Wicked Chicago review 7/8/08

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 2:30am

July 8, 2008

Elphaba- Lisa Brescia
Glinda- Annaleigh Ashford
Fiyero- Kristoffer Cusick
Morrible- Rondi Reed
Wizard- Gene Weygandt
Nessarose- Heidi Kettenring
Boq- Stanton Nash
Dillamond- K. Todd Freeman

NOMTW- Annaleigh is charismatic and beautiful. I can't deny that. She seemed a bit more grounded than last time. She still struggled with the high notes and she didn't seem sad enough. The ensemble was great. I was especially drawn to Cristin Boyle.

DOS and scene- I was so thrilled to see Lisa again! My heart welled up when she ran out. I was also thrilled to see Rondi again. She was even more wonderful than I'd remembered. I still didn't like Heidi. As I expected, Lisa's acting was spot on.

TWAI- Although Lisa has a gorgeous voice, she's not a powerhouse and I wish she'd projected more. Still, she completely owned the stage.

WITF- Lisa's "blonde" was perfect. I just adore her facial expression. Her voice blended beautifully with Annaleigh's.

classroom scene and SB- K. Todd was better than last time. As always, I kind of spaced out during this part.

DTL- Kristoffer really needs to get another job. His acting and singing are fine, but he looks so extremely bored that he was like a black hole onstage. I was watching Annaleigh and she was adorable. Heidi just isn't appealing to me. Stanton was better than I expected. Cristin was a riot at the dance. When Annaleigh started dancing with Lisa, Lisa was incredulous until the very end. When she finally realized that Galinda wasn't mocking her, the look on her face was priceless.

Popular- When Lisa was describing her "secret," I burst into tears. I'd never cried at that part before, but her delivery broke my heart. Annaleigh was definitely having fun although she was too hyper for me. She kept tickling Lisa, which was adorable. Lisa's reaction to the lipstick was great. She attempted to smack her lips like Annaleigh. Lisa did her usual "toss toss, what is that?"

lion cub scene- Lisa was more angry this time when Dillamond was fired, which worked. She seemed so genuinely concerned for the cub. Unfortunately, there was no chemistry between her and Kristoffer because he wasn't giving anything.

INTG- I sort of went into a trance during this song. It was gorgeous.

train station scene- Lisa was so genuinely shocked and happy to get the Wizard's invitation. She was almost fangirling. Annaleigh was way too pouty.

OSD- Really fun, as always. Lisa's acting stood out.

ASM and scene- Gene was okay. Not great, not bad. Just okay. Lisa's acting when she realized the Wizard is a fraud was so real and in the moment. I really believed it was happening to her for the first time. I love how she almost considers going with the Wizard before she runs off.

DG- Rondi was scary. Lisa completely kicked her own ass from last time. Her acting is so subtle that you really have to see it to believe it. Again, she was completely in the moment. Her voice sounded great and she really took me on an emotional journey.

intermission- Lori and I were saying that we wanted to clobber the girl on the other side of me. She was either pretending to conduct or crinkling a wrapper the whole freaking time.

TG- Towards the middle on the song, Annaleigh proved once again that she is capable of bringing depth to Glinda. For some reason, she chooses not to. Her voice sounded pretty good.

TWWOTE: I really don't like Heidi as Nessa. There's nothing appealing about her performance at all to me. I loved Lisa's reaction to Glinda and Fiyero's engagement. I watched her while Heidi sang. When Boq was revealed as the Tin Man, the double looked nothing like Stanton.

Wonderful- I watched Lisa more than Gene. She was pissed and very reluctant to believe him.

scene- I was disappointed that Annaleigh reverted back to her pouty Act 1 Glinda. She can do better than that.

INTGR- I don't like that Annaleigh plays Glinda as more angry than sad.

ALAYM- There was absolutely no chemistry between Lisa and Kristoffer. I found myself watching the conductor.

catfight scene- Annaleigh's pouting drove me nuts. Lisa's line delivery was right on. The audience was into it.

NGD- Once again, Lisa kicked her own ass. She was more angry than last time although she still could be even more fierce. My absolute favorite thing that Lisa does is that with "Nessa, Dr. Dillamond, Fiyero," she actually sees each one of them before she says their name. She did her orgasmic double "again."

MOTWH- Rondi did a great job of being evil.

scene and FG- The look on Lisa's face when she got Fiyero's letter was devastating. I hadn't cried this much during FG in in four years.

Finale- Annaleigh did a good job of mocking Rondi. I was really sad that the show was over.

curtain call- Lori and I stood up immediately. When Lisa and Annaleigh came out, Lisa was literally glowing and she looked like the happiest woman in the world.

SD- Everyone came out, but the only people I was interested in her Rondi and Lisa. Rondi came out first. She announced herself as Madame Morrible. I congratulated her on her Tony and told her it was my third time seeing her in Wicked. She was very talkative and friendly.

While we were waiting for Lisa, Lori said I was welcome to come back for Lisa's last. I immediately knew I wanted to. Finally, Lisa came out. She is even MORE beautiful up close in person. I told her that I've seen six other Elphabas and that her portrayal touched my heart so deeply. She seemed genuinely moved and humbled. She said that's what she tries to do and that she knows she has big shoes to fill. She said that when she saw Idina as Elphaba, she was blown away and thought she could never do that. I said that Idina is my other favorite and the two of them are practically tied in my book. I said I might be there for her last and she comfirmed that it's on August 24. I also told Lisa how beautiful she is and she said she doesn't feel beautiful. She's so wrong.

Now for my overall thoughts on the performers.

Lisa- Like I said, her Elphaba touched my heart in a way than no one has since Idina in 2004. All the subtle, incredibly deep, and seemingly effortless acting choices add up to a nearly flawless performance.

Annaleigh- I really tried to like her more this time because she's a talented girl and I know she's capable of doing better. Still, her choice of making Glinda look and act like a pouty toddler turned me off.

Kristoffer- Boring, boring, boring. That's all I can say.

Rondi- I love her. She plays the role really well, has fun with it, and makes it her own.

Gene- I liked him when I saw him last year, but he seems to have lost his spark. Maybe he was just having an off night.

Heidi- I'm sorry, but I have nothing positive to say about her performance.

Stanton- He was better than I thought he'd be, but he's not one of my favorites.

K. Todd- Although he'd improved, I still didn't like his performance that much.

ensemble- This was one of the better ensembles I've seen. Cristin was a standout.

I hadn't been this emotionally gripped by Wicked in a very long time. It was a cathartic experience for me. I will treasure my short conversation with Lisa for the rest of my life. Lori, thank you sooooooooo much for everything!

[ByTheSea920]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 3:27am

Great in-depth review! Thanks for posting! I would love to go see this production, it sounds fantastic!
Its a shame to hear Kristoffer's lost his touch as Fiyero. I saw him in the role twice in L.A, and he was wonderful. :/ I guess he's just been doing this role for too long and has lost that spark. Sad.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 12:42pm

How did the house look? Did it look like a show that needs to close in a few months or was it fairly full?

[zamedy]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 1:42pm

Why is Annaleigh no longer playing Glinda with the Broadway company? I certainly mean no offense by this.. but wouldn't playing the role in Chicago after playing it on Broadway almost be like a demotion, since reaching Broadway is the pinnacle of a musical theatre actor's career?

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 3:18pm

Fosse, the house was very full.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 7/14/08 at 6:19pm

Thanks for sharing your review. Glad you enjoyed the show!