What's With All the Hatred Towards WICKED?

It's not the best show, not even close. It has legions of fans, regular ones and extremely overzealous ones.

It's certainly an interesting show - a mix-bag of good and bad elements.

Though I happen to dislike the show itself, I dislike the crazy fans even more, ruining whatever I did like about the show. I now detest the show as a whole, after hearing so many people sing extremely out-there praise.

I've seen many posts on this board, on others, where the hatred is surprisingly extreme. It's gotten new people to go see theater. Why the hatred?

Updated On: 3/12/07 at 08:14 AM

I think its because the majority of the legion of fans of WICKED are teenagers who overly-hype it as the best of the best. I love WICKED, it is one of my favorite shows and I relate with Elphaba as an outcast and love the music. I think people on BWW and other places where theater and Broadway are dicussed are sick of the "fanboys" and "fangirls" obessive love and post after post of it, its rotating actresses and other overly dicussed topics of that sort. What I think that people who bash WICKED miss, is that its a story that is relatable, I remember Stephen Schwartz commenting on the success of WICKED by saying "In everyone there's a green girl.", its true, everyone in some point in their live can relate to being an outcast. I know I can relate, and several people who I know who relate to it. And the music is catchy and hummable and extremely likeable.


Oh but what do I know, I'm just a big ShizKid or whatever you call WICKED fans.

---

Updated On: 3/12/07 at 08:25 AM

It's the overhype, largely. It was the first show I saw in NYC, and I'm a big "Wizard of Oz" fan, so for me it was a guarenteed sell, and I do really like it, I'm just "Wicked"-ed out.

---

well, having another thread like this just shows how popular and how successful wicked is.

regardless of how good or bad it is/was, we can never be more intrigued or shattered by any other musical, say - ave q. or spamalot (who the hell watches these shows anyway) as the way wicked does.

say what you want to say, wicked will stay for a much longer time than any of your 'better' bets.

---

Updated On: 3/12/07 at 08:53 AM

NO 'honey', that IS exactly the point.

you people are all subconciously envious of the shows success that in turn makes you hate it.

---

"The first two cast recordings I bought were "Seussical" and "Wicked". These two shows made me appreciate and harvest the love for musical theatre that I now have, and, needless to say, due to this, my collection of cast recordings has expanded. "

The first three cast recordings I bought were Oklahoma!, Kiss Me Kate and South Pacific and my collection has expanded also

^^^ I couldn't say it any better...

as simple as this, if you dont like the show or you have prejudice towards it, dont even bother spending your precious money to see it, moreso, wasting your time criticizing it and comparing it to others

---

Updated On: 3/12/07 at 09:23 AM

who are we to speak of mediocrity?

---

No problem, Tom.

---

Its a bunch of teenagers who think its fun to slag it off from behind there computers because its a very commercial show(its not the only hugely commercial show they insult)

---

Updated On: 3/12/07 at 09:50 AM

I can really only speak for myself, but what irritates me are the fans who proclaim it the most genius and touching musical of all time, but who have absolutely NO other frame of reference, nor do they care to find one (I understand that not everyone can see every show that is on Broadway or on tour). I thought the plot was cute (I enjoyed the novel so much more), some of the songs were catchy (you KNOW when I'm in the car I belt Defying Gravity, I can't help it!) but I didn't leave the theatre changed forever. I understand that different people have different tastes and experiences (I know there have been shows that I have loved that others have hated), but that doesn't mean I can't be irritated by it!

If "who are we to speak of mediocrity?", then who are we to speak of greatness? I guess after my rambling I would have to say that I have come to the conclusion that what irritates me the most (and this isn't just a Wicked thing) are the fans that seem to think that it is OK to come and praise a show to the high heavens, but GOD forbid that anyone want to start a dialogue about it's shortcomings (in a mature manner, not just OMG Wicked SUCKS because I HATE IT.) and must attack anyone who doesn't view a show like they do.

I think it's a potentially interesting discussion, why people "hate" a popular show - is it the show itself? Is it that it makes a show feel less "special"? Can it be so easily answered?

---

It annoys me specifically because it is so successful and yet when I see it, all I see is money thrown at a show that at the end of the day has gaping plot holes, an amateurish score, and some of the worst lyrics I've ever heard.

Now, this is not to say I'm sitting at home super bitter about it all the time, but it is sad to me when something I can't find much merit in gets such praise, especially when 99% of the people arround me find out I work in musical theatre and expect me to be obsessed with Wicked.

This is not to say that my opinion is the be-all end-all. Obviously a lot of people love Wicked. I just don't see it.

I like the Light in the Piazza. I like that this underdog beautiful lesser known show ran as long as it did and won the Tony's that it did. It's nice to see the little guy win sometimes.

This is also not to say I hate all commercial musicals. Commercial does not equal bad, but it can often indicate more emphasis on physical aspects of a show instead of the pure content. For every Wicked there's a Hairspray. For every Hairspray there's a Dracula the Musical.

It's quite the paradox.

Most Americans hate success for anyone other than themselves.

Toss in just the right amount of "drama-queeni-ness" and the availability of an anonymous communication platform, and there you have it.

My first thought is that the show is nothing but entertaining and that most people probably really like WICKED. Perhaps they, in turn, think it's far cooler to hate it in public by latching on to the next flavor of the day instead (maybe Spring Awakening, for example)???

Someone in a Theater program somewhere could do an awesome paper using the original idea here of hatred towards WICKED and expand it out to show how there is similar hatred for just about every successful (or powerful) aspect of society...big business....government....etc.

DAMN! I didn't want to think today.....

HAHA!

---