I've Never Seen Wicked ever -- need advice

[Copperfield2]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 1:56pm

I go to the theater all the time but I've never seen Wicked and plan to finally see it in early 2012. Do lovers of Wicked think the current cast on Broadway is good or should I wait for another cast change?

None of my friends believe me that I haven't seen it but after skipping the show early on I just never wanted to go. But now I think it's time.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 1:59pm

The current Broadway cast is pretty solid. Jackie Burns as Elphaba has a very powerful voice and great acting chops and Chandra Schwartz as Glinda is also a very sturdy Glinda.
But if you by some chance get the standby for Jackie, Donna Vivino, you will also be in for a huge treat. She played the role full time on tour for 2 years and is brilliant.

[threetwoone]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 2:12pm

I agree on the note about Donna Vivino. She is spectacular if you catch her. I also enjoyed Richard Blake as Fiyero. However, having seen Chandra Schwartz on tour once, I can say she is the worst Glinda I have ever seen (out of 8 or so). Maybe I just saw a bad performance, but I saw no reason for her to be cast in the role at all. Just terrible. This is coming from someone who's usually open minded and doesn't like ragging on performers because I have respect for all of them for getting where they are, but she just was not good. It saddened me that she was the first Glinda my girlfriend got to see live.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 3:08pm

At the risk of being chided by the fervent fans, I really think that it has hardy made a difference since the original cast left. The show is a machine.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 3:19pm

^ It really is a machine. But they do a great job at filling the roles with talented women. Sure some may not be a favorite on these boards but they all prove to be capable of making these roles their own.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 3:28pm

I saw the 3 current principals (Burns, Schwartz, and Blake) in the national company last year, they're quite good.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 5:52pm

I've seen it once (Los Angeles production, 2007) and have never listened to the cast album. I was disappointed and nodded off a few times during the second act. I did think it was a very nice show to look at and the dramatic tension released in the first act finale was more than I expected. My memory of the late second act is very, very fragmented as I kept nodding off. I was really surprised that I kept doing so because I'm not known for that and I wasn't sleep deprived. As a result, the story is a tangled mess in my head and all I remember is the audience making a big deal out of Elphaba emerging from some trap door in the stage--I still don't know why as I've never bothered to find out.

Obviously, I've been exposed to a bit more of the show since then but not much. I still am mostly unfamiliar with the majority of the score and have yet to really know what--besides "OMG-DIVA" riffs and belting--is so "incredible" about it.

I was extremely confused by that Morrible woman being a villain at the end and the ensuing "Hooray! Happy ending-shows-over-lets-go-home" finale.

The mechanical dragon has, once again, been mounted atop the Pantages Theatre stage here in L.A., and I count my first viewing as just an odd experience. Apart from all the aforementioned, the wackjob Britney Spears was at attendance at the performance I saw, seated a few rows ahead and wearing a big, floppy hat, oversized sunglasses, pink wig, and in super high heels that made her appear to be tiptoeing down the aisle when she distractedly decided to leave 30 min. into the first act. The high-on cocaine audience screeching in my ear didn't help either, but did act as a sort of crude alarm when I'd slip into slumber during act 2.

I think I need to give this thing a second chance, do you? LOL.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 5:57pm

Haha perhaps. Don't get me wrong...the book does have some issues but IMO, the show is very strong in both the book/score elements. Some on here would disagree and they are more then welcomed to. That is what is so beautiful about theater...we all have different tastes. If you do by some chance go and see it again, go in there with an open mind. If you walk out feeling like you don't get the hype...there ya go. The show does not appeal to you. If you walk out feeling great about the experience...then yay. Either way, you saw a musical, you gave it a chance. No harm no foul. Again...that is what is so great about musical theater.

[steven22]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 8:58pm

My advice: See it with Jackie Burns as Elphaba.

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 9:09pm

Steven-That's great advice. She's the best Elphaba I've seen since Idina Menzel (and I prefer Jackie's voice and think her acting is as good). She's really, really good.

[musikman]

Posted: 11/20/11 at 9:22pm

My aunt has seen Wicked various times since it has opened. She saw it recently and said it was the best cast she has seen so far.

[Copperfield2]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:37am

Thanks for the responses. I will look for Jackie Burns. But I don't know about Schwartz. Maybe I'll catch the show on tour. But I tend to like to see shows in New York.

[threetwoone]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:56am

I'd say that the performance Jackie gives would outweigh the bad performance Chandra might give. I saw Chandra two weeks after she first started in the role in 2009, so two years later she must have improved a bit. See it in New York if you want to see it and have the chance.

[Copperfield2]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:58am

Is Jackie Burns in the show for the next few months?

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 11:35am

Count yourself amongst the blessed who have never seen Wicked. I saw the original and left after the first act. IMO, one of the most god-awful things I've endured in almost 60 years of theatregoing.

[PopAria]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:04pm

I went for my first time in August and it was an understudy for elphaba. She was soo good though. And Glinda was so funny too. I hated Fyero he sang off-pitch a lot, but was cute.

Updated On: 11/21/11 at 12:04 PM

[ECahill84]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:06pm

Yes, Jackie will be there until the middle of 2012, at least.

[steven22]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:29pm

PopAria,

If you saw WICKED on broadway, you saw Stephanie Torns. She's a fantastic Elphaba.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:30pm

I agree with Scarywarwhol. I loved Wicked with the OBC. After they left, the show became boring and the leads have been more or less interchangeable. It goes to show how weak the piece is if it can only work with one cast. Just my opinion.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 12:52pm

Really? I think the show is just as polished/great as the day it opened. Love how a piece can polarize people so much haha

[PopAria]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 3:06pm

It was good. Seeing it on Broadway was more amazing than I thought it'd be.

That score is so effing amazing, too. I mean, I had heard the OBCR many a times and thought it was great... but seeing it on stage you get to experience about 20x more things at once.

I love the way it ends with the "Wicked!" and the penultimate chord being so unsettled and in-your-face and then it resolves and it screams for applause... Love it.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 4:04pm

^I agree. I mean..a lot of people say the score is awful. Hell they are entitled to their opinion. But simple fact is, a huge amount of people love it because it connects on a deep level. Sure it has some odd lyrics but for Pete's Sake...it's the Land of Oz haha.
I think the show really is a very strong musical piece with a superb score and a witty book. It has its flaws but I think the good outweighs the bad ten fold.
But that isn't to say I'm not a huge fan of some "traditionally loved' musicals either. For example, my second favorite musical happens to be Follies. Two completely different shows but both connected on a very personal level with me and made me fall in love with them.

[PopAria]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 7:13pm

Ugh, I'd love to accompany everyone in their love for follies, but I have yet to see it.

As far as Wicked, it was very cute and smart and creative. Definitely not disappointing.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 8:48pm

In one word "overrated"

I enjoyed any Wildhorn musical far more than this.

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 11/21/11 at 11:38pm

I saw the show when the tour stopped in New Orleans, and we got Donna Vivino as our Elphaba. She was absolutely amazing. My friend (who was a DIEHARD fan of the original cast because of the recording) was amazed as well. And no, it's not the best show ever, by any means. But an enjoyable, fun night at the theatre? Yes, it is.