Well most UK critics HATE Wicked- Page 2
Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
#25re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 2:44pm
...the talent is running out for Wicked only. What are they doing? They are bringing Ana to the role... Why can't they find someone new?
Ana Gastyer isn't the only "talented" woman for the role, but she's a name and producers (and audiences) love a name.
Saying talent is "running out" is very close-minded and insulting to hard-working students, gypsies, understudies, and current performers.
COOOOLkid
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/15/05
#26re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:21pm
I give Wicked 2.5/5
algy
Broadway Star Joined: 10/19/05
#27re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:33pmAfter all that, the Sunday Times gave it 4 stars!
neddyfrank2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/23/05
#28re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:53pmActor- You really confuse me. You just said how you don't think that WICKED is all that great, but yet your signature is about Wicked, your avatar used to be about Wicked, and you continue to post threads about your dream Wicked casts.
mikeyb16
Broadway Star Joined: 1/22/06
#29re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 3:54pm
no offence, but i really can't believe people would write stuff like that. I know they are only critics doing their jobs, but they are just a bunch of jerks! I mean, i've spoken to some people about what they think about WICKED and i've heard it's incredible and very emotional.
I know some of you would probably disagree with me, but I'd give WICKED 5/5. I think it's a great story with wonderful songs. Again, some people will disagree, but it's what I think myself. Baring in mind, people are entitled to their own opinions
#30re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 4:40pmI liked the show once, but after a while, I've realized it's really not very good. The music is fairly tuneful, but the lyrics really ruin any beauty or tunefulness in the music. I think the London critics were a tad harsher than the NY critics (THOSE are the reviews I agree with), but it's going to be a hit.
actor
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/14/06
#31re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 4:40pm
"Saying talent is "running out" is very close-minded and insulting to hard-working students, gypsies, understudies, and current performers."
I think you misunderstood. I meant that there is no more talent in Wicked. The talent is running out - in other words, it's gone. Bringing Ana to the role of Elphaba is a last resort (in my opinion). It will suck Wicked dry of the future viewers.
#32re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 4:51pmI've never understood why people are so harsh as far as "Wicked" is concerned. Though it does have its flaws (as do most shows), I was entertained and moved by it. I think "Wicked" will be around for a long time.
#33re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 5:32pmI have seen the show twice. Once with the original cast and once on tour. After seeing it on tour, I realized that this show isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Why? Even with a few lackluster performances, whatever anyone thinks about this show, one thing is for sure....it is entertaining. It does not come back to Denver until next June and is already sold out with people still trying to get tickets. As for the Broadway production, I think it will hang in there for about 5 more years at least. While I have no plans to see it again, if given the chance, I would see it in New York again, just to see the full production. I still love and listen to the music and will continue to do so. I don't think the talent is running out. This show can go on, and has, without "big names" in the leading roles. It is not a star driven musical. JMHO
#34re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 5:36pm
Actor- You really confuse me. You just said how you don't think that WICKED is all that great, but yet your signature is about Wicked, your avatar used to be about Wicked, and you continue to post threads about your dream Wicked casts.
It's interesting to see how everyone on here, with their WICKED screen names, WICKED avatars, and WICKED quotes, still get to the point where they say that they hate WICKED.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
actor
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/14/06
#36re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 6:04pm
Living in England, attending the UK Premiere and after-party, and working as a journalist... I have to say I would not again pay £60 to see the show, the production is amazing, but I dont think at that price it is worth the money! The Music lacks alot, but again, as posted previously, how does one stop 'a run-away train'... you can't. The show will do well, it has a great team behind it, and has tremendous theatre support. I trust it shall run for at least 2 cast changes, but do fear it will have a similar run to Martin Guerre 3, Witches of Eastwick, and Our House. All amazing shows, which just didnt work in the UK.
Mwah.....
BTW - If this was a dating site... Caroline-Q-Or-Tboo, you are fit!
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#37re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 6:15pmFrom what I see in the past, most UK critcs are like John Simon & hate everything
actor
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/14/06
#39re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 6:46pm
Tim Walker - 'Sunday Telegraph' - 5 star review: -
"Since my esteemed colleague Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph) pronounced 'Billy Elliot' the best British musical he'd ever seen, it seems tantamount to blasphemy to suggest that it could possibly have a rival. 'Wicked' is an American musical - it's just swooped into the Apollo Victoria, fresh from Broadway - but it will, I predict, leave Master Elliot on the floor, spread-eagled and dazed.
A 'prequel' to 'The Wizard of Oz', it relates how the Wicked Witch of the West (Idina Menzel) came to be wicked and how her lifelong friend Glinda (Helen Dallimore in 'Legally Blonde' mode) turned out to be whiter than white.
Joe Mantello's production works on a number of levels - as blockbuster family entertainment, and, thanks to Stephen Schwartz's Sondheimian lyrics, sophisticated comedy and even thought-provoking drama. It's sexy, sassy, and sensational, and better still, has nothing to do with either Andrew Lloyd Webber or Cameron Mackintosh.
Glinda's beau Fiyero (the superb Adam Garcia) may assert that 'life's more painless for the brainless', but its still a magnificent thing to see a musical that manages to be both populist and intelligent at the same time".
Thank God a critic finally saw the same show as me.
I couldn't find a URL but it was worth typing this one out!
#40re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 6:58pm
"It's interesting to see how everyone on here, with their WICKED screen names, WICKED avatars, and WICKED quotes, still get to the point where they say that they hate WICKED. "
My user-name is from Wicked but, it's from a song that I think is the best out of the whole show. Wicked is o.k. but, does deserve to run for a while. Wicked is pure entertainment that's it. It is amazing Wicked has this many productions and has run as long as it has without stunt-casting.
actor
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/14/06
Burning_Oasis
Understudy Joined: 3/30/06
#42re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 7:04pmHiring a more more know actor (think usher and ashley simpson in chicago) to keep people coming to the show.
#43re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 7:25pm
>> ::coughcatscough::
... which is a very British musical. It's actually more British than any of the other UK blockbusters transferred to Broadway, so I'm not surprised that it would have a devoted following. In many respects, it's the HELLO DOLLY of UK theatre.
49th Street
Swing Joined: 7/22/04
#44re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 7:38pmThe idea that the talent is running out is absurd. If the producers aren't utilizing the amazing belters/sopranos who can act the crap out of these roles, that is their own stupidity. There is plenty of talent for Wicked. It may run forever.
#45re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 7:43pm
"thanks to Stephen Schwartz's Sondheimian lyrics"
Cannot...comprehend..............seriously?!?!??!?!?
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#46re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 8:29pm
If they gave Wicked a 0 out of 5, what would they give something like "In My Life".
-5 out of 5?
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#47re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:02pm
Some of his lyrics might suck, but I think the music is probably one of the best things about the show. Everyone I know listens to the CD in the car all the time w/o having seen the show, proving that the music is one of the high points of the show.
What I don't get it why no one can make the character of Fieyro work. It doesn't seem like anyone has quite pulled it off. I think it is possible, and I know it's under written, but I think it is possible to show the different sides of the character. I think the casting agents are going more for a "pretty boy" rather than someone who can play the part correctly. I'm sure there are handsome, good-looking guys out there who can also sing and act the part. I mean c'mon! David f---ing Ayers?! The dude couldn't even sing the score, what's up with that! ...sorry...
#48re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:05pm
as others have said, 0 out of 5 stars?
it isnt THAT bad!
i mean, if WICKED got 0, i wonder what MAMMA-MIA! got...like a
-3?
Actually, MAMMA MIA was a big hit in the West End. The critics generally liked it.
#49re: Well most UK critics HATE Wicked
Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:13pm
The stage review
Stephen Schwartz’s score, arguably his best so far, is an ebullient mix of grandiose anthems and lyrical ballads while Winnie Holzman’s book expertly blends fairytale whimsy with broad moral issues. Much of the appeal of the story is our recognition of so many memorable characters, and designer Eugene Lee ensures that the Oz we see on stage is nothing too unrecognisable, although with a whole Act I finale dedicated to Elphaba’s Defying Gravity, the flight sequence is woefully lacking.
Raising an ovation by simply walking on stage, there can be little doubt that Idina Menzel’s green-skinned Elphaba is one of the most anticipated performances of the year. Fortunately the praise is well deserved for Menzel has a powerhouse voice that soars above the orchestra and a personality that shines through the green make-up ready to charm West End audiences.
Helen Dallimore has the equally difficult job of showing the less than perfect side to Glinda the Good Witch but this effervescent actress treads that fine line with panache. Adam Garcia provides the love interest and performances by James Gillan and Katie Rowley-Jones add depth to the subplot. A fine ensemble company fizzes with Broadway pizzazz and there is veteran support from Nigel Planer as the Wizard and Miriam Margolyes, a galleon in full sail floating imperiously across the stage as the truly wicked Madam Morrible.
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