Julia Murney in Wicked.....huge disappointment

....So I live in Cali and I went to NYC a couple weeks ago and saw 5 shows in 4 nights and one of them was Wicked which I saw two years ago when Shoshana played Elphaba, and I have to say I was extremely disappointed with Julia's performance. I sounded like she was straining all night. It might have been that she was just having an off night or she was tired but honestly it was quite a difference after seeing Shoshana and of course hearing Idina on the OBCR. Has anyone else felt the same after seeing her perform?

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I do hate to say this, but I didn't like her terribly much compared to other Elphie's I've seen. She has a nasily voice, which doesn't work in my opinion. I have friends who share my opinions on her as well. I think they should bring in Dee Roscioli from the Chicago cast. She is amazing.

i guess she could have just been tired because im pretty sure it was a night they had a matinee ealier that day. I just remember Shoshana making it look so easy and she was just so flawless in everything and although Julia might have been flawless it just look as though she had to work harder at it and i also noticed she changed some of the intervals in the songs so she didnt go as high as Idina does in the recording, but all this could have just been because she was tired from the matinee or maybe she was sick....who knows......just my opinion

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Wow, that's a shame. Julia Murney is the only actress to have actually made me notice that Elphaba actually has an arc to her character.

Julia Murney sounds like a goat.

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Well I didn't like her very much either but I've only seen her once. Comparing her to a goat might be slightly harsh, however I found her vibrato annoying. I like Dee even less, though, so...

Yeah, no offense to Dee, but she wasn't too great either on the "Taste of Chicago" thing.

Wow, that's a shame. Julia Murney is the only actress to have actually made me notice that Elphaba actually has an arc to her character.

I totally agree. Plus, her voice is pure heaven.

Julia Murney sounds like a goat.

Original. Really.

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Julia does a really nice job in the role; she's been one of my favorite performers for years now. I think she has a more...mature vibe about her that makes her vastly different from most of the others who've played this role, and I think it throws a lot of people off.

However, as much as I love Julia, her performance wasn't even in the same league as Idina's.

Updated On: 7/26/07 at 01:02 AM

i thought Julia Murney was amaaaazing.....she must be sick or something., stinks that it kinda ruined wicked for u this time Why didn't she let lisa do it?, who is also awesome from what i've heard.

Popular- ya those were honestly the only things I was disappointed with on this trip all the other shows that i saw i loved and was pleasently surprised with all the performances and i know there are people that love those shows and actors as much as I do. I only started this thread because I was curious to see if anyone felt the same about this specific topic

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I personally love Julia. She completely got Elphaba. She was true to the tough edge the character has in the book, but managed to convey that the toughness was just a front and that she "had heart" (for lack of a better phrase). And I've always loved her voice. Some people don't like Julia's toughness; they'd rather see more of her vulnerable side like Idina. (That's just something I've heard. I never got to see Idina.)

I've only seen clips of Shoshana, but I get the general sense that she cares more about the riffs than the character. She seemed to be "singing to impress, not to express," which my voice teacher yells at me for frequently. She's not bad, she just focuses on the singing more than the acting. I prefer someone who focuses more on the acting so long as they can still sing it well (as Julia can).

i saw Julia a few months ago. It was our first time seeing Wicked. Before that I had only seen video footage of Idina and a few of the other Elphaba's. So of course it's hard for me to say for sure since i've only seen other elphaba's on video... however... Julia was pretty much the only thing that stuck with me after the show. I thought she was incredible.

My wife even said to me afterwards that absed on the other Elphaba's she's seen, she thought Julia was by far the best. I had to agree.

Maybe she had an off night when you went? i hope you still had a good time... as for me, i didnt care for the show at all. it was cute... but that was all. just felt... cute. but i'm glad i saw it.