#1
Posted: 1/25/06 at 1:29am
I had the pleasure of seeing Wicked for the fourth time tonight (never seen a show that many times-I"m a dork). I was glad to finally see Kristy Cates. I don't even know her but I felt sort of proud of her since she has been with the show forever and worked her way up as a part of all three companies.
I enjoyed her performance very much. I personally was not a fan of Ana, so I was slightly bothered by some of the things Kristy did that were similar to her predecessor. But she made the awkward dialogue work a lot better than Ana. Her voice was very nice-especially thrilling at the end of Defying Gravity and No Good Deed.
Stacie Morgan Lewis definitely has the best voice of the Glindas I've seen (Stacie, Kate, and JLT) but I thought she missed some of the humor. But maybe that is because I knew the jokes already. Her dramatic scenes were very touching, particularly "Couldn't Be Happier". She used her head voice more than her belt, and it sounded incredibly easy. Those high notes can be a stuggle since they have to be so controlled, but she let them go without even thinking about it.
The rest of the cast was the same as the last two times I saw it-once on bway, three times now in Chicago.
Rondi Reed is a wonderful Morrible. I am a little confused as to why she speaks so many of her singing lines, because when she actually does sing a little in her lower register, it's very pleasant. It was fun to watch her more this time-the first time, I must admit, I was sitting close and she really looked like a drag queen. Anyway I always enjoy her, and she really brings everything out of that character and doesn't treat it as a throw away part.
Gene Weyngandt (sp?) was fun as usual too. Maybe it was the sound,(which was a little screwy tonight) but does he have a lisp? If so I definitely missed it the last two times.
Heidi Kettenring is always a lot of fun to see as Nessa. Again an example of someone who took a smaller part and makes the most of it. I enjoy the Wicked Witch of the East scene a lot every time I see it with her.
Telly Leung was wonderful. This was only my second time seeing him-he was out the last time I saw it in Chicago. I had forgotten how much I enjoy him. Great voice, great acting, very cute. I felt bad for him-when he turned into the tin man the audience barely moved. Usually they go nuts.
Kristofer Cussick: YUMMY. That's all I have to say. Don't know his sexual orientation in real life but I wanted to jump him. He is excellent. I love his physicality and his voice. I was a bit confused though reading his bio-he understudied Angel on the Rent tour? HUH?
I doubt I'll ever get sick of this show. I know a lot of people don't think it's that great but I just love it. Now I need to go back and see it on Bway with Eden and see the tour before Stephanie leaves! And maybe again with Julia...and of course I'd love to see all the understudies...something tells me if I ever have kids they will not get to go to college because I'll be so in debt from seeing Wicked so many times!
I enjoyed her performance very much. I personally was not a fan of Ana, so I was slightly bothered by some of the things Kristy did that were similar to her predecessor. But she made the awkward dialogue work a lot better than Ana. Her voice was very nice-especially thrilling at the end of Defying Gravity and No Good Deed.
Stacie Morgan Lewis definitely has the best voice of the Glindas I've seen (Stacie, Kate, and JLT) but I thought she missed some of the humor. But maybe that is because I knew the jokes already. Her dramatic scenes were very touching, particularly "Couldn't Be Happier". She used her head voice more than her belt, and it sounded incredibly easy. Those high notes can be a stuggle since they have to be so controlled, but she let them go without even thinking about it.
The rest of the cast was the same as the last two times I saw it-once on bway, three times now in Chicago.
Rondi Reed is a wonderful Morrible. I am a little confused as to why she speaks so many of her singing lines, because when she actually does sing a little in her lower register, it's very pleasant. It was fun to watch her more this time-the first time, I must admit, I was sitting close and she really looked like a drag queen. Anyway I always enjoy her, and she really brings everything out of that character and doesn't treat it as a throw away part.
Gene Weyngandt (sp?) was fun as usual too. Maybe it was the sound,(which was a little screwy tonight) but does he have a lisp? If so I definitely missed it the last two times.
Heidi Kettenring is always a lot of fun to see as Nessa. Again an example of someone who took a smaller part and makes the most of it. I enjoy the Wicked Witch of the East scene a lot every time I see it with her.
Telly Leung was wonderful. This was only my second time seeing him-he was out the last time I saw it in Chicago. I had forgotten how much I enjoy him. Great voice, great acting, very cute. I felt bad for him-when he turned into the tin man the audience barely moved. Usually they go nuts.
Kristofer Cussick: YUMMY. That's all I have to say. Don't know his sexual orientation in real life but I wanted to jump him. He is excellent. I love his physicality and his voice. I was a bit confused though reading his bio-he understudied Angel on the Rent tour? HUH?
I doubt I'll ever get sick of this show. I know a lot of people don't think it's that great but I just love it. Now I need to go back and see it on Bway with Eden and see the tour before Stephanie leaves! And maybe again with Julia...and of course I'd love to see all the understudies...something tells me if I ever have kids they will not get to go to college because I'll be so in debt from seeing Wicked so many times!
