effect better, but there is only so much you can do. There are probably many reasons why they did it the way they did.

Thanks for that link! I am going to subscribe to that magazine.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 8:36pm

No problem!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 10:29pm

In a somewhat related topic, how was the levitation scene done in Cats? I don't know exactly what was going on (I sort of fast-forwarded through most of the DVD) but you know the one...where the two cats are singing Memory or something and then the platform starts raising. How did they do that? I figured Wicked would do something like that. I was also disappointed Idina didn't "fly" into the audience. But I'd prefer her quality singing voice instead.

Updated On: 5/19/04 at 10:29 PM

[bythesword84]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 11:01pm

In Cats are you talking about the levitation at the very end? That was a large tire looking platform with a lot of smoke to cover the big metal gears that lifted it so far as I remember

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 5/19/04 at 11:09pm

It is a sort of "arm" that picks her up, not a platform.

[Gypsy2]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 6:11am

I don't really know if this counts, but last time I was at the stagedoor, it was about 10 minutes before the show ended cause I couldn't actually go to the show. So this guy came out and I started chatting with him and asked what he did in the show, and he goes "I pull wires to make the monkeys fly" or something like that. It was an intersting experience.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 6:14am

theatreguy, she didn't have to fly during the song but she could have flown away at the Act 1 curtain... also, there was a melting scene? all i remember was a curtain being drawn and a bit later, a happy scene... i didn't see any melting... and as for the bouncing monkeys, well....

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 11:50am

That's IT?? Sheesh. I'm kind of glad that I'm not the only one who thinks this show is a letdown. I got the soundtrack for Christmas and I wasn't thrilled with it, then I read the book and...well, if you've read the book, you know how wildly different the show is. This sweeps the Tonys, yet "Little Shop" gets a single nomination...it makes no sense, I tells ya...

Updated On: 5/20/04 at 11:50 AM

[NYUstud]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 12:01pm

Good question

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 12:12pm

so, I guess not everyone on this board is totally under Wicked's spell...LOL....(thank God)

[bythesword84]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 1:05pm

That whole doing the scene behind the curtain was probably the lamest thing I've ever seen. It bothers me so much every time I think about it...




And yes, if you sit on the side of the orchestra you can see the guy pulling the strings for the dragon so it would make sense that it would be the same for the monkeys.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 1:37pm

I know one thing. There were lots of legal things in Wicked about certain images. They did not have the rights to use images from the 1934 movie (i.e. Ruby slippers which did not appear in Baum's books, hour glasses and crystal balls). Melting scenes etc had to be carefully tap danced around.
The flying effect probably is the way it is because the elaborate moving set pieces would interfere with the tracks needed for a wire flying gag. An as anyone one can tell you, (who has been in a flying harness before) it is difficult to a) stay upright, b) breath c) let alone belt out a song.
I am sure it will be a lot easier to fly a car, seeing the car doesn't have to sing.

[JakeB]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 1:56pm

**If you think Chitty flies by magic, look away now** Basically, the car uses the same flying technique as the tyre in Cats, only on a much grander level.

On Elphaba's costume there is a hook which is connected to a metal arm, which is concealed by the big black cloth. Therefore she is not on a platform. The monkeys are hooked on just one cord, so they achieve the effect of bouncing much easier than harnesses. Their initial entrance is literally just sliding down a bungee rope - magic(!)

In Witches of Eastwick, as good as it was, the witches wore very obvious harnesses. But they did fly right over the audience, so they're excused.

But Wicked loses as far as flying goes IMO. Everytime Idina Menzel ran off stage with a broomstick - pretending to fly away - you could tell everyone sensed a cop-out in the effects department.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 2:32pm

-- On Elphaba's costume there is a hook which is connected to a metal arm, which is concealed by the big black cloth. Therefore she is not on a platform. --

If you sit in the first two rows (which I've done numerous times) you can see her standing on something. Whether it's a platform or a plank or what not. She's not dangling. It's up to her to make the illusion of flying.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 3:11pm

i understand about the moving sets being part of the issue... but even if Idina were to be pulled up into the flies, it would have been better than what the current staging is... same for the "flying" monkeys...

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 3:20pm

She is actually on a small plaform, much like the lip on a dolly, big enough for her feet and a bit to spare. The hook up "hook" or flange keeps her from tumbling off the platform.
Glinda too has a hook up for when she is in her Bubble. They don't want the Stars taking a dive. With Glinda you can see her being unhooked if you watch those around her bubble as she hits the floor, or just before she takes off.

[DefyingGravity2]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 4:10pm

Yeah, I've become conditioned by years of watching television that I expect any/all performances I see to have a CGI level of special effects. You see, TV has destroyed my brains ability to appreciate a simple-looking SFX and as one of the cloven-hoofed (hooved?) theater goers I can't see past this cheap effect and appreciate the woman (women) who have to be strung up on a daily basis while belting out a hi F. How dare they use a lift for Idina! For the money I paid I demand the same quality of SFX performed on that stage the same as the latest CGI movie!!! They could at least of had some people running around on stage with their hands shoved up some puppet's bums, now that IS a special effect!

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 4:46pm

The show itself really isn't about special effects. It is a show of relationships and perceptions (of Good and Evil). Yes the effects are there, I felt when I saw the show that they were what was needed and not more. Was I blown away? No. I did have a moment during Defying Gravity where I felt myself being awed.
I have to Agree with DefyingGravity2, we are spoiled, we want everything handed to us. What ever happened to willing suspention of disbelief? She had to fly, she had to sing, there weren't a lot of extras onstage at that point to discreetly connect her flying wires. What they came up with was an Adequate Solution
The Wicked Witch doesn't fly on wires. I am sure she is very happy with that, harnesses hurt chafe and pinch. I would much rather hear her blow me away with her belting then have her flown over my head singing from a restricted diaphram.

[beartrande]

Posted: 5/20/04 at 4:48pm

The flying effect in CCBB isn't that great, you can see the arm, covered in a black 'skirt'. But it does come out a bit from the stage as it flys up. It has been known to crash land though!!!

I loved Wicked when I finally got to see it on Friday night, so much so that I had to go back Saturday matinee! Yes, there are flaws, but that is also the case with some other shows. However there is far more to love and enjoy about the show than to detract from it for me.

For the flying, I do think something a little more impressive could have been done. The fact that Elphaba is standing upright is the main detractor here for me, and also that she starts to come back down before the Act One curtain has come down.

I didn't think of her other entrances as being a 'cop out' though.

With the hooks I think they have done a very good job, cos once Glinda is unhooked from the bubble you cannot see the hook at the back of her costume.

Some of the direction was a bit clunky in places, like standing still at the front to sing, and 'As Long As You're Mine' was a little awkward, but I do like that song.

The lighting effect in 'No Good Deed' where Elphaba becomes a 'normal' colour was very effective.

So please, please, please, bring the show to the West End! With maybe just a few very minor directing and staging tweaks along the way!