Wicked - The First-Ever Original Production- Page 2

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 2:38am

i'm kinda liking Fiyero's tattoo

And so do I. In the pre-Broadway tryout in SF Norbert Butz had them on his face but they were removed before the show hit Broadway. The tattoos are in the book and indicate Fiyero's tribe and that costume with the tattoos in DTL although cheap looking really should be what he wears when he first meets Elphaba. Since Stephen Schwartz was there to help with this production I'm hoping he brings back the tattoos to the version we see.

And I like the fact that the Wizard looks more like the Wizard from the movie.

Since the Wizard is a political figure in both the book and the musical the Finnish production has made him look like Lenin, a tyrant well-known to the Finns.

Could Galinda's "Popular" dress be any shorter?

Nope, and look at how busty she is. She's definitely a Norse Amazonian goddess and the dress she wears when she arrives in the bubble even accentuates that fact.

[EvanK]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 2:38am

Was no one else amazed by that melting segment?! I don't understand how they did that!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 2:44am

I really like this. I just wish the video had been edited a little smoother.

[DefyGravity4]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 3:19am

I like the logo and Glinda's bubble, but can't say I'm a fan of a lot of the costume. Who's idea was Fiyero's white suit in Dancing Through Life, he looks like he's competing in Eurovision!

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 10:11am

I love WICKED "as is" on Bway, but this looks amazing! They sound good, too.

They did a GREAT non-reproduction of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, too.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 11:06am

"Nope, and look at how busty she is. She's definitely a Norse Amazonian goddess and the dress she wears when she arrives in the bubble even accentuates that fact."

Which is, frankly, a wonderful thing. She is gorgeous.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 12:42pm

Hmm, I like some of the physical production, but some of the costumes are so ill-fitted they look like everyone is playing "dress-up".

Also some of the staging is more 80s Euro-trash than Victorian steam-punk.

Still nice to see different interpretations.

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 12:52pm

I like the clock on the floor of the stage.

I need to pull the book out again. I keep saying I am going to re-read it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 1:10pm

"On page 34 of the program, there is a certain someone present that is not seen in the original staging."

I guess the MGM copyright for a Judy Garland-esque Dorothy, complete with Ruby Slippers, doesn't carry any water (pun intended) in Finland.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 1:19pm

On page 18, the parallels between 'Thank Goodness' & 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' just got pushed together.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 1:29pm

Why doesn't she have any petticoats on under that skirt?!

"Was no one else amazed by that melting segment?! I don't understand how they did that!"

It's a simple lazer effect with smoke.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 1:40pm

You can actually see the lazer on the last page.

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 3:08pm

It looks almost like a Cirque du Soleil production.

[Jappe]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 5:21pm

I saw this Finnish production on Friday night and even though I was very skeptical how the translation works and how that very huge stage is used for this show I was positively surprised. All in all it was ok evening not as impressive as the original shows that I've seen in London and Sydney but worth the look.

Some acting was just bad and the translation didn't work very smoothly but Finnish language is very tricky to make it work. I liked the sets but some people that were with me seeing this show for the first time were at times bit puzzeled where everything is happening and I guess this due to the new sets since I didn't have any trouble with the original ones. Defying Gravity was propably the most biggest disappointments of all cause it was just very un impressive since you could even see and here the people going to help Elphaba putting her ready to go flying with the wires. The bubbles :) well what can I even say about those...hmm interesting, didn't quite understand their point but since the dancers inside them were doing acrobatics and the director of the show propably likes those kinds of elements (used that often in previous works) wanted to put something special there, that's all I can guess. There were some very intresting sexual references for example in One Short Day instead of wizmania there were underground party with gay and trans couples, so a bit different take than the original.

It was an good experience but I still prefer the original

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 7:02pm

The pansexual orgy in One Short Day is either a misguided directorial choice, or a clever nod to the visit to a beastiality orgy in the original novel. Hard to tell which.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 7:26pm

To be honest, I think it looks well funded but incredibly tacky and amateur for the most part. The logo/cover art? Cheap.

I like the direction they're going in, but I don't think it was executed well. It seems to be stuck inbetween being stylised and the original design. Just looks inconstant.

I love the bubble and the special effects, I just wish they'd taken it further and gone all out with the techno-punk look.

Props for at least trying to do something different though.

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 9/6/10 at 9:10pm

New video of Opening Night; unfortunately most is in Finnish but there are some good singing scenes. And that Fiyero not only being hot sure can dance compared to some I've seen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT3eDRG-6Fw

[chewy5000]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 1:38am

2:06???

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 2:16am

Eh, I still think I prefer the Broadway staging.

I like Glinda's bubble better in the Finnish staging, and the What Is This Feeling? costumes, but that's about it...

[snowskittle]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 10:00am

Is this production outside the control of the US Wicked producers? If so, how is it legal? If not, why would they allow such a radically different production?

Just curious how this one came to be and what it's relationship is, legally speaking, to the others?

[DeNada]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 11:20am

The Helsinki City Theatre will have a license to perform the show under secondary rights (i.e. stock, amdram or rep theatres). I'm not sure who handles Wicked's rights internationally (MTI? They do a bunch of other Stephen Schwartz shows) but they'll have been licensed to do the show probably SPECIFICALLY in their own production without making use of any of the copyrighted elements of the original Mantello/Cilento/Lee version.

The reason to allow such different productions is simply so the show can have a life beyond the major musical theatre markets that can support ridiculously expensive shows like the Broadway staging. In areas like Scandinavia, much of South America, Hungary, the Far East (outside of Japan and South Korea) etc. there simply isn't the money or theatrical climate to support big clones of Broadway/West End mega shows, but they're still good markets for generating royalties etc. in their own productions.

It does no damage to the Wicked property, certainly, regardless of the quality of the show (which is, regrettably, unlikely to be superb - it'll be good for Helsinki no doubt but they don't have the same calibre of training and talent in Finland as in other territories with bigger theatre industries).

[Justin D]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 11:59am

Well those 2 God awfull Phantom productions on Hungary and Poland did not hurt Phantom at all.

[Muhlethaler]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 3:18pm

Updated On: 7/20/18 at 03:18 PM

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 3:35pm

It has the approval of its original creators and its production team. So it's 100% legal. I personally think I like the look for this production equally if not more than the Broadway production. It still remains true in some ways, but the people of Finland don't have the same emotional ties to the movie as we do. There's more of a freedom in the look of their production.

[DeNada]

Posted: 9/7/10 at 6:19pm

"I have to disagree with you. Most of the places you mentioned already support big clones of Broadway/West End mega shows to much success. A simple Google search will show you that. The reason for a non-replica production of Wicked is probably an artistic one. Judging by the pictures and the video, it is clear that money was not a problem. Actually, in many countries it is an honor to be granted permission for a non-replica production of a huge show such as Wicked."

Outside of:

- Western Europe
- Mexico, Brazil and Argentina
- Japan (TOHO/Shiki - even then TOHO's mostly doing original stagings now)
- South Korea (who does BILLY out there - is it OD Musical?)
- Australia/New Zealand

and obviously Broadway/London, most countries will not be reproducing Broadway stagings. They're just too expensive for some of these markets - hell, they're too expensive for their original markets sometimes.

The Helsinki City Theatre is a rep house. Wicked will play at most, what, 250 performances in its run - and it won't be running every day, so they can't just keep the set in the theatre all the time (at the moment they're running Arsenic and Old Lace and a Swedish play in the same space; their production of Enron premieres later this year) - a set like the Broadway version can't come up and down in a day, it'll take at least a week to get it out when the show eventually closes. Even the touring versions going round now need more than an afternoon's notice to get out of their theatres, a luxury Helsinki doesn't have when they program different shows at matinee and evening performances.

The show may look great, but they're not playing with the same moolah that Marc Platt et al had at their disposal for Wicked in America. Especially when the most expensive ticket is €46 (just under US$60). You work with what you have.