Well most UK critics HATE Wicked- Page 3

[west end artist1]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:21pm

Variety


If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That, largely speaking, appears to be the mantra behind the London production of Broadway's celebrated record-breaker "Wicked." There have been tiny tweaks to Winnie Holzman's book, but the only people likely to notice are the show's devoted fans. Many were at opening night, screaming with happiness the moment the lights went down. But will this supremely American show make fans out of Brits not already in the know?
In terms of reception, history may repeat itself. This is, after all, a show that survived tepid reviews and went on to become Broadway's No. 1 draw.

Initial London reviews are lackluster, ranging from dutiful nods toward the production to grumpy dismissals. There's nothing London critics like less than being told they're sitting down to a Broadway triumph: It leaves them nothing to discover for themselves. Opening-night factions attempting to whip up an atmosphere by yelling their approval only raise critical hackles further.

The principle change to the show is aural: not to Stephen Schwartz's "American Idol"-ized score, which remains intact, but to the accents.

Message boards on theater Web sites have been enlivened by fans arguing over the virtues of the added English accents. Elphaba (Tony winner Idina Menzel, repeating her utterly committed perf) remains American, while Glinda is now English, or, rather, as English as Australian Helen Dallimore can get. Nigel Planer's Wizard is American, while Miriam Margolyes' stentorian Madame Morrible is English and don't you forget it.

In reality, it makes little difference because the show's storytelling has always been subsidiary to its power-balladeering. Visually, the show looks stronger than at the Gershwin because the proportions of the Apollo Victoria frame Eugene Lee's set better. The stage is less wide, and the design elements beyond the proscenium arch are built even further out along the walls of the auditorium. That's particularly useful in this, one of the U.K.'s largest houses. When Twyla Tharp's "Movin' Out" played (and died) here in the spring, the building's white walls made the atmosphere about as welcoming as an aircraft hangar. The "Wicked"-toned refurbishment -- hint: it's very green -- is a notable success.

The same cannot quite be said of all the cast, who perform with more gusto than grace. Dallimore had some pitch problems at the top of the show. At its considerable best, her voice has real soprano power, but it lacks the almost comic "ping" of Kristin Chenoweth, who created the role. She is so outclassed by Menzel that when they take the curtain call together you could sense disappointment because, rightly, the audience wanted to scream for Elphaba alone.

Planer looks horribly lost in the underwritten role of the Wizard; while Adam Garcia's Fiyero and James Gillan's Boq are efficient, neither makes much impact. But every awards judge will likely put Margolyes' magnificently ripe turn as Madam Morrible on top of their noms list for supporting performance in a musical.

London is snowed under with 19 tuners on the boards, with "Dirty Dancing," "Cabaret," "Caroline, or Change," "Porgy and Bess" and "The Sound of Music" all opening in the next six weeks. Whatever the "Wicked" detractors may say -- and, rumored healthy box office advances aside, there are plenty of them -- in terms of musical spectacle, "The Lion King" is its only London rival.

The major sticking point is that Oz, let alone Gregory Maguire's backstory novel, simply isn't the cultural touchstone here that it is in the U.S. The movie of "The Wizard of Oz" is well loved, but L. Frank Baum's books are little read. To succeed in the U.K., the producers are going to have to work hard to market the teen and family word of mouth that has made it such a well-branded property back home.


Updated On: 10/1/06 at 09:21 PM

[west end artist1]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 9:34pm

The Gaurdian review

Friends of Dorothy may be diverted by this musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz. But, although it has been a hit in New York, it seems all too typical of the modern Broadway musical: efficient, knowing and highly professional but more like a piece of industrial product than something that genuinely touches the heart or mind.
Winnie Holzman's crowded book is itself based on a novel by Gregory Maguire that imagines the prehistory of both the Wicked and Good Witches. The former starts out as a green-fleshed, decent-hearted outsider who has wickedness thrust upon her. Glinda, in contrast, is a vain, pushy, ambitious blonde who acquires an aura of goodness only through her solicitude for her maligned, binary opposite, here named Elphaba.



For the first half the story swings along quite merrily. There is a certain zest about the love-hate relationship between the despised Elphaba and the glamorous Glinda, who are college contemporaries. Stephen Schwartz's lyrics even display an unusual literacy, as when Fiyero, the campus stud, attacks scholasticism by urging everyone to "stop studying strife and learn to live the unexamined life." Miriam Margolyes, as a statuesque, magic-dispensing college principal, has a Dickensian exuberance that evokes the world of Boz more than Oz.
Having whetted our appetites, Wicked lapses into knowingness and moralism. As the story edges ever closer to the Baum novel and Victor Fleming movie, characters transmogrify into the Tin Man and Scarecrow and there are endless sly references to the invisible Dorothy, cyclones and shoes. Worse still, the musical decides it has to make a public statement about the importance of sisterhood. In the least beguiling number in the show, Elphaba and Glinda jointly and unconvincingly assert: "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

Admittedly, the show is well performed. As Elphaba, Idina Menzel possesses lungs of brass and displays the vulnerability of the congenital loner. Helen Dallimore's Glinda is very funny as the peachy blonde who begins by announcing "it's good to see me, isn't it" and gradually evolves into an Evita-style power-broker. Nigel Planer potters around effectively as the not-so-wonderful wizard and Adam Garcia endows the male romantic interest, Fiyero, with a louche charm. Joe Mantello's direction and Eugene Lee's clock-based designs do their work efficiently.

3 stars

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 10:37pm

thanks to Stephen Schwartz's Sondheimian lyrics"



WHAT!!!!!!! Who said this? Schwartz cannot write lyrics remotely similar to the magic, beauty, and genius of Sondheim's lyrics.

and lets not even get into music! Schwartz writes nothing more than a catchy pop tune for the stage. There is no depth in anything he does.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 10:37pm

thanks to Stephen Schwartz's Sondheimian lyrics"



WHAT!!!!!!! Who said this? Schwartz cannot write lyrics remotely similar to the magic, beauty, and genius of Sondheim's lyrics.

and lets not even get into music! Schwartz writes nothing more than a catchy pop tune for the stage. There is no depth in anything he does.

Posted: 10/2/06 at 9:28am

I think it's more of a "I'm smarter than you because I hate this show" with the UK critics. It's easy to love and easy to hate. But to justify either with real and substantial information? Hard..

I love Wicked. If I'm asked why, I'm not going to say anything about the technical merits. I've always called it the 'Britney Spears' of musicals (this was before she got pregnant). I liked her music and enjoyed her singing. Yes, she wasn't technically a good singer, and her lyrics weren't particularly challening. But she puts on a GOOD SHOW (well when I see her on TV).

A lot of the love is the nostalgia of the still-popular 'Wizard of Oz.' I loved it as a kid and still do. And then there's always the 'misunderstood' and 'unpopular' girl aspect of it. What teenager hasn't felt that?

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 10:01am

"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. "

Wrong. Not everyone.

It has its flaws, and it may not be the best show ever...

I still adore it, and it's one of my favorites.

[bella cantato]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 10:02am

"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."

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
There are plenty of multitalented women who might hate Wicked in theory but would be the first to audition for the role if given the chance.
Not to mention the women who LOVE the role and who would take it in a heartbeat..
There is PLENTY of talent out there for this show. That is NOT an issue.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 10:17am

"WHAT!!!!!!! Who said this? Schwartz cannot write lyrics remotely similar to the magic, beauty, and genius of Sondheim's lyrics."

You Sondheimphiles are too fanatical in your devotion!

Updated On: 10/2/06 at 10:17 AM