#1
Posted: 7/30/05 at 8:55pm
This is not a review: My opinion of the actors and their performance.
It was on July 24th...I got free seats sort of. The house manager let us sit in the aisle in the mezz.
There were 3 understudies in: Saycon for Elphaba, Jerad for Fiyero and Stacie for Nessa.
Maybe it was just the understudies, but it seems like the show has really gotten a lot worse. It's not in good shape.
First off-the worst: Rue as Madame Morrible: She takes the cake for the worst voice I've ever heard on stage. This includes middle school productions of shows. Even when she was just talking, her voice sounded terrible. I try to be as open-minded as I can with shows-and seeing how much I love Wicked...she has to be pretty awful for me to give a bad review. I was laughing my arse off at Megan's impression of Rue in the line "My personal opinion is you do not have what it takes..."
Jerad as Fiyero-He had an OK voice. Better than Joey McIntyre...but I would have preferred David to him. Jerad made Fiyero come off as being kind of gay. It was hard to believe he was in a relationship with Glinda. Other than that, he was alright. He just wasn't convincing in the role. (Please note: the last thing I am is against gays. haha)
Stacie as Nessarose-I caught Stacie in March as Glinda. I thought she did very well in her first performance. She was great in this performance as well. She wasn't as strong as Michelle, but she hasn't had as much experience in the role, so it's understandable. She was still amazing. I'd love to see her as the next Glinda or Nessa.
Saycon as Elphaba-She seemed kind of reserved...not as a character-as an actress. Not what you want. Her voice was weak when she wasn't belting. When she did belt though, she was amazing. I've heard some terrible things about her, and some of them are true, but she still did well.
Megan as Glinda: It was a tough crowd...NO entrance applause for her. Even though she hasn't had any other Broadway credits, I think the leads should always get entrance applause anyway. As I said, I never got to see JLT in the part live... I saw Stacie in the part. Everyone has been right when they said that Megan is a very "bubbly" Glinda. She does well with the part. Her 'Popular' was hilarious, as it always is. It's hard to go wrong with that song. I wish she was just a little bit snobbier...other than that, I loved her in the part. If this is her Broadway debut, she'll be on to bigger and better things....hopefully.
Ben as The Wizard-his voice wasn't as good as Joel Grey's, but he definitely brought life to the role of the Wizard. Not a whole lot more to say...he did well.
Jeffrey as Boq-He has improved so much since March. I could not STAND him in the role when I saw it last. He just bothered me. The things he tried to do to seperate Glinda and Fiyero weren't funny. Everything else he did was just annoying, but he has improved a lot. I actually enjoyed his performance.
This was William Youman's final performance in Wicked (for a while, atleast). He has such a small part, but he still did well with it. I hope he goes on to bigger and better things.
I think that's all. The show isn't as strong as the OBC (obviously). I hope they get some new leads in. Especially for Rue. Anyone know how long her contract is for? Carole just made that part. I wish she'd come back.
How do you feel about the current cast?
It was on July 24th...I got free seats sort of. The house manager let us sit in the aisle in the mezz.
There were 3 understudies in: Saycon for Elphaba, Jerad for Fiyero and Stacie for Nessa.
Maybe it was just the understudies, but it seems like the show has really gotten a lot worse. It's not in good shape.
First off-the worst: Rue as Madame Morrible: She takes the cake for the worst voice I've ever heard on stage. This includes middle school productions of shows. Even when she was just talking, her voice sounded terrible. I try to be as open-minded as I can with shows-and seeing how much I love Wicked...she has to be pretty awful for me to give a bad review. I was laughing my arse off at Megan's impression of Rue in the line "My personal opinion is you do not have what it takes..."
Jerad as Fiyero-He had an OK voice. Better than Joey McIntyre...but I would have preferred David to him. Jerad made Fiyero come off as being kind of gay. It was hard to believe he was in a relationship with Glinda. Other than that, he was alright. He just wasn't convincing in the role. (Please note: the last thing I am is against gays. haha)
Stacie as Nessarose-I caught Stacie in March as Glinda. I thought she did very well in her first performance. She was great in this performance as well. She wasn't as strong as Michelle, but she hasn't had as much experience in the role, so it's understandable. She was still amazing. I'd love to see her as the next Glinda or Nessa.
Saycon as Elphaba-She seemed kind of reserved...not as a character-as an actress. Not what you want. Her voice was weak when she wasn't belting. When she did belt though, she was amazing. I've heard some terrible things about her, and some of them are true, but she still did well.
Megan as Glinda: It was a tough crowd...NO entrance applause for her. Even though she hasn't had any other Broadway credits, I think the leads should always get entrance applause anyway. As I said, I never got to see JLT in the part live... I saw Stacie in the part. Everyone has been right when they said that Megan is a very "bubbly" Glinda. She does well with the part. Her 'Popular' was hilarious, as it always is. It's hard to go wrong with that song. I wish she was just a little bit snobbier...other than that, I loved her in the part. If this is her Broadway debut, she'll be on to bigger and better things.
...hopefully. Ben as The Wizard-his voice wasn't as good as Joel Grey's, but he definitely brought life to the role of the Wizard. Not a whole lot more to say...he did well.
Jeffrey as Boq-He has improved so much since March. I could not STAND him in the role when I saw it last. He just bothered me. The things he tried to do to seperate Glinda and Fiyero weren't funny. Everything else he did was just annoying, but he has improved a lot. I actually enjoyed his performance.
This was William Youman's final performance in Wicked (for a while, atleast). He has such a small part, but he still did well with it. I hope he goes on to bigger and better things.
I think that's all. The show isn't as strong as the OBC (obviously). I hope they get some new leads in. Especially for Rue. Anyone know how long her contract is for? Carole just made that part. I wish she'd come back.
How do you feel about the current cast?
"If it walks like a Parks, if it wobbles like a Parks, then it's definitely fat and nobody loves it." --MA
