Laura Bell Bundy & WICKED

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 1:48pm

Did anyone see Miss Bundy while she was understudying Kristin as G(a)linda? Id love to hear how she was...I heard she doesnt have an opera voice so It'd be interesting to hear how she pulled it off.

[the.hard.part]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 1:52pm

I saw her, and thought she was very good, I didn't see Kristin or Jennifer to compare though

[grownupgroupie]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 2:02pm

I saw LBB first, then Kristin, then LBB again.

Actually, when I first saw it in late January it was apparently her first time coming on for Kristin and in hindsight that makes sense--her energy and chemistry with the cast were just great...palpable excitement.

Of COURSE no one can compare to Kristin....and by the time I saw Laura the 2nd time I knew the OCR by heart and had also seen Kristin. That said, I thought she did everything an excellent understudy/stand-by should. Very good with all the Kristin-isms, solid characterization in general, wasn't bad at all on the operatic parts (though didn't go up for that big note on I couldn't be happier/thank goodness.) And she didn't QUITE nail the yodel on popular....though I didn't know this at the time and didn't notice it until after I'd seen Kristin.

My only real comment isn't on her acting or vocal technique....just that it was clear to me that one was 23 and one was 36. As charming and lovely as I thought LBB was (and she really did pull it off and I understand why she was offered the role, however briefly), she didn't have the same depth of maturity. Even though they're supposed to be college students, there is a SERIOUS transformation arc for Glinda by the end of the show where she has to face sacrifice and sadness head-on and I thought Kristin had more guts/strength with that whereas LBB's Glinda seemed a little less empowered, a little more deflated.

So there's my $.02 Updated On: 10/17/04 at 02:02 PM

[shesings]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 2:11pm

I saw her, and actually went backstage afterwards. I wasn't really that impressed. It was ok, but she didn't take on Glinda at all. People have been raving about JLT b/c she made the role her own. LBB was basically just playing Kristin playing Glinda, and really nobody but Kristin can pull off the "kristinisms" - its just not funny or clever otherwise. She did a nice copycat version, but that was basically all it was to me. It would have been interesting to see her put a little of her own ideas into the role. They are big shoes to fill and she did a pretty good job. It just was so un-original.

(I won't even get in to the backstage experience ...)

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 2:12pm

I wanna hear the experience!!

[Kelliexo90]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 2:16pm

I wanna hear it too!

[grownupgroupie]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 2:17pm

Point taken.

That's the problem of being an US or stand-by...the role isn't yours to make your own. Your job is to make the same choices as the actor in the role. The leeway just isn't there, period. Until a replacement (like JLT) comes in, the job is to play the lead playing the role.

Of course there will be exceptions, but that's the job. Same thing with Linda Muggleston doing "Donna-isms" in WT.

All that said, I think one who hadn't seen Kristin in Wicked wouldn't miss her if they didn't know any better. The show holds up either way. When I saw LBB the last time, I DID know better, having seen Kristin...but winning the lottery and sitting in the front row kind of mitigated any possible disappointment:)

p.s. I want to hear it too! Updated On: 10/17/04 at 02:17 PM

[shesings]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 2:57pm

I thought that Eden had a little different take on Elphaba. I don't think you should ever have to totally copy any actor in a role. Keeping the role similar, and being a carbon copy are two different things.

edit: i removed my backstage story - its just not the nicest and not necesary. i thought her actions were wrong, but there is no point in me following suit Updated On: 10/17/04 at 02:57 PM

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 3:03pm

I saw LBB in the second half of wicked (Kristin left during intermission). I thought she was pretty good but i do prefer Kristin. My parents thought LBB was much better than kristin. :-P

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 3:50pm

I saw Laura and thought she was excellent. At my performance, she hit the "Thank Goodness" note.

[starfromafar]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 4:01pm

I am still waiting for someone to tell us how the Shameless show was! The shameless thread that was posted a while back asking for reviews never got any response from those who had seen the show!!

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 7:03pm

I saw both Laura Bell Bundy and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. Kristin just IS Glinda. She sings it beautifully, her comic timing is right on, she's very camp-y but has her touching moments. She's obviously very confident and secure in her abilities. Great presence. Also, her and Idina work fabulously together. She just strikes all the right chords.

Laura tried to make Glinda more human, which both works and doesn't. For instance, when she gives Elphaba the ugly hat, you can tell Laura's Glinda felt bad about it from the start, that she almost felt pressured into giving it to her because it was expected of her. Her monologue at the end ("I would like to try to be Glinda . . . the good") was very solid though. It was interesting, but she didn't make some of the best acting choices because she was trying not to do Kristin's Glinda while doing it at the same time. She rushed some of the dialogue and some of the jokes got lost. She has a lot less presence, which was to be expected I suppose. Her chemistry with the cast wasn't as strong. She also struggled a decent amount with the score. Kristin is well trained and it shows. Laura has problems singing in her upper register - she hit the Thank Goodness note but had trouble with pop-yoo-HOO-lar. While I enjoyed her, I didn't feel she was worth raving or ranting about either way. Updated On: 10/17/04 at 07:03 PM

[wicked4life51]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 7:14pm

i saw kristin twice then laura once and to compare my answer is that yes laura is very funny, but she doesent compare to kristin at all

[shesings]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 10:45pm

you know what? Kris2 made me remember that I was impressed with Laura's dramatic portion of her portrayl of Glinda. While I thought her comedy was weak, I was very touched by her more serious aspect. In that regard I think she was very strong.

[Kris2]

Posted: 10/17/04 at 11:18pm

Yes, I really liked her serious monologue at the end. She was like breaking down at the end but trying to prevent herself from crying, "::choking back tears:: I would like to try to be ::sob:: Glinda ::sob:: the good." It was nice. She shows Glinda's pain at losing Elphaba and Fiyero and having to assume power over the wizard she had faith in. That it was time for her to change and such. Her emotions belie her old self, but trying to hold it back was her starting to act as a leader. Stuff like that. It was an interesting choice.

But you're right that her comedy was weaker. I was with people who just went, "Oh that blond girl is so stupid!" Not funny, but dumb in a mildly amusing way. It also takes a bit away from the arc of the character if she plays her a bit more serious from the start. I liked her lots better as Amber in Hairspray. She really couldn't touch Kristin's Glinda, but that may not be her fault. However, I haven't see JLT yet.

I really wish that LBB had been a soprano though. It was obvious to me that she was not in No One Mourns the Wicked and Thank Goodness. Her voice didn't come off that strong and I could tell she was struggling. It wasn't horrible or anything, it just wasn't easy for her. So she didn't really pull off the singing imo. I did like her well enough though ::shrug::