Is Wicked the New Cats?
Is Wicked the New Cats?
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
JsnWse
Stand-by Joined: 6/25/06
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#2re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 5:59pm
Thank you, whoever-you-are, yes, I am.
Do you not see the parallels?
It looks like Wicked will last nearly forever, just as Cats did, for one thing.
#3re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:03pmIt looked that way for The Producers, too...
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#4re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:05pmThe Producers did not have the teenage girl demographic.
JustABroadwaybaby2
Broadway Star Joined: 4/6/06
#5re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:05pmBut you can understand Wicked a little more than Cats. Wicked will run forever, then run into whatever problem it will run into, and close, like Cats. I hope.
"I'm thinking about how if you took the W in
answer, and the H in ghost, and the extra A in aardvark, and the T in listen, you could keep saying WHAT but no one would ever hear you because the whole word would be silent."
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BroadwaySinger2
Leading Actor Joined: 4/12/07
#6re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:07pmWicked is just going to burn out sooner than Cats did. Updated On: 4/22/07 at 06:07 PM
#7re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:09pmLinda Balgord will be Elphaba when it closes?
-Benjamin
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
#8re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:11pmWicked has a plot and is just a little bit smarter than Cats, which probably isn't working in its favor in regards to keeping it open as long as Cats. The non-English speaking tourists kept Cats open. I read this in the a book somewhere. Its name escapes me, but it was brilliant- Cats was the show for the tired Japanese businessman.
#9re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:14pmThing about Wicked is if it ever starts to slump its kinda hard to stunt cast, because the 2 leads are pretty hard to sing
#10re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:15pmsing? who said anything about singing? don't they just scream on pitch? (i use the term "on pitch" loosely)
#11re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 6:15pmBut CATS never had to stunt cast. That show ran on name alone.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
JsnWse
Stand-by Joined: 6/25/06
#12re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:37pm
One of my pet peeves (forgive the pun) is when people say that Cats does not have a plot.
It indeed does- It's thin, but it's there.
Munkustrap states the plot AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW in the "Invitation to the Jellicle Ball". Maybe you just weren't paying attention.
Munkstrap:
Jellicle cats meet once a year
at the Jellicle Ball where we all Rejoice
And the jellicle leader will soon appear
and make what is known as the Jellicle Choice
when Old Deuteronomy just before dawn
(with a silence you feel you can cut with a knife)
Announces the Cat who can now be reborn
And come back, to a different Jellicle Life
For waiting up there is the Heavyside Layer
with wonders one Jellicle only will see
And Jellicles ask, because Jellicles dare
Who will it be? Who will it be?
And then, they go into all of the individual numbers that showcase each Cat who has a chance to be chosen. (The Old Gumbie Cat, Rum Tum Tugger, Skimbleshanks, etc.)
At the end of the show, Grizabella is chosen, and she goes to the Heavyside Layer.
The plot is thin, and a little strange, but it's certainly there. I'm not saying that the Cat's plot is better than Wicked's, but Cats had an artistic flair that was unlike any show on Broadway at the time.
It is solely a dance show (i'm stating the obvious I know), but as they say: Dance is the Universal Language, which is why Tourists from all over the country who did not understand English (but wanted the experience of a Broadway show), would shell out Top Dollar for a ticket. Which in turn, kept the show running for many, many, years.
This is why I would have to say that Wicked is not the new Cats.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#13re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:39pm
Wicked, while not perfect, is head and shoulders over Cats in every way.
Why Cats ran as long as it did will remain one of the great mysteries of life .
Poster Emeritus
JsnWse
Stand-by Joined: 6/25/06
#14re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:46pmMr Roxy, Expose yourself to as much theater as you can, and you will then be aware of why Cats will remain one of the most successful Broadway Shows in Musical Theater History.
#15re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:47pm
Because it's populist trash?
"You're the worst thing to happen to musical theatre since Andrew Lloyd Webber!" --Family Guy
"Shut up! It's been 29 years!!!" --the incomparable Patti LuPone in her MUCH DESERVED Tony acceptance speech for Gypsy.
Kitzy's Avatar du Jour: Kitzy as Little Red Ridinghood in her college's production of "Into the Woods"
"Shut up! It's been 29 years!!!" --the incomparable Patti LuPone in her MUCH DESERVED Tony acceptance speech for Gypsy.
Kitzy's Avatar du Jour: Kitzy as Little Red Ridinghood in her college's production of "Into the Woods"
#16re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:49pmCATS was sucessful because it was a show you didn't have to follow to closely or speak English to enjoy. It was a perfect tourist show. That's why it succeded. (This isn't a knock at the show, I like it.)
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#17re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:49pm
I saw it & I am still wondering why today
Cats goes on & on & Follies flops. Please explain that one
Poster Emeritus
JustABroadwaybaby2
Broadway Star Joined: 4/6/06
#18re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:51pm
jv92- I have the book too, it is incredible. It's called Broadway Musicals: The 101 greatest shows of all time. They also said this:
"Postmenopausal Matinee Lady A: Have you seen CATS?
Lady B: No...
Lady A: Well, I'll tell you what happens. There's a bunch of cats, and one of them is real sick adn tired. So, they put on a show to cheer her up. Then, they put her on a tire and shoot her through a roof."
"I'm thinking about how if you took the W in
answer, and the H in ghost, and the extra A in aardvark, and the T in listen, you could keep saying WHAT but no one would ever hear you because the whole word would be silent."
Please support BC/EFA at goodsearch.com!
Search for anything, and your charity will get a cent!
Updated On: 4/22/07 at 07:51 PM
#19re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 7:54pmWicked is easily stunt cast in its featured roles: The Wizard, Madame Morrible, and even Fiero are not difficult to see at all.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird
Lizzya9
Broadway Star Joined: 10/14/06
#20re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 8:00pmI believe so. people that don't know the slightest thing about musical theatre know Wicked. I really do believe it will go down in history along with Oklahoma, Showboat, A Chorus Line, Cats, Phantom, etc.
#21re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 8:04pm
Wicked will go down is history with Okahoma! and ACL?
Ok...
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#22re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 8:13pm
I actually find Cats charming and a bit of an unfair target but:
"One of my pet peeves (forgive the pun) is when people say that Cats does not have a plot.
It indeed does- It's thin, but it's there. "
True but I think more to the point is it doesn't matter if or that it has such a feeble plot--the plot that is there is one that I'd say 80% (serious) of those who see it are clueless about. Even my mom who liked it cuz of the dancing but is hardly a theatre newbie didn't catch on to ANY of the plot...
Lizzy where do you live? In Montreal and Vancouver Wicked isn't a name of a musical people recognize the way they do Oklahoma, or now Chicago or whatever--AT ALL. It's just not a known show to non theatre people whatsoever.
#23re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 8:21pm'cause they both smell like a dirty litter box..?
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#24re: Is Wicked the New Cats?
Posted: 4/22/07 at 8:22pmWicked is WAY better than Cats. Sorry, but I hated everything about Cats. If there is a plot to Cats, which I obviously did not follow, what is the central dramatic question in CATS? And what is the question that hangs on the end of Act 1 that will make me want to go back and see what happens?
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