#1
Posted: 8/5/05 at 11:09pm
First of all, let me just say that I find it amusing that so many posters apologize for liking Wicked or say “I know it’s not the best show in the world” or “I know it has a lot of flaws” and so forth. Well, I say, “Wicked Fans, find your backbones and get some moxie up!”
My husband--who is the most critical, cerebral, well-read, creative, musical, artistic curmudgeon I know--said, after seeing the show yesterday, “How can anyone not think this is one of the greatest shows ever produced?” This from a man who reads biographies about Marc Blitzstein; the diaries of Noel Coward; the Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, Frank Loesser and Ira Gershwin; and Paul Hindemith’s Craft of Musical Composition...for fun.
I love this show, and I’m WAY past being a teenager (by like 30 years, okay), so it’s not because I’m obsessed with Idina or wannabe the next Kristin Chenoweth.
It’s fun, it’s touching, it’s clever, it’s beautiful. I think it’s underrated. I also think people should get over the “We’re sick of all the Wicked posts” on this board. It’s a free country (well, if we ignore the Patriot Act). Post what you want! Read or don’t read what you want!
Show your Wicked spirit and stop being so wimpy, Wicked fans!
That being said, I will launch into my assessment of the Wicked matinee performance on August 3 in Chicago.
Ana Gasteyer is quite impressive. She is a wonderful actress and singer. Her comedy training serves her well, too. She knows how to time a joke and her delivery is impeccable. She got laughs with lines I have always found funny but which weren’t “sold” by other Elphabas the way they needed to be. It is very clear that she is doing something different with the character than I have seen anyone else do. In making the role her own, she changes the show and its dynamics. She is so completely immersed in the character. I watched her facial expressions (using my 007-quality binoculars) very closely, and she was in another zone right up to the curtain call. She takes it all very, very seriously...even the comedy, which is the sign of an artist, not just an “entertainer.” I definitely want to see her again.
Kate Reinders. Now I know this is going to be quite different from what everyone else has said about her, but say it I must (a very oblique and obscure Wicked insider joke that very few people will even get, but what the hell).
I found her portrayal of Glinda to be amusing. She was very, very funny. But she played the comedy “large” as if she were doing a one-woman show full of one-liners and cute numbers. She plays up Glinda’s ditziness to the hilt, but it’s the pathos that’s missing. She doesn’t have the depth that other Glindas have projected. She certainly got the laughs, but I didn’t believe it when Elphaba said, “Everybody loves you.” If I went to school with Reinders’ Glinda, I would have thought of her as a “silly girl.” My husband and I felt like she was still playing June from “Gypsy”...except this time she didn’t get fed up and decide to become a “big girl.” Very one-dimensional. And not in great voice for this role either. I liked her, but she was the weakest member of the cast, in my opinion.
Rondi Reed was magnificent! I read a few posts in which people thought she was mediocre to bad. I am stunned! She was like Lady Macbeth, Frau Blucher, Mrs. Danvers, Claude Rains’ mother in Notorious, Agnes Moorhead in Citizen Kane or on Bewitched (tee hee), Norma Desmond and Lypsinka all rolled into one. I love this woman! I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to stand up to Carole Shelley’s Morrible, whom I found exquisitely evil and profoundly deranged, but Rondi Reed is right up there. If those two Morribles faced off, it would be the end of civilization as we know it. I hope Rondi gets to play Morrible in NYC. She’ll bring down the house.
Gene Weygandt. Everyone who says he’s the BEST wizard ever is absolutely right. It’s as though finally someone figured out who this guy, the Wizard, is. Joel Grey played him as though he were Eddie Cantor; George Hearn played him as Ronald Reagan; Ben Vereen plays him as through he’s the Leading Player from Pippin, only older and with less magic to do (but I liked his performance immensely anyway). Gene Weygandt finds the right balance for this man who is sort of a wacky inventor and one who has fallen into a “The Man Who Would Be King” situation and decides to go with it...only to realize that in order to maintain this illusion of power and respect, he has to do a carnival act. The thing I most see in Gene’s performance that was lacking in others’ take on the character is his charm. For the first time, I actually saw why people would be “taken in” by him, why people would be believe him. He seems so likable, so trustworthy, so charismatic. He doesn’t appear to want to hurt anyone but he also seems too passive to stand up to Morrible, so he lets her call the shots. In the end, he expresses true sorrow because he has lost something much more meaningful than power. It makes all those lines about wanting to be “a father” come to life. Before, they seemed like throw-away lines to me. With Gene, it all makes sense. I hope he come to NYC too! I love him!
Kristoffer Cusick is so good. He’s handsome, commanding, enchanting, sexy. He sings and dances well, but more importantly, he gives Fiyero character. He is the only actor besides Norbert who delivered every line with conviction and an understanding of what emotion each line was intended to evoke. (Perhaps because he understudied Norbert?) I met Mr. Cusick in NY after seeing him as Fiyero, and he was very gracious about compliments that he was even better than Norbert, but it was clear that some people thought so. He was also very kind to all the teenage girls who were hooting and hollering for him to sign their Playbills and have their pictures taken with him. I was thrilled to think I’d see him again in the role, and was utterly confused why they didn’t have him take over from Norbert in the first place.
I have read one thread suggesting that the Elphaba-Fiyero relationship was hard to accept because Kris Cusick “had gayness pouring out of him.” (A ridiculous statement, which I found offensive and said so.) I read another thread in which the poster felt that Kris Cusick was like 16 years old and Ana Gasteyer like 40. Subsequently, it was revealed that Kris Cusick is more like 31, and Ana Gasteyer is 38. I kind of agree that Ana does seem considerably “older” than Kris. I’m not sure why. I didn’t see this age disparity when Kris played opposite Idina--who is 35, I think. Then again, Idina does have a “little girllike” voice, in my opinion.
I have always thought of Ana Gasteyer as being “older” than she is...even when she was on SNL. I mean no disrespect to Ms. Gasteyer. Being “older” shouldn’t be a “bad” thing (says I, who just turned 47. Choke.) Some people just seem mature beyond their years, which is actually a very good thing (thus, I have close friends who are 20 years younger than I am and 20 years older!) But I do see how some other posters might think there is a wider age difference between them. This is a rather minor point in the big picture, but a noteworthy one nonetheless.
Telly Leung is an excellent Boq. Very controlled, very present. Of all the Boqs I have seen, his is the most solid performance. He really understands every line and how it should be put across. And even when he wasn’t speaking (such as in Dancing Through Life’s “wheelchair dance”), he was able to convey rejection and disappointment convincingly.
Heidi Kettenring: Personally, I found her to be very annoying. My husband thought she was fabulous. When I told him that she irritated me, he said, “Precisely. That’s what Nessa Rose should do.” He thought the last scene between Nessa and Elphaba was most poignant, and he had never felt that way before. So I now agree with my husband (on this point, anyway). Heidi very skillfully builds tension. When she finally screams, “It was Elphaba!” her wickedness is complete and real. (All 9 times I have seen Wicked on Broadway, Michele Federer has been in the part. I guess I’m just a tad taken aback to see ANYONE else do the role!) My husband is right...Michele comes off as being sweet, even at the end. Heidi is downright evil--as it should be. Good for you, Heidi! Good for Wicked!
Steven Skybell, as Dr. Dillamond, was superb. I have never seen anyone but William Youmans do this role (again, 9 times!), but I must say that Mr. Skybell is every bit as masterful. His take on the character is a little different, and that’s a positive. I honestly think he evokes more sympathy from the audience than Mr. Youmans did. Just extremely impressed with Mr. Skybell...and he has a lovely voice.
Finally, I just want to say something about Don Richards, who plays the Governor of Munchkinland and other sundry parts. I saw him as Caldwell B. Cladwell on Broadway in Urinetown. He was filling in for John Cullum at one of the performances of Urinetown that I saw. I am a huge John Cullum fan, so I was not happy to see that his understudy was going on. Mr. Richards offered a drastically different interpretation of Cladwell than Cullum, who created the role. But it was sinfully delightful! I hope to see more and more of him, but I’m glad he’s in a big hit right now.
The ensemble is tight and energetic. Not a single complaint.
I do not agree that the Chicago production is “better than” the NYC production, which I saw as recently as June 27)...or vice-versa. Nor do I see any reason to compare the two. The point is this: if you see the show on Broadway, you will be witnessing a first-rate production. If you see the Chicago sit-down, you’ll be seeing a first-rate production. Either way, you’ll be pleased. Was it worth traveling the 300 miles to see? DEFINITELY. Seeing actors new to the material--or new to each other--is a rewarding and enriching experience. Fresh blood and genuine enthusiasm is critical to the life of a show that has a long run...and, like it or not, Wicked will be around for a good, long while. Obviously, I like it.
"Be on your guard! Jerks on the loose!"
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
My husband--who is the most critical, cerebral, well-read, creative, musical, artistic curmudgeon I know--said, after seeing the show yesterday, “How can anyone not think this is one of the greatest shows ever produced?” This from a man who reads biographies about Marc Blitzstein; the diaries of Noel Coward; the Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, Frank Loesser and Ira Gershwin; and Paul Hindemith’s Craft of Musical Composition...for fun.
I love this show, and I’m WAY past being a teenager (by like 30 years, okay), so it’s not because I’m obsessed with Idina or wannabe the next Kristin Chenoweth.
It’s fun, it’s touching, it’s clever, it’s beautiful. I think it’s underrated. I also think people should get over the “We’re sick of all the Wicked posts” on this board. It’s a free country (well, if we ignore the Patriot Act). Post what you want! Read or don’t read what you want!
Show your Wicked spirit and stop being so wimpy, Wicked fans!
That being said, I will launch into my assessment of the Wicked matinee performance on August 3 in Chicago.
Ana Gasteyer is quite impressive. She is a wonderful actress and singer. Her comedy training serves her well, too. She knows how to time a joke and her delivery is impeccable. She got laughs with lines I have always found funny but which weren’t “sold” by other Elphabas the way they needed to be. It is very clear that she is doing something different with the character than I have seen anyone else do. In making the role her own, she changes the show and its dynamics. She is so completely immersed in the character. I watched her facial expressions (using my 007-quality binoculars) very closely, and she was in another zone right up to the curtain call. She takes it all very, very seriously...even the comedy, which is the sign of an artist, not just an “entertainer.” I definitely want to see her again.
Kate Reinders. Now I know this is going to be quite different from what everyone else has said about her, but say it I must (a very oblique and obscure Wicked insider joke that very few people will even get, but what the hell).
I found her portrayal of Glinda to be amusing. She was very, very funny. But she played the comedy “large” as if she were doing a one-woman show full of one-liners and cute numbers. She plays up Glinda’s ditziness to the hilt, but it’s the pathos that’s missing. She doesn’t have the depth that other Glindas have projected. She certainly got the laughs, but I didn’t believe it when Elphaba said, “Everybody loves you.” If I went to school with Reinders’ Glinda, I would have thought of her as a “silly girl.” My husband and I felt like she was still playing June from “Gypsy”...except this time she didn’t get fed up and decide to become a “big girl.” Very one-dimensional. And not in great voice for this role either. I liked her, but she was the weakest member of the cast, in my opinion.
Rondi Reed was magnificent! I read a few posts in which people thought she was mediocre to bad. I am stunned! She was like Lady Macbeth, Frau Blucher, Mrs. Danvers, Claude Rains’ mother in Notorious, Agnes Moorhead in Citizen Kane or on Bewitched (tee hee), Norma Desmond and Lypsinka all rolled into one. I love this woman! I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to stand up to Carole Shelley’s Morrible, whom I found exquisitely evil and profoundly deranged, but Rondi Reed is right up there. If those two Morribles faced off, it would be the end of civilization as we know it. I hope Rondi gets to play Morrible in NYC. She’ll bring down the house.
Gene Weygandt. Everyone who says he’s the BEST wizard ever is absolutely right. It’s as though finally someone figured out who this guy, the Wizard, is. Joel Grey played him as though he were Eddie Cantor; George Hearn played him as Ronald Reagan; Ben Vereen plays him as through he’s the Leading Player from Pippin, only older and with less magic to do (but I liked his performance immensely anyway). Gene Weygandt finds the right balance for this man who is sort of a wacky inventor and one who has fallen into a “The Man Who Would Be King” situation and decides to go with it...only to realize that in order to maintain this illusion of power and respect, he has to do a carnival act. The thing I most see in Gene’s performance that was lacking in others’ take on the character is his charm. For the first time, I actually saw why people would be “taken in” by him, why people would be believe him. He seems so likable, so trustworthy, so charismatic. He doesn’t appear to want to hurt anyone but he also seems too passive to stand up to Morrible, so he lets her call the shots. In the end, he expresses true sorrow because he has lost something much more meaningful than power. It makes all those lines about wanting to be “a father” come to life. Before, they seemed like throw-away lines to me. With Gene, it all makes sense. I hope he come to NYC too! I love him!
Kristoffer Cusick is so good. He’s handsome, commanding, enchanting, sexy. He sings and dances well, but more importantly, he gives Fiyero character. He is the only actor besides Norbert who delivered every line with conviction and an understanding of what emotion each line was intended to evoke. (Perhaps because he understudied Norbert?) I met Mr. Cusick in NY after seeing him as Fiyero, and he was very gracious about compliments that he was even better than Norbert, but it was clear that some people thought so. He was also very kind to all the teenage girls who were hooting and hollering for him to sign their Playbills and have their pictures taken with him. I was thrilled to think I’d see him again in the role, and was utterly confused why they didn’t have him take over from Norbert in the first place.
I have read one thread suggesting that the Elphaba-Fiyero relationship was hard to accept because Kris Cusick “had gayness pouring out of him.” (A ridiculous statement, which I found offensive and said so.) I read another thread in which the poster felt that Kris Cusick was like 16 years old and Ana Gasteyer like 40. Subsequently, it was revealed that Kris Cusick is more like 31, and Ana Gasteyer is 38. I kind of agree that Ana does seem considerably “older” than Kris. I’m not sure why. I didn’t see this age disparity when Kris played opposite Idina--who is 35, I think. Then again, Idina does have a “little girllike” voice, in my opinion.
I have always thought of Ana Gasteyer as being “older” than she is...even when she was on SNL. I mean no disrespect to Ms. Gasteyer. Being “older” shouldn’t be a “bad” thing (says I, who just turned 47. Choke.) Some people just seem mature beyond their years, which is actually a very good thing (thus, I have close friends who are 20 years younger than I am and 20 years older!) But I do see how some other posters might think there is a wider age difference between them. This is a rather minor point in the big picture, but a noteworthy one nonetheless.
Telly Leung is an excellent Boq. Very controlled, very present. Of all the Boqs I have seen, his is the most solid performance. He really understands every line and how it should be put across. And even when he wasn’t speaking (such as in Dancing Through Life’s “wheelchair dance”), he was able to convey rejection and disappointment convincingly.
Heidi Kettenring: Personally, I found her to be very annoying. My husband thought she was fabulous. When I told him that she irritated me, he said, “Precisely. That’s what Nessa Rose should do.” He thought the last scene between Nessa and Elphaba was most poignant, and he had never felt that way before. So I now agree with my husband (on this point, anyway). Heidi very skillfully builds tension. When she finally screams, “It was Elphaba!” her wickedness is complete and real. (All 9 times I have seen Wicked on Broadway, Michele Federer has been in the part. I guess I’m just a tad taken aback to see ANYONE else do the role!) My husband is right...Michele comes off as being sweet, even at the end. Heidi is downright evil--as it should be. Good for you, Heidi! Good for Wicked!
Steven Skybell, as Dr. Dillamond, was superb. I have never seen anyone but William Youmans do this role (again, 9 times!), but I must say that Mr. Skybell is every bit as masterful. His take on the character is a little different, and that’s a positive. I honestly think he evokes more sympathy from the audience than Mr. Youmans did. Just extremely impressed with Mr. Skybell...and he has a lovely voice.
Finally, I just want to say something about Don Richards, who plays the Governor of Munchkinland and other sundry parts. I saw him as Caldwell B. Cladwell on Broadway in Urinetown. He was filling in for John Cullum at one of the performances of Urinetown that I saw. I am a huge John Cullum fan, so I was not happy to see that his understudy was going on. Mr. Richards offered a drastically different interpretation of Cladwell than Cullum, who created the role. But it was sinfully delightful! I hope to see more and more of him, but I’m glad he’s in a big hit right now.
The ensemble is tight and energetic. Not a single complaint.
I do not agree that the Chicago production is “better than” the NYC production, which I saw as recently as June 27)...or vice-versa. Nor do I see any reason to compare the two. The point is this: if you see the show on Broadway, you will be witnessing a first-rate production. If you see the Chicago sit-down, you’ll be seeing a first-rate production. Either way, you’ll be pleased. Was it worth traveling the 300 miles to see? DEFINITELY. Seeing actors new to the material--or new to each other--is a rewarding and enriching experience. Fresh blood and genuine enthusiasm is critical to the life of a show that has a long run...and, like it or not, Wicked will be around for a good, long while. Obviously, I like it.
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
