Review of 'Wicked' at The Kennedy Center on Maryland Theatre Guide

Doug Poms reviews the tour of Wicked now playing at The Kennedy Center.

Wicked at The Kennedy Center review on MD Theatre Guide

Updated On: 6/21/11 at 01:32 AM

Meanwhile the creators of Wicked are laughing to the bank. It seems anything that is popular and/or is widely accepted by the public, is ridiculed by the Broadway critics.

Anytime you mention Phantom or Wicked on this board, people want to barf. Meanwhile they are the highest grossing Musicals of all time.

It won't be long before the Broadway critics turn on Book of Mormon.

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I think what it boils down to is the most popular shows are the ones that people connect to, the ones that make them feel something. I am not ashamed to say Wicked is my favorite show, and for that very reason- its themes are universal. Same goes for Phantom- powerful emotions. To me, the best part of theater is how I feel when I leave the show; technical aspects come secondary to that.

Agreed. I have seen Wicked and Phantom more times than I can count. I know I haven't seen them for the last time either.

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It seems anything that is popular and/or is widely accepted by the public, is ridiculed by the Broadway critics.

Wicked got mixed reviews on Broadway right off the bat. That fact that it's popular has nothing to do with the reviews it got when it opened. The critics saw the problems in the book and score, and recognized those problems in their reviews. It has nothing to do with popularity.

It won't be long before the Broadway critics turn on Book of Mormon.

The Broadway critics already released their reviews for Book of Mormon. They were rave reviews. They are not going to go back and say "Oh wait this show became popular so let's say it's not good now."
Broadway shows get reviewed when they open, critics recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the productions and that's that.

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Updated On: 6/21/11 at 08:23 PM

Shows don't necessarily become popular because they're just full of emotion--some of you posters made it sound like less popular shows don't find success because they aren't full of emotion, which is definitely not true. Many of the shows that you haven't seen are more emotional than Wicked or Phantom. Passion (not the most obscure, but whatever) was the shortest-running musical to have won the Tony for Best Musical, and I think it's one of the most emotional musicals of all time. It's full of heart, and it's much more profound than Wicked. A musical's success is no reflection on how good it is--it only reflects how many people pay to see it.

Was anybody else annoyed by the critic's simplistic word choice ("awesome sets") and bad puns (using "popular" about five times)?

"Dave13, how many times have you seen the shows that aren't 'popular' and 'widely accepted by the public', and that are lauded by 'Broadway critics'?"

Good question. If you look at what is on Broadway right now..

Born Yesterday
The Importance of Being Earnest
Normal Heart


While these are doing well on Broadway, they are not selling out on a consistent basis and certainly not in the Top 10 Grossing Shows on Broadway at the moment.

Also you might include Billy Elliot on that list. Great Reviews. Good run on Broadway. However, never been able to sell out consistently. Not really a big name outside of Broadway.

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Dave13- Very few shows on Broadway sell out consistently... I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.

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