Kristens Last performance- Page 2

[NYadgal]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 3:05pm

I have tickets for Wednesday night (taking clients...again...), and have very mixed feelings about going.
Although I've seen the show numerous times, Sunday was such a special and unique experience. I'm not sure I'm ready to see it with the new team.

I'm sure it's going to be a challenge for Idina Menzel - but she's a pro - and maybe the fresh faces will give it a new energy!

We'll see...

[Phantess]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 3:25pm

Wow great reviews!! And I love the pictures they came out great!

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 3:33pm

This was theatre at it's BEST !!!! The atmosphere was electric..it was a once in a life time experience. Between the ad libs and tears from these performers it was a performance I will never forget !!!

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:04pm

whoa whoa whoa....aspiringguy, 'Eden's last show'. what?! she left?! please tell me that you are kidding.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:05pm

No, last show of her run, the run when Idina was absent. Sorry!

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:06pm

*sigh of relief* omg that had me sooo scared for a second. DON'T DO THAT!!! haha.

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:07pm

great reviews. Sounds emotional.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:07pm

...which begs the question - Does anyone know when Eden leaves Wicked to go to Brooklyn??

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:08pm

Sorry again, just found it sweet that Kristin was so emotional at Eden's last show of the run. (Or maybe just in character lol)

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:17pm

don't be sorry. it's not your fault.

[zoran912]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:21pm

Thanks so much for the reviews and pictures. This is making me really excited to see it on the 28th.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:25pm

It's really an amazing show Zoran, once you get past the weaknesses in the score...possibley the worst song "Wonderful" is enhanced in the show by the choreography so it really is generally very good. There is nothing like seeing "Defying Gravity" live. It is a very touching and very fun show.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:25pm

Thank You. Got Faklempt just reading. *snuffle*

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:30pm

That probably was Eden's last show. She won't be in much longer, and Idina never misses. Idina better be in on 8/15, and she better sing her best. Lol.

[zoran912]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 4:34pm

aspiringguy - I have been in love with the score for a good long time. I just haven't been able to make it up to NYC. It's too bad that I won't get to see Cheno, Norbert, or Joel. J-La will be absolutely stunning though. I'm absolutely sure of it.

sabrelady - Spatula time for you. If you don't get it, read the faklemped thread in the OT.

[NightLaughs]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 5:01pm

I was hoping to catch the show before the majority of the original cast left, but no such luck. Missed it by few days, can you believe it? So thank you so much for the reviews and pictures, they made my afternoon. :) It was almost as if I was there.... but not quite.

I'm very much looking forward to the show with the fresh cast as well, and I couldn't be more thrilled Idina will still be there!

Oh yeah- Why was I under the impression Joel Gray wasn't leaving until Idina did? What's with the change?

Updated On: 7/19/04 at 05:01 PM

[BernieG]

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

He got sick.

[WhatDoINeedWithLove?]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 5:12pm

wow, i definitly started crying reading THEGAISSILENT's review!

[Testing1232]

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

Awesome review !!! Thanks SOOOOOO much !!!

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 7:45pm

I was at the show yesterday as well so here's another review for everyone:

The audience was the most amazing, responsive audience I've ever seen. When Kristin came down in her bubble there was a standing ovation that must've lasted nearly five minutes. She got all teary and pulled a tissue out and started dabbing her eye with it. The music stopped and the audience just wouldn't sit down or stop clapping, so she pulled out a nail file and started filing her nails. When everyone finally sat down again Kristin goes "WOW! It's good to see me, isn't it? You can respond, that wasn't rhetorical!" The audience went nuts. Then at the end of the song she hit this insane high note that I've never heard her sing before. It gave me chills.
The audience was unbelievably responsive to all of the actors. Idina got a standing ovation on her entrance, and all of the leads got applause on their entrances (normally only Kristin, Idina, and Joel do). I noticed from the moment Idina came out onstage, she had tears in her eyes, and they were there for the rest of the show. It was so sweet.
Applause broke out and there was a standing ovation the second Idina hit the last note in "The Wizard and I." You could barely hear her finish the song, people were clapping and whooping so loud.
Norbert was having so much fun. The audience clapped for so long when he came out, he made a motion with his hand for everyone to stop so that the scene could continue. He and Kristin were hysterical when they were dancing together. Kristin kept imitating Norbert's moves, so he would start doing them all big and in her face and she would start laughing and screaming. It was hilarious. At one point they were supposed to be waltzing and instead they just stood there and boogied! The audience was going crazy.
Both girls cried during "Dancing Through Life" when they are doing their dance together and that really sad music is playing. It was very moving.
We all knew that Kristin would have to do something special for "Popular," and she did. At the part where she is supposed to show Idina how to toss her hair, she said something like "I've written this book, called 'How To Be Popular'" and she pulls a pink book out from under her pillow and starts flipping through it. She starts to read the "Top 10 Ways To Be Popular." I don't remember the order, or exactly what she said, but it went something like this:

#1: Shower every day. Maybe some of that green will come off!
#2: Deodorant, Elphie! No one likes a stinky witch.
#3: Wear clean undergarments. That's all I'm gonna say.
#4: Keep your bed clean, I think we've already done that…
#5: Keep your hair nice. We'll fix that later.
#6: Make sure you are always color-coordinated. (Kristin stares at Idina for a long time and then continues: hilarious.)
#7: Elphie, look at your posture! (Idina sits up straight)

Idina and the audience would start cracking up hysterically after each one. Finally, Kristin concluded the list with:

And the most important rule to be popular, is to always keep your beautiful smile. (At which point the whole audience goes "Awwwwww!" and Idina says "Thank you" really quietly and smiles with tears in her eyes.)

Idina also had a very sweet ad lib right before "One Short Day" when she is hugging Kristin.
Instead of saying "Come with me," Idina said "Stay with me." The whole audience hushed; they knew that wasn't the line, and something very sweet was about to happen. They just stood there hugging, and you could tell from the way Kristin had her face buried in Idina's shoulder that she was crying. Idina screwed up her face and said "I'm really going to miss you." Another big "Awwwwwwww…" from the audience. They broke out of their hug and Kristin stood there wiping her eyes. There was a little awkward pause while she was doing so, and Idina burst out with "Oz won't be the same without you!" at which both girls laughed along with the audience. Another awkward silence, and Idina goes "Hey, let's go to the Emerald City!" and Kristin simultaneously says "Let's go shopping!" The audience burst into laughter, and they ran back to centerstage for the song. So cute.
"Defying Gravity" was the best I had ever seen it. The belting at the end was PERFECT, beautiful, powerful, not a single faltering note. In the middle of the song when Idina sings to Kristin: "Unlimited, together we're unlimited, together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been," the look on her face was so genuine and sincere, you could tell she really meant it. It made Kristin cry, and she choked out her next line "If we work in tandem," causing Idina to giggle a little, and they were both very teary and giggly during the short little duet that followed. Kristin would frequently break off in tears, leaving Idina singing alone. At the end of the song, some one might've thought the theatre had exploded. The audience jumped to their feet and were screaming before the song was even over.
The second act was less energetic than the first. It's darker to begin with, but there were no ad libs, and every one seemed to be getting really sad as the show was drawing to a close. "As Long As You're Mine" was amazing. Norbert and Idina have great chemistry, and Idina got all choked up when she was saying her lines at the end of the song ("It's just…for the first time, I feel…wicked.").After it was all over they kissed for the longest I'd ever seen, and then hugged. Idina started crying again later in the scene when they were saying the lines:
"We will see each other again, won't we?"
"Elphaba, we will be together always."

"No Good Deed" blew me away tonight. I suppose it was because it was Norbert's final show, but Idina just got so passionate about it. At the end of the song she looked like she was about to cry.

There are no words to describe "For Good." Everyone knew, of course, that this would be the most emotional, sincere song of the evening, but it was unbelievable. Kristin was crying by the end of her solo at the beginning. She could barely get the words "…for good" out of her mouth, and she screwed up her face as soon as she was done. The audience all cheered for her. Then Idina started her solo. She started crying too, especially at the end when they're singing together. At the part where the two of them go into this huge duet at the end and they back away from each other, they backed away, but this time they held hands. That's not in the staging, and they've never done it before whenever I've seen it. It was so sweet. At the end of the song they were a mess vocally, because they were crying so hard. Idina completely trailed off, leaving Kristin alone, and she could barely hold the note because she was crying. I've never seen Idina so eager to hug Kristin after the song: she practically grabbed her before it was over. Their hug lasted five minutes, as did the standing ovation.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS...
When Elphaba "dies" and Glinda picks up her hat and is crying, you could literally see Kristin's tears splashing onto the stage. She was crying really hard for the rest of the show. "Finale" was so powerful. During her line: "I would like to try to be…Glinda the Good," it took her a long time to say it because she was trying so hard not to cry. When she finally finished she screwed up her face and the audience clapped for her again, like after her solo in "For Good." Idina also started to really lose it at the very very end when they're singing together for one last time.

The curtain call was very emotional. Kristin and Idina always hug each other after their bow, but this time Idina hugged Kristin so hard she lifted her off the ground and Kristin wrapped her legs around her. It looked like a dance or something. When Idina put Kristin back on the ground Kristin was laughing hysterically. Kristin and Norbert then took several bows together, and Joel came out onstage (he did not perform in the show, in case any one was wondering). So he came out onstage looking very nice in a tuxedo, and the audience all cheered. The crew brought out two HUGE bouquets of flowers for Kristin and Norbert, and then Idina gave one to Joel. She did this cute little cut-off with her hands and the orchestra stopped playing abruptly. She kept trying to get the audience's attention, but it took awhile because they wouldn't stop applauding. Finally they stopped, and she began her speech. She started off with, "Well…in case any of you out there didn't know (audience laughs), this is their last show (she gestures to Kristin and Norbert), so…surprise!" She made the rest of her speech in tears, starting out with a funny comment: "This is a very sad night for me, I'm losing my father, my lover, and my best friend," and on the last few words she started laughing through tears along with the audience. She made an individual speech for each Norbert, Kristin, and Joel. I don't remember exactly what she said for Norbert, but she said something about how supportive and talented he was. For Joel she mentioned what a highlight of her life it was to perform onstage with Joel Grey, and how much of a father and mentor he was to her and Kristin and how much they had learned from him. For Kristin, whom she did last, she started by saying that she didn't know WHAT to say, then said that there would never be another Kristin Chenoweth (huge applause from the audience), and that Kristin had been with the project for the longest of any one and Idina wouldn't be where she was if it weren't for her. They all bowed together a thousand times and cried a lot, then finally starting backing up as the music started playing again. Kristin was SOBBING throughout the entire curtain call.

It was an AMAZING show, the best I've ever seen it. It was clear that this cast cares about each other SO much, and the chemistry between Kristin and Idina was unbelievable. I think pretty much EVERYBODY cried during For Good and the Finale. JLT has some big shoes to fill...

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 7:56pm

It's sounds like it was a really great show. I'm so excited to see the new cast members though...especially JLT and George Hearn.

P.S. NYCBabe, WHERE have you been?

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 7:58pm

I've been off at arts camp for a month, but I'm baaaaack! :) 889 more emails to check!

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 8:12pm

YAY. Your wit when dealing with crazy, obsessive, screaming thirteen year olds (along with those who act 13) was missed.

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 8:15pm

Awwww I hope I didn't miss much! WATCH OUT KIDS!

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 7/19/04 at 8:57pm

What an amazing performance. I wish I could've been there...