#1
Posted: 7/2/05 at 10:46pm
I was worried going in; This was my third time seeing the show and after the OBC and the touring cast I wondered how long they could keep introducing such talented casts-- Well they did it again.
First of all, the show looks great- The traps are back and the Monkeys fly once more. The lights look better than Broadway and the stage gleams. The "One Short Day" set and "Dancing Through Life" have never looked better-- when the Italian lights lit up, the audience literally gasped with delight. The Time Dragon looks particularly animated, with his glowing red eys and billows of smoke whenever anything magical happens.
The cast was uniformly fine-- Telly & Kristoffer Cusick were particularly good in their thankless roles. The "Chicago contingent" of Lincolnshire standby Gene Wygant (Wizard) and Steppenwolf's Rondi Reed (Morrible) showed the kids how you chew the scenery without leaving toothmarks. I particularly liked Reed's flamboyant Morrible- She swept on stage each time like she built the damn theatre. Wygant was a real Humbug and made "Wonderful" sparkle.
Kate was fine-- The more I see this show the more I love Cheno (Not a dig, it's jsut a hard performance to top). Kate killed in the "combat scene" and knocked the crowd out with Popular.
Ana? What can I say? I was worried, but she hit it out of the park. So much has been said about her range, but what struck me was her delivery. She sang each line like it just occcurred to her. It was an astoundingly natural performance, the likes of which I've never seen before, especially in this show. Her "Method-like" delivery made the show come alive in a way I've never seen. Her phrasing was extremely real, so much so that sometimes she seemed off the beats, but I loved it. When she delivered "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed" she sounded not like a diva delivering the big number but a woman in torment, who HAD to get this out of her system or die. It was a performance that ranks up there with the greatest I've experienced. And whoever said that her voiced cracked? Bah! She was dead on, with amazing power.
The only glitch was early, during Elphaba's birth where the bed rolled off before she was born and the "Bubble" came down instead. So when Dad howled "Take it away!" It was already long gone-- we never saw the little green baby, the bed rolled off while Mom was contorting.
The sounds and lights were much better than the tour. "No Good Deed" looked incredible, with Ana zooming up out of the floor in a flood of color and fog. Spectacular.
We took my sister & Neice and they both want to come see it again. My 60-year old sister (Who's previous theater experience consisted of "Phantom") wants the CD AND the T-Shirt! We sat up in Balcony row M- the front of the upper section and the seats were GREAT- especially for $48. I thought it was the best place to sit in the house!
First of all, the show looks great- The traps are back and the Monkeys fly once more. The lights look better than Broadway and the stage gleams. The "One Short Day" set and "Dancing Through Life" have never looked better-- when the Italian lights lit up, the audience literally gasped with delight. The Time Dragon looks particularly animated, with his glowing red eys and billows of smoke whenever anything magical happens.
The cast was uniformly fine-- Telly & Kristoffer Cusick were particularly good in their thankless roles. The "Chicago contingent" of Lincolnshire standby Gene Wygant (Wizard) and Steppenwolf's Rondi Reed (Morrible) showed the kids how you chew the scenery without leaving toothmarks. I particularly liked Reed's flamboyant Morrible- She swept on stage each time like she built the damn theatre. Wygant was a real Humbug and made "Wonderful" sparkle.
Kate was fine-- The more I see this show the more I love Cheno (Not a dig, it's jsut a hard performance to top). Kate killed in the "combat scene" and knocked the crowd out with Popular.
Ana? What can I say? I was worried, but she hit it out of the park. So much has been said about her range, but what struck me was her delivery. She sang each line like it just occcurred to her. It was an astoundingly natural performance, the likes of which I've never seen before, especially in this show. Her "Method-like" delivery made the show come alive in a way I've never seen. Her phrasing was extremely real, so much so that sometimes she seemed off the beats, but I loved it. When she delivered "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed" she sounded not like a diva delivering the big number but a woman in torment, who HAD to get this out of her system or die. It was a performance that ranks up there with the greatest I've experienced. And whoever said that her voiced cracked? Bah! She was dead on, with amazing power.
The only glitch was early, during Elphaba's birth where the bed rolled off before she was born and the "Bubble" came down instead. So when Dad howled "Take it away!" It was already long gone-- we never saw the little green baby, the bed rolled off while Mom was contorting.
The sounds and lights were much better than the tour. "No Good Deed" looked incredible, with Ana zooming up out of the floor in a flood of color and fog. Spectacular.
We took my sister & Neice and they both want to come see it again. My 60-year old sister (Who's previous theater experience consisted of "Phantom") wants the CD AND the T-Shirt! We sat up in Balcony row M- the front of the upper section and the seats were GREAT- especially for $48. I thought it was the best place to sit in the house!
And whoops about the bed, haha.
