Poooooor Saycon- Page 2

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 11:54am

Good grief, if some of you kids knew half as much as you think you do, this forum would be a better place.

[Kev]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 12:17pm

...just thought I'd chime in on the Saycon/AIDA talk.

Saycon's Aida was solid. It was a fine, dependable performance. Nothing thrilling or relevatory...just good (how I feel about her in Wicked as well.) She broke no new ground to the role in terms of acting (she was almost rather chilly, a la Simone), and her vocals were standard but not as exciting as others in the role. She looked quite good, but simply did not come across as a star...she lacked that certain "it" factor. at least for me.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 2:09pm

You might be right about the Japan production. I was told last night that my friend got a call from her friend who had just been cast as Elphaba the day before. I was apprehensive because I know the tour has an Elphaba booked until essentially the end of the year, and Eden's contracted until October. I kept asking if she was the standby, or going in for the Chicago production, but she said it was Broadway. Who knows. Just relaying info.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 3:07pm

I'll address the 400 pound gorilla in the room. Duh, this is about her not being white. Personally I was electrified by her performance. It was so interesting to see her being cast, the closest to the real Elphaba in the book. She plays Elphaba as a real outsider.
Updated On: 7/18/06 at 03:07 PM

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 4:22pm

I enjoyed Saycon's performance, and I said so in my recent review. I found a real depth to her Elphaba. She does play it quite differently than the other Elphaba's I've seen, but I like it. I do agree with the commentary that she was very quiet when she wasn't belting, but her voice was beautiful belting or not belting.

I certainly hope that this ISN'T about her race. I mean, seriously, the great thing about the character of Elphaba is the actress can be any race because she's GREEN on stage! To tell you the truth, while I heard OF Saycon, I didn't know what she looked like until she was until I googled her website after I saw the show. I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life if people really don't want Saycon to be full time Elphaba because of her race. If that's really the case, I think someone needs to go to Wicked for the 98th time and analyze the themes.

With all the new productions of Wicked, they will clearly need several strong Elphabas, and Saycon is talented enough to perform the role on Broadway, tour, or another sit-down production.

Updated On: 7/18/06 at 04:22 PM

[WickedRentEder]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 4:30pm

She's fine. I never saw her on the show but she did the Broadway in the Park either last year or two years ago and she played well off of Stacey's G(a)linda!

[bjivie2]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:29pm

If the girl I've heard has just been cast (don't remember name), she's black.

And if they cast Saycon as a standby, I don't see why they wouldn't cast her as the role itself.

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:47pm

How dare you. This is really pissing me off that someone turned this into a race issue. It has not a thing to do with it. That's what weak people always rely on when they have no argument left. People say they dislike Eden; people say they dislike Idina; people dislike all current/past Elphabas. However, no one thus far says, "Oh, it's b/c she's white," or "People pick on that poor girl b/c she's Jewish." It's a scapegoat and ignorant. Maybe the actor is just not talented in some opinions. Why can some people just not accept that? I suggest that some people get that chip off their shoulder before someone knocks it off. Pathetic. You should be ashamed and embarrassed of yourself.

My only dislike of Saycon, looking back on 3 of her performances, is the acting. Her face shows little emotion. Her singing, especially in DG, is unique and very powerful. But the facial and other expression is lacking.
Updated On: 7/18/06 at 09:47 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:59pm

I didn't see anything here to make me believe this was about race, so I don't know why the poster brought it up.

If that is the case, people that feel that way are ignorant. The role of Elphaba, as another poster said, can be played by ANYONE because the actress wears green make-up for god sakes. Both Saycon and Brandi Chavonney Massey (the second cover in NY) are black, and both are fantastic in this role.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 1:47pm

Just to clear anything up, the girl from BoCo that was cast as Elphaba is in the Chicago production, not Broadway.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 3:00pm

Please!!! reread this whole thread! Everyone on it is talking about a whole-lotta nothing until my posting. It's totally a gorilla and you know it. It's called "Pooooor Saycon."

Ashamed of myself? Take a look around broadway or the biz in general and be ashamed at the very lack of diversity. Or be ashamed at shabby-ass racists attemps to make it diverse. (ie. colorblind casting.)

[sassypanz]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 3:03pm

Updated On: 12/1/14 at 03:03 PM