Wicked Natl Tour Review - 1.16.09

[thejcm]

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.

[inick122492]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 3:05pm

"Katie Rose Clarke was a surprisingly good G(a)linda."

She is the best Galinda there ever was! HEr acting was superb!! Amazing!!! She couldn't be any better and needs to go to Braodway!

[dg22894]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 3:08pm

Thanks. When I saw it I thought Lenny and Myra were good. U are lucky you saw understudies for Nessarose and Boq. I saw the actual ones and did not like them very much. I saw an Understudy for Glinda I wish I could have seen Katie. Donna is AMAZING though.
Updated On: 1/17/09 at 03:08 PM

[zoraksferal]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 3:41pm

I saw the tour last month in Detroit. Absolutely amazing. I will be crushed when Katie Rose Clarke leaves Wicked, whenever that will be. She is possibly one of the best, and purest singers I have heard. Donna was magnificent as well. I feel the tour cast is better than even the Broadway cast. When I went though, I got an understudy for Nessarose, Lori Holmes. She seemed rather pitchy and screechy.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 4:41pm

Thanks for the review. Did it say in the playbill who the official Nessarose is? Kristine Reese left.

[dg22894]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 6:05pm

I saw Kristine Resse on Jan. 3. She was not good.

[Sarahsas]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 1:20pm

Amanda Rose is not the understudy, she is the new replacement for Nessa from the Broadway cast. The performance described was her first show with the tour, which is why she probably had an insert. Christine Reese has moved to the 2nd National Tour, still playing Nessa.

[thejcm]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 1:54pm

That makes sense, her insert was a little more elaborate than the others. Are you sure it was her first? It seems weird that someone would leave in the middle of a stop (the show has been here in Louisville since the 7th).

I'm not sure how accurate the understudy slips were because on the cast board, only Boq and Nessarose were listed as being different, but Adam didn't have a slip in the program. However the understudies for Chistery and Elphaba's Father DID have slips but weren't on the cast board.

[misto625]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 5:42pm

Well there are two possible explanations:

One would be an oversight on the part of the ushers and the house manager, putting the slips in the playbills and not putting the names on the board.

The other explanation would be that they gave you a playbill from a previous performance where Chistery and Witch's Father were absent and they were in this performance. Which begs a question I have always wondered: Are the understudies for the Witch's Father bald as well?

Did they announce any substitutions before the curtain arose as well? As long as they announce the substitution in two ways, it's alright.