Wicked Dragon Clock

[Sheila Edward]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 11:35am

My husband and I saw Wicked last night in Indianapolis. The Dragon Clock was not a part of the show. I saw it in Chicago years ago and it was. Has it been removed for some reason? I was disappointed because that was one of my favorite parts of the previous production. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 12:40pm

Is there no dragon in the current tour? That's disappointing.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 12:47pm

I saw the tour in Pittsburgh a few months ago as well as Philly last summer and there was definitely a dragon. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 1:00pm

I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut it. It literally has no purpose.

It’s a cute nod to the novel, though.

[Justin D]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 1:03pm

It would have been there, doubtful they would cut it, it is smaller on tour but is still there, by any chance were you sitting under a balcony that might have been blocking the view?

[ProdDesign1]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 1:09pm

Sheila Edward said: "My husband and I saw Wicked last night in Indianapolis. The Dragon Clock was not a part of the show. I saw it in Chicago years ago and it was. Has it been removed for some reason? I was disappointed because that was one of my favorite parts of the previous production."

You must have been under the balcony. It is for sure still there. Check out the Old National Centre Instagram location

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 3:05pm

It was definitely in the Chicago stop of the tour.

[Sheila Edward]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 3:15pm

Oh man! We WERE under the balcony. But a friend went last week and was in the upper section and didn’t see it... so I’m not sure.

[Tag]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 3:30pm

Judging by the many curtain pics people have posted on Instagram from the Murat, I'd say you just didn't look hard enough 


I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut it. It literally has no purpose.
The whole show is told through flashback through the context of the Clock of the Time Dragon.

[Pippin]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 5:06pm

The theater may not have had the proper specifications to mount the clock. Many of the touring venues are old, and some may not be able to handle the technical demands for modern spectacle shows. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 5:09pm

Tag said: "Judging by the many curtain pics people have posted on Instagram from the Murat, I'd say you just didn't look hard enough


I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut it. It literally has no purpose.
The whole show is told through flashback through the context of the Clock of the Time Dragon."

 

That feels like a generous interpretation.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 5:16pm

This is what I saw in Pittsburgh when I attended the performance back at the end of January...






 
 

Updated On: 5/2/18 at 05:16 PM

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 5:18pm

TotallyEffed said: "Tag said: "Judging by the many curtain pics people have posted on Instagram from the Murat, I'd say you just didn't look hard enough


I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut it. It literally has no purpose.
The whole show is told through flashback through the context of the Clock of the Time Dragon."



That feels like a generous interpretation."

It’s actually a pretty accurate and straightforward interpretation. The Dragon Clock is taken directly from the novel and is used as a device to further suggest the ongoing theme of passage of time throughout the show. It’s made pretty clear in the opening number that all of the following events are a flashback. 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 5:55pm

Someone feel free to correct my memory, but doesn't Carol de Giere in her Schwartz bio, Defying Gravity, claim the dragon clock is a leftover from an earlier draft of the show? If so, it shouldn't surprise us if it is dropped in houses where it is difficult to mount.

[Tag]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 6:33pm

It WASN'T dropped people!  Original poster was mistaken!

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 6:50pm

GavestonPS said: "Someone feel free to correct my memory, but doesn't Carol de Gierein her Schwartz bio,Defying Gravity, claim the dragon clock is a leftover from an earlier draft of the show? If so, it shouldn't surprise us if it is dropped in houses where it is difficult to mount."

It's part of their own rig and doesn't matter what the actual theater looks like. Its definitely there in all theaters. The OP just didn't see it

[Jakeevan942]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 7:05pm

Wicked is only booked into theaters that can accommodate it's full physical production package, Time Dragon Clock included. That's part of the reason why it is down to one company-there are only so many theaters that can fit a Wicked-sized show, and nearly all of them have hosted the tour at least twice. (This is the tour's fourth engagement in Indianapolis. I am looking at a listing of all Wicked tour stops in calendar years 2017 and 2018, and there is only 1 city in there that hosted Wicked for the first time last year.

 

The Time Dragon Clock on the tour is a redesigned version of the piece. It is built entirely into the tour's proscenium, and is run through automation, unlike the Broadway version which is aided by crew members literally pulling the ropes attached to various points on the dragon.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 7:16pm

The Time Dragon is built into the show proscenium, and literally cannot be cut from the show.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 8:44pm

TheGingerBreadMan said: "

It’s actually a pretty accurate and straightforward interpretation. The Dragon Clock is taken directly from the novel and is used as a device to further suggest the ongoing theme of passage of time throughout the show. It’s made pretty clear in the opening number that all of the following events are a flashback."

 

Obviously the show goes back in time after the first number and I already mentioned the novel. My point is that it wouldn’t make one bit of difference if the clock was there or not. You’re acting like it’s used to alert the audience that the story is going back in time. From my memory, Glinda makes a passing reference to it once and it’s forgotten. It may have played a bigger role in earlier drafts but it’s pretty pointless in the final version of the show, story-wise.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 8:49pm

I've seen Wicked maybe eleventy-billion times and the Dragon Clock has literally no thematic or plot-oriented purpose. If it does, then I've missed it eleventy-billion times. I think it's a cool way to usher in the opening number, and then after, it's just a nice border around the top of the proscenium. 

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 8:52pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "I've seenWickedmaybe eleventy-billion times and the Dragon Clock has literally no thematic or plot-oriented purpose. If it does, then I've missed iteleventy-billion times.I think it's a cool way to usher in the opening number, and then after, it's just a nice border around the top of the proscenium."

When Elphaba gets mad his eyes turn red and his head still moves. Also smoke comes out of his nose. Most people dont look up to see that though.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 8:53pm

mailhandler777 said: "When Elphaba gets mad his eyes turn red and his head still moves. Also smoke comes out of his nose. Most people dont look up to see that though."

Oh, that's true! I think those moments just register to me as "Elphaba is mad" rather than "oh look, the Dragon Clock, a symbol for (something), is corresponding with Elphaba's fury, how symbolic of (something)." Like, it just kind of is there and complementing what's happening on stage.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/2/18 at 10:01pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "I've seenWickedmaybe eleventy-billion times and the Dragon Clock has literally no thematic or plot-oriented purpose. If it does, then I've missed iteleventy-billion times.I think it's a cool way to usher in the opening number, and then after, it's just a nice border around the top of the proscenium."

Thank you.

[Justin D]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 8:32am

Jakeevan942 said: "Wicked is only booked into theaters that can accommodate it's full physical production package, Time Dragon Clock included. That's part of the reason why it is down to one company-there are only so many theaters that can fit a Wicked-sized show, and nearly all of them have hosted the tour at least twice. (This is the tour's fourth engagement in Indianapolis. I am looking at a listing of all Wicked tour stops in calendar years 2017 and 2018, and there is only 1 city in there that hosted Wicked for the first time last year.



The Time Dragon Clock on the tour is a redesigned version of the piece. It is built entirely into the tour's proscenium, and is run through automation, unlike the Broadway version which is aided by crew members literally pulling the ropes attached to various points on the dragon."

Also this current tour is the scaled down version purposely designed to fit smaller venues