Wicked 4/17/08 review

#1

Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 12:22pm

Lisa Brescia as Elphaba- There is not enough praise in the world for this woman. Her acting and singing were almost perfect. No complaints.

Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda- I didn't like her at all. Her acting and singing were weak and she wasn't funny.

David Burnham as Fiyero- Pretty to look at, but that's it. He was phoning in.

Miriam Margolyes as Morrible- She was good, although she overacted a bit.

Lenny Wolpe as the Wizard- I loved him. He seemed to really be having fun.

Cristy Candler as Nessarose- She was surprisingly good.

Ben Liebert as Boq- He was cute and pretty good.

Steven Skybell as Dillamond- Good, not great.

Ensemble- Fabulous. I loved watching them.

Overall, Lisa owned the show.

#2

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 12:25pm

The more I hear about her, the happier I get that Annaleigh Ashford will be gone by the time I see it in September.

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"I think of avant-garde as downtown shows where you rub waffles and chocolate on yourself."- Hunter Bell

#3

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 1:13pm

Thanks for the review. I saw it 4/5, and I liked Annaleigh. She wasn't great, wasn't terrible. She's an aquired taste, I believe.

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Hunter: Your teeth need whitening./ Heidi: You sound weird./ Jeff: You taste funny.
-Jeff Bowen's worst onstage line flub.

#4

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 1:26pm

Yes, Annaleigh is the Glinda for smart people.

#5

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 1:36pm

I'm glad i'm not the only one who isn't obsessed with Miriam's Morrible, lots of British 'Teenage fans' like her alot! saw her 3 times in London, and, she is a great actor, but didnt sing, EVER, just spoke the words and did seem to over act then as well, whats happening singing wise, I mean does she now?

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"If you talk about my family I will punch you in the fanny so hard it'll end up on your face... oh, looks like someone beat me to it!" - Dawn French

#6

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 1:49pm

Always interested in reading WICKED reviews.

I wish I could see this cast.

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"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES--- "THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS

#7

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 2:27pm

Miriam still doesn't sing.

#8

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:18pm

Glad you liked Lisa! She is wonderful! Thanks for your review!

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"Everytime you step on that stage it is somebody's first Broadway show and somebody's last Broadway show. Make it count."

#9

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:31pm

Your assessment of Annaleigh was spot on. It's a shame that after all this time in the role she still hasn't improved.

#10

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:32pm

I believe she has. Seriously, I think people need to give her a chance.

#11

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:36pm

I did give her a chance. I wanted to like her, but there was nothing solid about her performance. Of the seven Glindas I've seen, Annaleigh was the the weakest.

#12

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:37pm

It seems like the non-fans of Annaleigh are in the minority. I saw her on 4/2 and did not care for her performance at all.

are_you_kidding,
What's with the comment that Annaleigh is for the smart people? Is that an insult to those of us that don't care for her? Maybe since I'm "stupid" I missed your point.

However, Annaleigh was ok - she didn't bring anything new to the role and I felt her performance was played too immature and I never really saw her develop the role into the woman Glinda is supposed to become.

#13

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:37pm

And the least funny.

#14

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 3:40pm

When I saw her, she her development from Act 1 to Act 2 was spot on. I loved her Act 2 Glinda. She connected with the character so much and you could feel her pain. And I thought she was a hilarious Glinda as well. Yes, she is "immature" as Glinda in Act 1, but it just shows her transformation from Act 1 to Act 2 and it was phenomenal.

Updated On: 4/18/08 at 03:40 PM

#15

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 4:13pm

I saw no transformation last night.

#16

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 4:17pm

I saw this a couple of weeks ago with the cast you listed, except that I saw Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, and she was great (but after reading these comments, I'd love to see Lisa B. some time. I've seen her clip on YouTube and, even with no makeup and in street clothes, singing outside, I thought she was great.)

What I really meant to post here was that I had no idea that Madame Morrible was SUPPOSED to sing until I read this thread. Miriam definitely did no singing when I saw her. How odd. I actually thought it was a non-singing part!
I did think she was quite a good actress, though.

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Maggie-the-schnoodle

#17

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 4:33pm

Glad you enjoyed the show


sorry David and Annaleigh didn't sit with you - I love them both

#18

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 4:34pm

Even tho Morrible isnt a big singing part, they should look for people who can sing.

#19

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:11pm

There was a rehearsal yesterday afternoon with Wayne Cilento, so I guess that is why the Ensemble was so into it. He has been in to see the show a lot this week.

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Other than that, did you enjoy the play Mrs Lincoln?

#20

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:21pm

Nice review. Sorry that you didn't like Annaleigh. I love her. I think she brings alot of different things to the role(lip-smacking in Popular). I have seen her 7 times now(the 8th coming up on Sunday) and everytime I saw her she got better and better. But that's just my opinion.

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Don't believe everything that you hear! Only the peeps involved know the truth!

#21

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:44pm

I'm seeing it tonight for the first time in 2 years.

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#22

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:48pm

Lisa Brescia is so good at so many things. Loved her as Elphaba myself!

#23

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:50pm

Have a good time PalJoey.

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Don't believe everything that you hear! Only the peeps involved know the truth!

#24

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 7:13pm

Cleary, the lip-smacking makes her a great Glinda. *rolls eyes*

I feel like all of the Annaleigh fans jump on the non-fans too quickly. It's okay if people don't like her performance.

#25

re: Wicked 4/17/08 review

Posted: 4/18/08 at 8:30pm

Broadway Dancer,
All I said was that Annaleigh does different things as Glinda. I never said that she was the greatest thing since sliced bread. When did I ever say that people have to like her?

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Don't believe everything that you hear! Only the peeps involved know the truth!