Why the spastic Glindas? — Page 2

I would be alot more receptive to Hilty's portayal of Glinda if it wasn't such a rip off of what Thompson so geniously did (she herself admits to being told by the production team in rehearsel to be "less Jennifer, more Megan" when she was preparing to assume the role after a tenure as Thompson's standby.)

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"Chenoweth was too calm and far too mature in her portrayal. Popular should be spastic...it makes the song far more entertaining."

I completely disagree. I like it much better when the actress playing Glinda doesn't try so hard to be funny. Kristin has better comic timing than the other Glindas I've seen/heard and it seems more natural with her. I honestly cringe when some of the Glindas are spastic and screaming during Popular.

I absolutely love Cheno, but after seeing Megan play G(a)linda, I've decided that I actually prefer Hilty's interpretation. Chenoweth was a great Glinda, but Megan really nailed the "teenage Galinda" scenes. She played the character much closer to the actual age that she's supposed to be, as opposed to Cheno, who in my opinion played Galinda a little bit too mature during Act 1. But I really do like both interpretations. They're very different, but they're both good.

To clarify: I believe the song should be spastic, as long as it is not playing for cheap laughs.

Also, I am open to new interpretations of the role.

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I agree with the person on page 1 that said that Kendra does a really good job of maturing her character in Act 2. I'm not sure how anyone would believe that seeing Kendra is somehow getting "stuck" with her. (Well, yes I am. See my rant at the bottom of this post.)

Granted, I'm not coming from at this from the same angle as people who are true fan(atics)s of the show. I didn't know anything about 'Wicked' before I saw it except that it was a back story to the "Wicked Witch of the West". So, I had no clue the characters were supposed to age. It was just a pleasant surprise when Act 2 started (I love character maturation). The way Kassebaum portrayed her character made it so clear that it was a few years later, and she'd grown up. I actually commented on it to myself, considering how silly she was in Act 1. The change was quite drastic. Kudos to her!

< RANT >

Honestly, 'Wicked' fans are the most scary of fans. It amazes me how many of them have never even seen the show live but make the sort of comments that I see. I see this sort of thing with a lot of shows, true, but nowhere near the cult like level it is with the Wicked fan(actic)s. Honestly, when you bootleg, you are not helping yourself. It's like watching too much porn. It starts to mess with your perception after a while. BooTube clips are like looking at someone through slits of glass. You can get in idea, but the whole picture may shock you (just like a big name porn stars face without the pound of make-up). To those fan(atics)s of which I speak:

There is nothing cute about sitting around on BooTube, watching different clips, and convincing yourself that you have actually seen the show. You don't really have enough information to either praise or piss on someone's performance! At least see the show FOR REAL before you jump into grown folks conversations! BooTube is NOT a ticket to the show. Stop joshing yourselves. It's sad.

< /RANT >

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Updated On: 8/8/07 at 12:20 AM

Jennifer Laura Thompson will always remain on top of the Glinda list. She was the perfect balance of Kristins inspiration with a new foudn groundedness. No spasticness there

Oh trust me. I've seen PLENTy of college girls who are AS silly if not silliER than some high school girls.

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Do you ever stop to think that maybe Chenoweth wanted to draw the line between Entertainment and Truth in HER version of Glinda? Chenoweth I'm sure could blow the theatre down with the spasticity of her talent but she chose not to.

Obviously, it was a character choice. She's a popular actress who is not lazy. However, it wasn't one that I agreed with because she was not believable as a college girl in any way. So do not be so snide about it.

Again, notice how the director has had no other Glinda on Broadway use Chenoweth's performance, but rather Thompason's, as the basis.

And I already said in this thread that I feel the character should be spastic, but not a cheap spazz. See Christina DeCicco for an example of truthful characterization with spastic tendencies...it actually can be done.

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Updated On: 8/8/07 at 10:00 AM

I was extremely lucky: I have seen 3 of the Glinda's with a Ga. I have seen Kristen Chenoweth, Jennifer Laura Thompson, and Kendra Kaussenbaum. Apologize for the spelling in advance. They all played Glinda very differently. Kendra's was very very funny. Not spastic, just playing up to the crowd in the theatre. Kristen's was more serious and mature throughout the show. Jennifer's was the nice balance between the two. I prefer Jennifer Laura's Glinda. But thats just me. Kendra is not bad at all tho -

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The character of Galinda is not that of a "bubbly schoolgirl." She's in college, not high school. The character is intended to grow from shallow, vain, manipulative and self-centered to a caring, compassionate, more socially aware woman.

I think you're thinking of the book version of Galinda. Certainly in the book she is a Grade A social climber as well as all the other adjectives you used. But the stage version of Galinda was clearly written to be more silly and childish. Just look at the types of things she says in Act One:

"Fiyero and I are going to be married...he doesn't know yet!" (and she was dead serious too)
"We're gonna make you Pop-u-lar!"
"It seems the artichoke is steamed."
"Somethings wrong. I didn't get what I want. I need to lie down!"

Galinda/Glinda didn't say those types of things in the novel. Until the death of Dillimond, she was purely focused on elevating her social status, and to hell with anyone or anything that got in the way. That is not conveyed at all in the play.

And I totally agree with Jordan. I have seen girls that are on their way OUT of college and are very Galinda-ish. Since when does college automatically make everyone mature?

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"I think you're thinking of the book version of Galinda."

No, I'm thinking of the stage version.

I do agree that the stage version is written to be less dark than the book version. But I don't agree that Galinda is written to be "silly." The lines you quote only illustrate the naivite with which a young adult might think. They certainly don't textually illustrate "bubbly," "silly" or "spastic."

The lines you quote are different from what she would have said in the book because there was absolutly no element of comedy in the book. The musical, however, added a light comedic element, probably to take advantage of Kristen's talents. But that element of comedy is only in the Galinda character. It's not really there in any other character in the musical. That's part of why Galinda's comedy has to be tempered or it doesn't fit with the rest of the show.

And I didn't mean to imply that college = maturity. People kept refering to Galinda as a bubbly schoolgirl. The point I meant to make is that, in my experience, the term schoolgirl is not generally used to refer to someone at the college level, regardless of maturity. My impression is that younger fans tend to identify so much with the characters that they forget they are women, not girls. I was trying to point that out.

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But I don't agree that Galinda is written to be "silly." The lines you quote only illustrate the naivite with which a young adult might think.

I've grown up hearing and using the word "silly" applied to any person who is foolish and/or ignorant of the world. In fact, I frequently use the word to describe a pregnant coworker who complains that her baby will impede her vacation plans. And I was reading a book last month where an 18 year old girl was called "silly" by a teacher due to her history of making overly idealistic and poorly contemplated statements. Therefore, I beg to differ that a person who decides thinks she's going to marry a guy after 1 date is not clearly written to be "silly".

But that element of comedy is only in the Galinda character. It's not really there in any other character in the musical. That's part of why Galinda's comedy has to be tempered or it doesn't fit with the rest of the show.

Once again, I beg to differ. Yes, Galinda has the funniest set of lines. But all of the named characters are funny in their own way, except for maybe Nessarose. The Wizard, Boq, Elphaba, Madame Morrible, and Fiyero all got their share of laughs and smiles. And I think Elphaba and Galinda were neck and neck in terms of laughs gained (at least when I saw the show). Off the cuff there is:

"We can't all come and go by bubble."
"I'm beautifully tragic."
"And that's my special talent: encouraging talent."
"Excuse me? There's no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and DEEPLY shallow."
"Sorry, did I scare ya? I tend to have that effect on people..."
Well, there's no place like home!" (even more hilarious coming from Elphaba)
"What kind of person takes a dead woman's shoes? Must have been raised in a barn!"

Fiyero: I've been thinking...
Elphaba. Yes! I heard.

Fiyero: You must think I'm really stupid.
Elphaba: No! Not..REALLY...stupid.

And those are only the few I can remember. I'm sure there are more.

My impression is that younger fans tend to identify so much with the characters that they forget they are women, not girls. I was trying to point that out.

Exactly!! Young girls can identify with the characters because they are written to come off as very young and naive (especially Galinda), despite the fact that they are in college. If they were truly intended to act more like college students/standard young adults, there is no way so many young girls (like 11 and 12 year olds) would be able to identify with them as deeply as they do.

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