#1
Posted: 1/17/09 at 2:38pm
Saw the show last night here in Louisville, KY. Ended up winning lotto seats and am a proud owner of a "I won the Wicked Lottery" buttons. That said, the love affair with winning the lotto was over when we got to our seats, in the 2nd row, 2ft from the stage and behind a giant speaker that further obstructed our view of the stage in our already obstructed view seats. Luckily most of the real action took place far enough downstage that the only thing we really missed was like...all of the scenery. I had seen the show once before in Chicago (in 2007) but my boyfriend hadn't, so I felt bad that he missed a lot of the big "Wow" visual moments in the show. Like when the green lights come on for "One Short Day" or the white lights come up for the Ozdust Ballroom. We did get to see her fly in full view, so at least that moment wasn't hindered by our terrible view.
I will say that -especially having seen the show from the Balcony- seeing it up close for $25 was an experience well worth it, despite the view. The ability to see all of the details on the costumes, to see every facial expression, and to (on occasion) hear the actors over the speaker in front of us was really amazing. I definitely felt like I was part of the action this time, rather than feeling like I was watching the show on a t.v when I was in Chicago.
Anyway, on to the performances.
Donna Vivino was a rather intense Elphaba. One specific moment that I loved of hers was her frightening calmness during "Defying Gravity" while those chilling chords are being played before/during the line "It's the wizard who should be afraid...of me." It was definitely one of those perfect moments in theatre for me. Vocally, she reminded me of Shoshana Bean mixed with Eden Espinosa. The way she pronounced things sometimes sounded JUST like Shoshana where her tone (especially when speaking) was often reminiscent of Eden. Donna has an insanely powerful voice that really shone during "No Good Deed" which I thought was much more exciting (at least with Donna's Elphaba) than "Defying Gravity".
Katie Rose Clarke was a surprisingly good G(a)linda. After hearing how disappointed people were with her Clara in Piazza I was worried that she would be sub-par. She definitely made the role her own and said certain lines in a way that was refreshing. Like, she was just speaking them and they happened to be funny to the audience, not like she was milking them for laughs. Specifically the line "A regime change, caused by a bizarre and unexpected twister of fate". I've seen way too many Glinda's wait for the laugh after "Regime change" and then ham up the latter part of the line which is annoyingly un-natural. I much preferred Katie's natural deliveries. She did ham it up however when it was appropriate, especially making "Popular" a riot to watch. She has a great voice and when she hit certain "money notes" you could just feel them. Also, does anyone else think that when she speaks, she sounds JUST like Kiersten Warren? (Alex from Saved by the Bell: College Years, Nora from S3 of Desperate Housewives, and other things).
Richard Blake was a standard Fiyero. Vocally he was kind of boring during "Dancing Through Life" but "As Long as You're Mine" was amazing. He did this really hot riff on "It's up that I fell" that really mad me sit up in my seat. He did look amazing in Fiyero's infamous white pants.
Wasn't a big fan of Myra Lucretia Taylor's Madame Morrible. She just wasn't evil enough for me. It was nice to hear a Morrible who sang certain parts of the show that some of the replacements had spoken.
Lenny Wolpe was also kind of standard as The Wizard. I saw him as Mushnik in the Little Shop national tour a few years ago and he was hilarious. Kind of like Myra's Morrible, he never really got evil enough. Like when he calls the gaurds to go after Elphaba when she escapes both times, he seemed to be more scared than angry.
We had understudies for Nessarose (Amanda Rose) and Boq (Adam Sanford) and they had great chemistry and very great voices for such small parts. Amanda Rose really stood out and was terrific in the "Wicked Witch of the East" scene, even though she had a little blooper during it. When she's trying to get Elphaba to stay after she "fixes" Boq, she called her Nessa on accident.
Paul Slade Smith was nothing too special as Dillamond.
I will say that -especially having seen the show from the Balcony- seeing it up close for $25 was an experience well worth it, despite the view. The ability to see all of the details on the costumes, to see every facial expression, and to (on occasion) hear the actors over the speaker in front of us was really amazing. I definitely felt like I was part of the action this time, rather than feeling like I was watching the show on a t.v when I was in Chicago.
Anyway, on to the performances.
Donna Vivino was a rather intense Elphaba. One specific moment that I loved of hers was her frightening calmness during "Defying Gravity" while those chilling chords are being played before/during the line "It's the wizard who should be afraid...of me." It was definitely one of those perfect moments in theatre for me. Vocally, she reminded me of Shoshana Bean mixed with Eden Espinosa. The way she pronounced things sometimes sounded JUST like Shoshana where her tone (especially when speaking) was often reminiscent of Eden. Donna has an insanely powerful voice that really shone during "No Good Deed" which I thought was much more exciting (at least with Donna's Elphaba) than "Defying Gravity".
Katie Rose Clarke was a surprisingly good G(a)linda. After hearing how disappointed people were with her Clara in Piazza I was worried that she would be sub-par. She definitely made the role her own and said certain lines in a way that was refreshing. Like, she was just speaking them and they happened to be funny to the audience, not like she was milking them for laughs. Specifically the line "A regime change, caused by a bizarre and unexpected twister of fate". I've seen way too many Glinda's wait for the laugh after "Regime change" and then ham up the latter part of the line which is annoyingly un-natural. I much preferred Katie's natural deliveries. She did ham it up however when it was appropriate, especially making "Popular" a riot to watch. She has a great voice and when she hit certain "money notes" you could just feel them. Also, does anyone else think that when she speaks, she sounds JUST like Kiersten Warren? (Alex from Saved by the Bell: College Years, Nora from S3 of Desperate Housewives, and other things).
Richard Blake was a standard Fiyero. Vocally he was kind of boring during "Dancing Through Life" but "As Long as You're Mine" was amazing. He did this really hot riff on "It's up that I fell" that really mad me sit up in my seat. He did look amazing in Fiyero's infamous white pants.
Wasn't a big fan of Myra Lucretia Taylor's Madame Morrible. She just wasn't evil enough for me. It was nice to hear a Morrible who sang certain parts of the show that some of the replacements had spoken.
Lenny Wolpe was also kind of standard as The Wizard. I saw him as Mushnik in the Little Shop national tour a few years ago and he was hilarious. Kind of like Myra's Morrible, he never really got evil enough. Like when he calls the gaurds to go after Elphaba when she escapes both times, he seemed to be more scared than angry.
We had understudies for Nessarose (Amanda Rose) and Boq (Adam Sanford) and they had great chemistry and very great voices for such small parts. Amanda Rose really stood out and was terrific in the "Wicked Witch of the East" scene, even though she had a little blooper during it. When she's trying to get Elphaba to stay after she "fixes" Boq, she called her Nessa on accident.
Paul Slade Smith was nothing too special as Dillamond.
"Who says you can't bend over backwards and eat bugs if you want to? I guess the bugs would probably say you can't do that that, but assuming that they are willing and consenting bugs, then there's no problem. Let's wig out eating bugs."
-RuPaul
