When I think about it...Is Wicked THAT good?- Page 3

[antonijan]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 5:44pm

I asked what should we watch (Wicked VS Spelling Bee) because I am also bringing 3 people who haven't been to theater before.

1st is my 66 y/o aunt and my 2 cousins who are mid-40's.

[Kringas]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 5:46pm

Wicked. It's the type of show non-regular theatregoers love.

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 6:14pm

I do understand people on these boards seem to dislike things with mass appeal, but I really think mass appeal is a big deciding factor in what is good. If it wasn't for that, then what? Should we base whether something is good or not on the critics reactions? NO THANK YOU!

With that mentality we could then say that Britney Spears, Madonna or Michael Jackson are the best musicians of the century- way beyond any trained opera singer. Wicked or Phantom are the theatre masterpieces of our generation and they might as well stop voting for the new architectural wonder of the world - the Disneyland castle has WAY more appeal than all of them put together.

What is the most accesible usually has the momentary appeal. What is truly great and crafted will last forever.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 6:33pm

Shows are popular for a reason. Not just "because."

"Popular" is a FACT (meaning that a lot of people are seeing this show). That's a fact.

"Good" is an OPINION, and has nothing to do with how popular Wicked has become.

So... are you asking if it's good, or why has it become so popular?

Wicked became popular because it struck a chord in many people (no, not just fangirls). A whole lotta folks see themselves as Elphaba (to some degree). Their good intentions are misinterpreted, they are not accepted by the mainstream, they are pushed aside in favor of "the obvious choice," etc. I'm not saying they're RIGHT in their personal assessments (if everyone is the "poor misunderstood outcast" then who the hell is "mainstream")... Regardless, they see some part of themselves as her.

Whether or not you like Wicked as a musical isn't really the point. The story is incredibly powerful, and so is it's message.

In other words... it WORKS on the most important level of all. It "connects" with the majority of the people who see it. That's why people are going, and going, and going...

I also happen to think it's good... but hey, that's just me. And it's also beside the point.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 7:31pm

Their good intentions are misinterpreted, they are not accepted by the mainstream, they are pushed aside in favor of "the obvious choice," etc.

So many people feel that they are victims these days. Thanks for summarizing the reason for the show's appeal. Now it makes sense.

[Chardonnay]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 7:33pm

I love the show and I'm definitely not a 14 year old girl. I'm not pleased with some of the tacky changes the production team has made since opening, but I think it's a fantastic show and it's one of the top musicals on my list.

PS I do think the multiple fangirls can get extremely obnoxious, but at least they're teenagers embracing the fine arts.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 7:59pm

in my imagination, WICKED is a quiet, small, introverted, character-driven show.

so you understand why i never want to see it & ruin my illusion.

[nygrl23]

Posted: 5/11/07 at 9:17pm

I certainly didn't like Wicked very much at all. Some of the songs grew on me, but when I first heard the album, I thought a lot of the lyrics were laughable. I didn't see it performed by any of the OBC, but the some of the actors that I did see were mugging on stage and trying to be cute and funny, playing too many moments to the audience. I started to massage my temples at one point and contemplated walking out.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 12:33am

I love Wicked and I always will, but it definitely isn't as good as I used to think it was. The choreography is terrible, as are parts of the book and lyrics.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 2:43am

If your trying to decide between Wicked and Spelling Bee, and you're gonna be taking 3 other people who don't typically go to the theater, definitely go take them to see Wicked. Kringas pretty much said it - it's the type of show non-regular theatergoers like to see.

I saw Spelling Bee and enjoyed it, but Wicked is much more appealing visually - a grand spectacle.

ETA: Not saying they wouldn't enjoy Spelling Bee, but Wicked might be your best bet...it'll leave a greater impression.

Updated On: 5/12/07 at 02:43 AM

[dramarama2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 4:32am

Well said millie_dillmount

[mrcacou]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 5:32am

I took three "non regular theatre goers" to see Spelling Bee in SF and they loved it. You would have to choose between good fun and spectacular.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 7:15am

Isnt this a fascinating thread... (Sean says somewhat facetiously).

As late as a year ago, to say that WICKED really isnt that good would have been considered heresy. The fanboys and -girls who had thread after thread about the most inan minutae involving this show would have taken up the pitchforks and torches if anyone had dared suggest that this half-baked, over-spectaculared piece of twaddle wasnt quite the masterpiece it aspired to be.

And now folks are finally figuring out that the only reason this thing plays in perpetuity is because it appeals to everyone in desperate need of fantasy and a resolved sense of victimhood? Man, where have you folks been? Outside having a cigarette?

Now, dont get me wrong. It has some pretty nice moments. But theyre moments and nothing more. WICKED is the sort of show that you leave thinking "Wow, that was cool!", only to realize the morning after that you've been had and your wallet is a hundred-plus bucks lighter.

But, hey, that's entertainment.

[RentHead2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 8:07am

The problem with this post is: the majority of the people on this board hate Wicked. The reasons why are known: it's a blockbuster hit, always top of the revenue's, obnly 12/13 year olds like it, Idina Menzel was lacking....but for my two pennies: I loved it.

I actually really fell for the song, "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" - I just really like how the story blended in nicely with what I remembered of The Wizard Of Oz. Is it perfect, no....but I loved it :)

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 9:08am

"And now folks are finally figuring out that the only reason this thing plays in perpetuity is because it appeals to everyone in desperate need of fantasy and a resolved sense of victimhood? Man, where have you folks been? Outside having a cigarette?"

No, SeanMartin. We're not "finally figuring it out." I posted this a long time ago when the show first took off around the country, on at least a dozen of the 3,000 threads created on the subject over those first few mega-hit months. I thought I'd skip most of the identical threads and not repeat myself, but apparently you've been outside having a cigarette during the many times I did chime in. Which is why I decided to post it again now... for those of you who are usually "outside having a cigarette" and haven't heard me say it before.

[D2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 10:36am

I agree with Norn's assessment, that if WICKED had been conceived and written as an intimate musical character study, it would probably have been more successful artistically. But commercially it would have been one of those shows the cognoscenti love and the public stay away from in droves. Which is better? The commercial success? The artistic? Obviously both, but that seems to be harder and harder to achieve these days.

Personally, I didn't like the show - I think it is a huge, overblown mess. But that's just my opinion. For whatever reasons the board in general hate the show, I don't hate it because it is a huge success. More power to them - they are employing hundreds of people, and thousands more are going to the theater each night to be entertained. I dislike the show because IMHO it is a mass of missed opportunities in the writing, direction, design and performances. But as I stated before, the show that I would have liked WICKED to be is a show that most other mainstream theater goers would not have understood or appreciated. So, like Elphaba, I feel left out of the joyous good will toward this show, a fervor which I don't understand. And that makes me frustrated.

May WICKED run as long as it keeps the masses entertained. And may I never have to see it again.

Updated On: 5/12/07 at 10:36 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 10:49am

It is all glitz but not much more

It is enjoyable but not the greatest thing you have ever seen

[bohemianxsunshine]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 12:07pm

Yeah, I can see most of the majority hate Wicked. Honestly, I love Wicked, yes, I'm one of those 13yrold fangirls, but no, Wicked's not the only show that's in my theatre fanbase. I think Wicked is great and I don't think Idina was lacking. It's a Blockbuster hit, why keep bashing it? It's not closing anytime soon.

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 12:16pm

Just becuase something is a success doesn't mean we should stop finding faults in it. Hell, Phantom's been running for 19 years and people still gripe about that.

[elphie_defies]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 12:32pm

Wicked was the first Broadway show I ever saw, and now I love many different shows. But, Wicked will always be my favorite because it touched me like nothing else in my life ever has.

Updated On: 5/12/07 at 12:32 PM

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 1:47pm

I wish people would stop saying that people who see flaws in the show are only doing so out of jealousy of it's success. I actually used to enjoy Wicked a lot, until the novelty wore off. That's why I said I felt Wicked was all potential but nothing more. If you just take the music and listen to it, you'll hear a monotonous, overly synthesized score with lyrics that anyone else on this board could improve on.

One thing Wicked does do that many shows fail at is connection. I admit that I did feel connected to the characters when I first heard the show, but I realized that it was because I was making it much more than it was. I kept trying to find subplots and deeper meaning to the characters' actions, which is why I actually was more interested in Glinda's struggle of balancing her ambition to be successful and well-liked and doing the right thing and fighting the status quo. However, if I just took it for as it is, all I found was a show with mediocre to bad music, awkward staging, and a book that was all potential but very poor execution and missed opportunity to make the characters interesting.

Since we're all into generalizing, I have to say that if people didn't want to feel like a victim like Elphaba (which she is overly established as one in the show to the point where I just didn't feel sorry for her) than the show wouldn't have that connection that it does. It's all wanting to wallow in your self pity.

[missyrose87]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 5:09pm

Even if you hate the show, you have to admit that Wicked provides the most spectacle for the money.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 7:44pm

Let's look at it from another angle say, from the standpoint that it has managed to "hook" a whole new generation of kids on MT- yes.Those kids might never have set foot in a theatre otherwise and hopefully, this show encourages them to pursue a hobby, passion or career. Look what the show did and does where ever it plays- sold out houses each and every show, providing jobs for actors, tech crews and musicians and adding money to the local economies with the restaurants,etc. The fact that it also made the wearing of pink and green mandatory on females between 11 and 22 is an unfortunate by-product, though!
The really interesting thing to me is that all of the hype was about "Cheno and Idina" and yet, as the show continues in NY and all over the globe, it doesn't seem to matter WHO descends in the bubble and who slathers on the green make-up. The ones who should really be grateful to "Wicked" are the two aforementioned ladies (although, Chenoweth's voice is glorious and the opera world was that much poorer when she got off in NY instead of continuing onto Philly and her studies there!). The show, like virtually everything new playing on Broadway is not star-dependant as shows used to be.
I've heard the thing so many times that I'm immune to it now, but, again, if it brings kids into the theatre and they don't have to shrink down into their seats, blushing furiously during half of the evening (my mother is watching kids doing THAT?), then it has my vote.
It's no "Gypsy", but then again, what is anymore?