#1
Posted: 9/20/05 at 12:07am
(okay, I'm really tired.. I ran this through Word's spellcheck, I hope it caught everything.)
I've seen Wicked four times now, three of which were in NYC, and I think this is overall my favorite production/cast.
The show itself is very flawed (as I know a lot of you agree) and I think this cast was the most successful at making me forget the plot holes and script problems.
Stephanie J Block's voice is incredible, simply incredible. I was most impressed with No Good Deed, and judging by the response she got, I think most of the audience agreed with me. Her acting for the most part was excellent, although there were a few moments where I thought she was a bit too polished- she didn't have the rawness that Idina had during the emotional scenes. But I really didn't miss Idina's awkward arm movements and strange facial expressions.
Kendra Kassebaum's second act performance is the best I've ever seen. I've always come out of the show not really liking Glinda-because I never quite forgive her for telling Morrible to use Nessa. The transition from Glinda and Elphaba hating each other into For Good has never rung true to me.
But some how Kendra got me on her side, her emotions and motives were much more clear and I sympathized with her.
Her performance in the first act is a bit much, she can't seem to stand still, and her Glinda is very ADHD. But she still made me laugh, which I didn't expect to do because I've heard the jokes before. She has this sort of twisted way of delivering the lines which made them funny for completely different reasons. People have said before that her high notes are not very strong, which I agree with. But I didn't really mind, they were there, just not very powerful. Her lower range is just gorgeous; she has a really interesting quality to her voice.
-What was with her constantly flashing Elphaba? "I've got ruffles on'em!" Heh.
I enjoyed Carol Kane as Morrible, she didn't sing at all, but she was pretty spot on acting-wise. Her "..Shut up!" speech was chilling.
David Garrison was fine. The Wizard is really a pretty thankless role, but he's got a pleasant voice and he's aged very well.
Derrick Williams is probably the weakest cast member. His lines were rushed and hard to understand, and his voice is a little too American Idol for me. He has a nice look for Fiyaro, you can see why Glinda and Elphaba would fall for him -the two gay men I was with spent intermission discussing his ass.
Logan Lipton was an adorable Bog, appropriately pathetic.
Jenna Leigh Green's voice is lovely; she got applause in the middle of Wicked Witch Of The East. Her acting is as good as it could be with the little she has to work with.
So, like I said, overall my favorite production of the show.
Some Random Stuff:
- We saw some of the cast eating outside a restaurant before the show. I recognized Stephanie because she was still pretty green. My friends freaked out and tried to discreetly walk by at least five times to get a good look. My friends are pretty hard to miss, two guys with pink hair, and a gothic girl.
-Stephanie missed the One Short Day quick change, Kendra looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Even after Stephanie ran on they both looked like they didn't know what to do. They didn't start singing until "There are wonders.."
- My friends Stage Doored, I'm not really into getting things signed or taking pictures, but I took their pictures for them and such. There were only about five other people waiting. The whole was cast very nice and personable. My friends were really thrilled with the experience- because there wasn't a crowd the cast stuck around and talked for awhile. Stephanie asked me if the people I was with were the ones who “walked by us a bunch of times while we were eating?” I said yes, she said “That was too funny, you poor thing, you looked SO embarrassed.”
I've seen Wicked four times now, three of which were in NYC, and I think this is overall my favorite production/cast.
The show itself is very flawed (as I know a lot of you agree) and I think this cast was the most successful at making me forget the plot holes and script problems.
Stephanie J Block's voice is incredible, simply incredible. I was most impressed with No Good Deed, and judging by the response she got, I think most of the audience agreed with me. Her acting for the most part was excellent, although there were a few moments where I thought she was a bit too polished- she didn't have the rawness that Idina had during the emotional scenes. But I really didn't miss Idina's awkward arm movements and strange facial expressions.
Kendra Kassebaum's second act performance is the best I've ever seen. I've always come out of the show not really liking Glinda-because I never quite forgive her for telling Morrible to use Nessa. The transition from Glinda and Elphaba hating each other into For Good has never rung true to me.
But some how Kendra got me on her side, her emotions and motives were much more clear and I sympathized with her.
Her performance in the first act is a bit much, she can't seem to stand still, and her Glinda is very ADHD. But she still made me laugh, which I didn't expect to do because I've heard the jokes before. She has this sort of twisted way of delivering the lines which made them funny for completely different reasons. People have said before that her high notes are not very strong, which I agree with. But I didn't really mind, they were there, just not very powerful. Her lower range is just gorgeous; she has a really interesting quality to her voice.
-What was with her constantly flashing Elphaba? "I've got ruffles on'em!" Heh.
I enjoyed Carol Kane as Morrible, she didn't sing at all, but she was pretty spot on acting-wise. Her "..Shut up!" speech was chilling.
David Garrison was fine. The Wizard is really a pretty thankless role, but he's got a pleasant voice and he's aged very well.
Derrick Williams is probably the weakest cast member. His lines were rushed and hard to understand, and his voice is a little too American Idol for me. He has a nice look for Fiyaro, you can see why Glinda and Elphaba would fall for him -the two gay men I was with spent intermission discussing his ass.
Logan Lipton was an adorable Bog, appropriately pathetic.
Jenna Leigh Green's voice is lovely; she got applause in the middle of Wicked Witch Of The East. Her acting is as good as it could be with the little she has to work with.
So, like I said, overall my favorite production of the show.
Some Random Stuff:
- We saw some of the cast eating outside a restaurant before the show. I recognized Stephanie because she was still pretty green. My friends freaked out and tried to discreetly walk by at least five times to get a good look. My friends are pretty hard to miss, two guys with pink hair, and a gothic girl.
-Stephanie missed the One Short Day quick change, Kendra looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Even after Stephanie ran on they both looked like they didn't know what to do. They didn't start singing until "There are wonders.."
- My friends Stage Doored, I'm not really into getting things signed or taking pictures, but I took their pictures for them and such. There were only about five other people waiting. The whole was cast very nice and personable. My friends were really thrilled with the experience- because there wasn't a crowd the cast stuck around and talked for awhile. Stephanie asked me if the people I was with were the ones who “walked by us a bunch of times while we were eating?” I said yes, she said “That was too funny, you poor thing, you looked SO embarrassed.”
"A wonky eye, you've got my friend."
