Wicked Tour-10/20/2005 Review

I saw Wicked yesterday, 10/20, here in Dallas. I was very pleased with
the tour set. While most touring shows really downgrade the set, I was
very happy with Wicked's set. I sat in the 4th row to the right of the
stage. I was worried about my view at first, as I was afraid that I
would be cut off from a lot of things, as I was so far to the right.
Luckily, this wasn't the case. I have to say, overall, I am pleased
with
the touring company. The touring ensemble is, by far, doing a much
better job than the current Broadway ensemble. They just have so much
more energy and enthusiasm than the Broadway ensemble. Thanks to my
close seats, I was able to point out ensemble members when they came
through the stage door. They were extremely sweet, and almost suprised
when my friend and I asked them for their autograph and a picture. And
now, on to the leads!

Carol Kane (Madame Morrible)-After seeing Carole Shelley in this role,
it is hard to believe another Morrible, as Carole did this part so
well.
But I was very happy with her take and interpretation of the role. Her
"wicked witch" during Defying Gravity was EXTREMELEY creepy and scary.
Because of the awful acoustics at our lovely Music Hall, sometimes it
was hard to understand what she was saying. However, since I know this
show back and front, it wasn't a problem for me. Overall, very good
performance from Carol Kane.

Logan Lipton (Boq)-Finally! They cast Boq the age he should be! I was
very pleased with Logan's take on the role. His voice is wonderful, as
well as his acting. He really made you have a hatred for Boq when he
was
blaming everything on Elphaba. The best part was his singing, though.
He
is trained very well, and it shows. He is very limited with what he can
do in this role, but he gives a great performance.

Jenna Leigh Green (Nessarose)-Definately one of the best performances
of
the night. Jenna's voice is so strong and her interpretation is right
on. Going into the show, I had heard lots of wonderful things about
Jenna, so I was interested to see if she lived up to her reputation. I
am pleased to report she definately did. I would love to see Jenna in
the role of Elphaba. Her voice is simply too good and too strong for
the
part of Nessa.

Derrick Williams (Fiyero)-Having heard mostly mixed to negative reviews
about Derrick, I am happy to say that I was pleasantly suprised with
him. Derrick had much more of an R&B feel to his voice, which was nice
to hear. It was just nice to hear a different voice for Fiyero, rather
than white-boy-very-Broadway-trained stereotypical Fiyero. Not to
mention, he fills out those tight pants VERY well. I know, I'm bad.

And now for the girls...

Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda)-I'm not going to lie...I was not looking
forward to seeing Kendra. After hearing so many bad things about her, I
was really hoping to see an understudy. After seeing the show last
night, I am so so so glad I saw Kendra. Kendra was WONDERFUL. Her
comedic timing was right on point and her take on Glinda was hillarious
and something that can't be put into words. Although Kendra doesn't
have
the voice of Kristin or Megan, she is definately the most funny Glinda
I
have ever seen or heard. If you haven't had the chance to see Kendra as
Glinda, you are truly missing out.

Stephanie J. Block (Elphaba)-I really hope I don't get shot by any of
you guys for this next review. I was actually pretty disappointed in
Stephanie. Her highlight of the night was definately 'No Good Deed'.
But
the rest of the show was just...weak. Her interpretation is WAY too
dramatic and just not something I enjoyed too much. Obviously, the
woman
has a great voice. But she was really holding back last night. I don't
know if she was sick or not. But her holding back wasn't even what made
me not like her Elphaba. It was her line delivery and interpretation of
the character. She just makes Elphaba way too...pissed off.

Oh! Two side notes...I was suprised that the flying machine doesn't fly
very high here in Dallas. I guess I just have been spoiled by the New
York flying machine, which goes pretty high. Also, during 'No One
Mourns
the Wicked', I'm pretty sure Kendra swallowed a bubble. She was
coughing
a bit during the song, and I could have swore I saw a bubble go into
her
mouth. My friend who went with me also noticed this, as well as a few
other people. I thought it was funny.

I hope you guys enjoy my review!
--brandon

Well, I agree. But not as dramatic as Stephanie makes it out to be, in my opinion. She was just...over the top, I thought.

I see where you guys are coming from, but I guess you just had to be there. Like, Stephanie wasn't horrible or anything. Just not my cup of tea.

I agree Willact4food, the character can be dramatic, but you should never over act, unless you're doing a parody or something. Elphaba is still a real person, a real charcter.

I completely agree with your reveiew of Stephanie's performance. Although the book Wicked is very dark, the musical is not as dark and Stephanie's portrayal is much darker and serious. I was fortunate to see Idina Menzel as Elphaba and I felt she make Elphaba much more likeable. Stephanie has a great voice but Idina hit her notes better (i.e. Stephanie rushed the Wizard and I) and to me played the part as the appropriate age. Stephanie seemed to act too old for the part. I do agree that Stephanie's best moment was No Good Deed.

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You all know what I think already so I'll just respond with an exerpt of yet another Dallas article I found:

"But the star is Block’s Elphaba. Her pitch and tone are perfect, her voice clarion-powerful. In only the third song of the show, “The Wizard and I,” she gives a knockout performance that quite literally stunned the opening-night audience. You might worry that director Joe Mantello sets the bar too high too soon, that the rest of the show can never measure up.
But Block pulls it off again. And again. Even on a musically messy song like “No Good Deed,” Block shines."

EDIT to add link...
Full Article

Updated On: 10/21/05 at 07:16 PM

I wouldn't be too hard pressed to show that article, especially if it calls "No Good Deed" messy... And, again, we want to print what critics say when they're positive about who we like, yet we all ignore the fact that Idina won the Tony, despite all of the insults her performance gets on these boards...double standard much...

-Vincent

I'm so glad to hear everybody's review/opinion on Stepahnie and the show. Don't worry, I still had a wonderful time.

As far as Kendra being "over the top" as well, I feel for Glinda, you HAVE to over the top or else you lose this character. I saw JLT a few months ago, and she was "over the top" without being too over the top...if that makes sense. JLT's Glinda was perfect. I just thought Kendra was hillarious and really had such an amazing interpretation of Glinda.

Oh-and thank you all for being mature and not bashing what I've said, or what others have said. It's nice to come to a thread where people are posting their opinions in a calm, respectful manner.

Have a good day everyone!
Brandon

As far as Kendra being "over the top" as well, I feel for Glinda, you HAVE to over the top or else you lose this character.

I totally agree. However, I felt some of Kendra's extreme gestures were a little out of place and forced at times - like it was strictly for the laugh and not as much for her character. Having said that, I thought she did a fine job and I enjoyed her performance.

I also felt Stephanie had a perfect balance of understanding and conveying the dramatic side of Elphaba while still making her likeable. I guess I didn't find anything she did to be over the top - I thought she was truly acting the role.

All in all, I was *very* impressed with this cast - and I'm glad they have a strong company out there representing the show.

As for Stephanie holding back, she definitely did in Los Angeles on "Defying Gravity." It was intentional but understandable, because she was in a lot of pain then. She didn't take the high note in the last chorus of the song (in the air), and every one of her sustained notes were cut short (even abruptly) in this section. She's too good of a singer to not have made a conscious decision to do this (probably just to get through the performance).

But now that she is supposedly "recovered" enough to continue the tour, I would be asking questions as to why she needs to hold back myself. As for Stephanie's other 2 big songs (Wizard and I, and No Good Deed) she let loose full-force in L.A. with no holding back. I guess it just must be something about Defying Gravity, for her.

As for her playing it "pissed off," Elphaba IS an angry character. The misperception is that her anger is EVIL. But without the anger, the character doesn't make any sense. And if you think Stephanie played it "angry," read the novel. She's WAY more "pissed off" there. I think it's the only way to make this work, stay effective, and have it make sense.

EDIT: Just to add in that Elphaba is already "pissed" when we first see her in college at the very beginning. She has been shown "no love" her entire life to that point. She isn't wide-eyed, eager and innocent then. That would make her an idiot. She's been mistreated her whole life to that point, and it should show. She's excited about starting college and getting away from her past, but she's not a happy girl, by any means.

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Updated On: 10/22/05 at 01:47 PM

im not saying shes all wide eyed and cheery. she is optimistic and hopefuly during the wizard and i. not downdrodden and pissed off..

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DURING the Wizard and I, she gets excited and pumped up about the possibility of mattering to someone... especially someone THAT important to the world. But her negativity is still present as a character trait, even in the lyrics.

She's basically celebrating the idea that "won't people just die if I'm suddenly on the A-List?" It's not exactly hopeful about mankind. In fact, it's almost playfully spiteful. She sees it as an opportunity to prove to the world that she can do good, though, but it's not an "isn't the world & life great" song.

This is the whole tragic cycle about Elphaba and the outside world's perception of her. These two negative attitudes feed on each other: Elphaba is pissed because the world always treats her badly, or like a freak. And the outside world treats her badly (or with no sympathy at all) because she's so pissed and snotty all the time and doesn't merit their understanding or support.

It's a very realistic and tragic cycle, if it's played that way.

If Elphaba's general personality at the beginning in Shiz was more pleasant and hopeful, don't you think more colleagues at Shiz would be nice to her? She needs to be "difficult" to get to know or understand. It shouldn't be painted on her face for all to see, or it won't be grounded in reality (which all good fantasies should be).

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"They don't like her because she's green."

I disagree. The people of Shiz are shocked by her when they first see her. They visibly jump out of the way or hide their faces because of her appearance. This is a knee-jerk reaction to anyone so physically different. They don't "dislike" and "hate" her until after she shoots them back an angry look or a snotty expression of disinterest in return for their thoughtless reaction. Then, they brush her off with a "well to heck with her then" attitude.

Both of these negative responses turn quickly to intense dislike and hate, then. They feed on each other repeatedly and grow rapidly. This is the way I see it being directed by Mantello during "Dear Old Shiz" and I think it works beautifully. His direction was pretty clear to me, and I found this whole interaction during the singing of the Alma Mater to be very tragic and sad. It sets everything up that follows.

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Updated On: 10/22/05 at 03:50 PM