Kristin Chenoweth to leave WICKED July 18th — Page 5

I think Sara Gettelfinger should take over. She took over Jane Krakowski's part in Nine. Shes great and would do a grat job!

I am always more than happy to be lumped in a group with Namo, so thanks for the complement Ball.

Since I lack class and my wit and sarcasm are always lost on the witty/classy/mature/world weary/discerning/autuers on this board, then allow me to point out the very obvious from one who has "nothing better to do than sit on this board all day and post"....Balladeer sweetie, we know you've been at my throat all along, in your ever so classy,humble, sensitive "artistic" way, but shall we so base as to count our respective number of posts and see who has more time on his hands? .

I'll never apologize for not following the masses and liking someone that I'm *supposed* to.

When I said people "in the know" I was referring to those on this board who know a bit more about a *situation* than what side of the theater someone comes out of in order to avoid autograph hounds.

I don't get the theory that anyone who does not like "Christian" is "bitter and jealous"..

WHY?

I have witnessed that woman take every song from "A spoonful of sugar" to "His love makes me beautiful" and DESTROY the very essence of each song..…. By mugging, weird phrasing and adding high notes that are inappropriate to the song…

Don’t get me wrong, I love high notes as much as the next gay guy…. and when the interpolated high notes are combined with a sense of musicianship and a sense of the dramatic or are used in a creative way……….( Callas in the Mexico City “Aida”…Whitney in anything)……well….

How can I explain this?

I love Jazz singing and I love when Sarah Vaughn would take any song and meld it to her own ideals and her own voice but …

And this is a big but…

She was still trying to, and I paraphrase Maria Callas, “serve the composer”. Vaughn was maintaining the “line” of the song and the intent of the song, no matter how loopy her vocal meanderings might have been.

In fact, I dare say, Sarah could take a piece of claptrap like “Polka dots and Moonbeams” and make you fall over yourself trying to hit the Cd player to repeat it…

That is not only serving the composer but making the composer a better one than he really is.

Christian serves no one but herself.

When one feels the need to add a high B flat to a song from Mary Poppins, IN FRONT OF Julie Andrews, who created the song and felt no need to add a high B flat herself, then you are a show off and serving no one but yourself.

Updated On: 4/16/04 at 10:32 AM

Al Dente - you can count all the posts you want. And yes, I have been constantly responding to your posts, because you are one of the few posters here who constantly post negatively. You see it as sarcasm and wit, I see it as being obnoxious. Maybe the reason I respond to you is because your statements create such passionate feelings that I feel to compelled to respond to them often.


Anth - I see the point to you are trying to make, but how do you know that Schwartz didn't approve of her interpolating the ending of "Thank Goodness"...I'm sure if he had dissaproved, especially since this has been happening AFTER previews, it would have been cut and she would have been told to stop doing it. So obviously, he thinks it adds a nice touch. And it really doesn't go against the purpose of the scene. That is the nice thing about creating a role in a musical - an individual actor or actress can add ornaments, or customize a song/compostion to their comfort and it perfectly acceptable. It would be interesting to see if that E above High C would be included in the vocal selections whenever they do come out. Then this whole issue should be closed.

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Updated On: 4/16/04 at 10:50 AM

i, for one, am sad to see her go. I do tend to agree with some of the more negative posts here. but all i know is that when i sit in the theatre and watch her perform i have absolutely no complaints and love her comedic timing and voice (i think it fits the role). I dont know what type of person that makes me! I do however, feel very disappointed in her professionalism while doing this show. She has missed ALOT of performances and it seems that when she IS there that she breaks character all the time. I saw it 3 times so far, and lucky enough to see the two ladies perform all 3x.

Maybe this is a good thing, though i wish she would stay a bit longer with the show, because if she leaves all the negative posts about her and WICKED may cease. But then again, we might get some people saying how the replacement is nothing compared to her. I guess you can just never satisfy people.

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I saw Wicked last November and enjoyed the performances of both Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. Perhaps, Greg Maguire's original book dealt mainly with the character of Elphaba. No matter - when written for the musical stage, Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman, and Joe Mantello obviously envisioned the storyline being more compelling as one about the witcheS(plural) of Oz, and not just focusing the "green one". I'm sure that Idina and Kristin were chosen for their roles because of their talent AND because they bring such contrasting skill sets to their very different characters. Personally, I enjoyed this being a story about BOTH witches and their individual and shared character development. I enjoyed the way Idina and Kristin played against each other's strengths and Wicked was a stronger overall show because it had 2 powerful, although very different female leads. I believe that Kristin delivers the type of performance that Mr. Mantello expects from her. Can Kristin be show-offy at times? Sure - but that's what the character of Galinda requires and Kristin has the talent, musicianship, and comedic timing to deliver. Idina has raw power, control, and a style all her own that helps her create a compelling Elphaba. I, for one, am glad that both actresses were cast in this show. Wicked has been a moneymaker on Broadway and hopefully it's success- propelled by the performances of Kristin and Idina (along with Carole Shelley, Joel Grey, Michele Federer, Chris Fitzgerald, Norbert Butz...) will help draw more people to the art of musical theater. I wish Kristin all the best in her future endeavors.

Voiceanth- Okay, I get it if you don't like her singing style. That's perfectly valid. But why the derogatory nickname? (Well derogatory in intent; evidently you think being called Christian is some kind of insult.) It takes away from the perfectly good content of your post, making it seem like spite against Chenoweth the person rather than valid criticism of Chenoweth the performer.

Your whole post was trying to refute the "bitter and jealous" argument and show that you actually hate Chenoweth's singing. What you said succeeded in doing that. The stupid nickname took away its effectiveness.

pssssst

Voiceanth is jealous of me.

Cause I'm young.

But as I'm not a Broadway performer, I still fit the bill.

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Anthony,

Is that your version of sarcasm? Cause it's so 80's gay. Not like I know...I was just a babe in the 80's.

You know who I'm jealous of? Women who want their flowers to match their drapes to match their rug to match their paint job to match their furniture to match their bush.

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Guess what you find if you look behind Voiceanth's ears!

Hospital corners.

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so, kristen chenoweth is going to be in a movie musical called Asphalt Beach... apparently Andrew Lippa is writing 8 songs for the film... and (unfortunately opening the door for MORE kristen bashing) she will be playing a spoiled rich girl...

Updated On: 4/16/04 at 02:49 PM

Thankfully.

has something to do with a rivalry at a catholic school...