#1
Posted: 4/29/05 at 3:00pm
"Highly offensive; obnoxious", says Webster's Dictionary of the word, "wicked." The Broadway smash, by the same name, is exactly that. With a horrible libretto, weak casting, and an overrated rip-off of the popular movie, The Wizard of Oz, Wicked offends even the most adept followers of Broadway's "Rent Generation."
Wicked has lyrics cand a score by Stephen Schwartz, known for his contributions to theatre such as Pippin, Children of Eden, Godspell, and Working, among others. One would be justified in saying that much of Wicked's score is extremely catchy. However, that is about the only thing going for it, because Mr. Schwartz never fails to disappoint, as with many of his other works. Along with frequent insertions of overly obvious key changes (paralleling --GASP!-- huge changes of emotion), there's also a large, piping-hot side dish of immature lyrics. For example, the musical's final piece, "For Good", which lists random scenarious taht have absolutely nothing to do with the actual meaning of the song (for example, "Like a seed dropped by a skybird / Halfway through the wood" - Oh, Mr. Schwartz, if only every friendship reminded us of birdseed). Another example is the piece "Defying Gravity," which closes the first act. With obvious, second-grade mentality rhymes, and repetitive dialogue, the audience is left wishing the term "showstopper" was more literal, and desperately wanting to "Defy Menzel" - but we'll get to her later.
Winnie Holzman provides Wicked with its wonderful book (if, in some parallel universe, "wonderful" meant "predictable"). Holzman's writing makes Wicked a two-hour-long "My So-Called Life" episode, with Elphaba as the misunderstood character and G(a)linda as the popular girl everybody loves to hate. How original, Ms. Holzman - especially the obvious parallels made to the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, the Nazis, and the KKK. It's not the parallels that make the writing bothersome, it's the horrible approach to them. God forbid Holzman take an English class and learn about allegory or symbolism or just plain subtlety. However, Wicked does contain a few funny moments, when Holzman is not trying so hard to teach the audience the timely lesson of tolerance. Her insertion of puns and punch lines keeps the audience on its toes and makes the long periods of underdeveloped characters and bad music slightly more bearable.
Normally, bad shows are cast with good talent to boost their sales. This, however, cannot be said of Wicked. Idina Menzel, who plays the horribly misunderstood Elphaba, is a stale actress. In fact, I digress. Calling waht Ms. Menzel does "acting" is a blatant lie. A piece of cardboard could act the role of Elphaba better than she, with much greater action, emotion, and character development (and less freaky faces). It could sing better too - who has ever seen screaming cardboard? Many call what Menzel does onstage "belting," but that term doesn't pertain to screaming sharp pitches. It's a surprise that she has any shred of vocal cord left, with such poor technique. The way Menzel is going, she is going to have to speak through a vocoder within the year. A casting mistake was undoubtedly made in giving the role of a strong woman figure to such a bland actress.
Kristin Chenoweth, who plays G(a)linda, on the other hand, is a brilliant comedic actress with explicitly well-planned timing, and is an equally refreshing singer. Although her poor diction and lack of a top to her notes while belting in a character voice can be quite annoying at times, she makes up for it with her gorgeous coloratura soprano sound. Michelle Federer, who plays Elphaba's "tragically beautiful" sister, NessaRose, is also an up-and-comer to watch, and Carole Shelley and Norbert Leo Butz also add interesting takes to their respective roles of Madame Morrible and Fiyero. However, Kristin Chenoweth is about the only reason to waste your hard-earned money on this bust of a musical.
Wicked's set is reminiscent of Cats, RENT, Taboo, ... and Fresh Kills Landfill. The piece de' resistance, a large dragon, is unexplaned and unneeded. Its role in the novel on which the musical is based, is never explained in the show, and therefore it does nothing positive but cause a horrible distraction from the lackluster performances on stage. Its screeching is only facilitative in drowning out the screaming of a certain green girl. The rest of the set is adorned with clocks, assorted timepieces, and the like. What "time" has to do with a bad "My So-Called Life" episode is yet to be determined.
Wicked: The Musical is based on the book of the same name, by author Gregory Maguire. It seems that Schwartz and Holzman disregarded the contents of this novel, and instead, used it to line their bird cages. By omitting important characters, key setting details, and crucial plotlines, Wicked is not Wicked at all (putting a new spin on the cliche' phrase, "which witch is which?"). It's a horrible bastardization of a well-written novel. Actually, make that two, as I wouldn't be surprised if L. Frank Baum is rolling over in a grave somewhere.
Wicked: The Musical is an ideal show for any Broadway lover to see - if he wants to be utterly disgusted with its fluff. Perhaps, the melody of the opening number should be rewritten to include the lyrics, "no one mourns the untalented" (encompassing all of the writers, and most of the cast and creative team). And it's certain that nobody who "only has a brain" will, when it someday reaches its closing date.
Wicked has lyrics cand a score by Stephen Schwartz, known for his contributions to theatre such as Pippin, Children of Eden, Godspell, and Working, among others. One would be justified in saying that much of Wicked's score is extremely catchy. However, that is about the only thing going for it, because Mr. Schwartz never fails to disappoint, as with many of his other works. Along with frequent insertions of overly obvious key changes (paralleling --GASP!-- huge changes of emotion), there's also a large, piping-hot side dish of immature lyrics. For example, the musical's final piece, "For Good", which lists random scenarious taht have absolutely nothing to do with the actual meaning of the song (for example, "Like a seed dropped by a skybird / Halfway through the wood" - Oh, Mr. Schwartz, if only every friendship reminded us of birdseed). Another example is the piece "Defying Gravity," which closes the first act. With obvious, second-grade mentality rhymes, and repetitive dialogue, the audience is left wishing the term "showstopper" was more literal, and desperately wanting to "Defy Menzel" - but we'll get to her later.
Winnie Holzman provides Wicked with its wonderful book (if, in some parallel universe, "wonderful" meant "predictable"). Holzman's writing makes Wicked a two-hour-long "My So-Called Life" episode, with Elphaba as the misunderstood character and G(a)linda as the popular girl everybody loves to hate. How original, Ms. Holzman - especially the obvious parallels made to the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, the Nazis, and the KKK. It's not the parallels that make the writing bothersome, it's the horrible approach to them. God forbid Holzman take an English class and learn about allegory or symbolism or just plain subtlety. However, Wicked does contain a few funny moments, when Holzman is not trying so hard to teach the audience the timely lesson of tolerance. Her insertion of puns and punch lines keeps the audience on its toes and makes the long periods of underdeveloped characters and bad music slightly more bearable.
Normally, bad shows are cast with good talent to boost their sales. This, however, cannot be said of Wicked. Idina Menzel, who plays the horribly misunderstood Elphaba, is a stale actress. In fact, I digress. Calling waht Ms. Menzel does "acting" is a blatant lie. A piece of cardboard could act the role of Elphaba better than she, with much greater action, emotion, and character development (and less freaky faces). It could sing better too - who has ever seen screaming cardboard? Many call what Menzel does onstage "belting," but that term doesn't pertain to screaming sharp pitches. It's a surprise that she has any shred of vocal cord left, with such poor technique. The way Menzel is going, she is going to have to speak through a vocoder within the year. A casting mistake was undoubtedly made in giving the role of a strong woman figure to such a bland actress.
Kristin Chenoweth, who plays G(a)linda, on the other hand, is a brilliant comedic actress with explicitly well-planned timing, and is an equally refreshing singer. Although her poor diction and lack of a top to her notes while belting in a character voice can be quite annoying at times, she makes up for it with her gorgeous coloratura soprano sound. Michelle Federer, who plays Elphaba's "tragically beautiful" sister, NessaRose, is also an up-and-comer to watch, and Carole Shelley and Norbert Leo Butz also add interesting takes to their respective roles of Madame Morrible and Fiyero. However, Kristin Chenoweth is about the only reason to waste your hard-earned money on this bust of a musical.
Wicked's set is reminiscent of Cats, RENT, Taboo, ... and Fresh Kills Landfill. The piece de' resistance, a large dragon, is unexplaned and unneeded. Its role in the novel on which the musical is based, is never explained in the show, and therefore it does nothing positive but cause a horrible distraction from the lackluster performances on stage. Its screeching is only facilitative in drowning out the screaming of a certain green girl. The rest of the set is adorned with clocks, assorted timepieces, and the like. What "time" has to do with a bad "My So-Called Life" episode is yet to be determined.
Wicked: The Musical is based on the book of the same name, by author Gregory Maguire. It seems that Schwartz and Holzman disregarded the contents of this novel, and instead, used it to line their bird cages. By omitting important characters, key setting details, and crucial plotlines, Wicked is not Wicked at all (putting a new spin on the cliche' phrase, "which witch is which?"). It's a horrible bastardization of a well-written novel. Actually, make that two, as I wouldn't be surprised if L. Frank Baum is rolling over in a grave somewhere.
Wicked: The Musical is an ideal show for any Broadway lover to see - if he wants to be utterly disgusted with its fluff. Perhaps, the melody of the opening number should be rewritten to include the lyrics, "no one mourns the untalented" (encompassing all of the writers, and most of the cast and creative team). And it's certain that nobody who "only has a brain" will, when it someday reaches its closing date.
