Wicked Tour Review 5/4- Chicago

[Aigoo]

Posted: 5/5/05 at 1:03am

One word: breathtaking. Amazing. Even that doesn't do it justice. I was skeptical at first, I was expecting very poppish and un-Broadway-type music, but the cast is just incredible. I was blown away. Literally, after I finished the show, I felt as if my life was complete.

First off, Ms. Stephanie J. Block has now even more respect from me than she has ever had before. She didn't falter once during the show and her performance was unsurpassable. Joshua, you might be amused to know that she didn't sound hoarse at all, she sounded quite healthy and her belting was used correctly from what I can tell. No yelling, whatsoever. Her acting was great, as well. Had many laughs from the audience. I just can't even talk about her, I'm just speechless.

Kendra isn't my favorite Glinda, from what I've heard. In the beginning, when she opened, her vibrato was a totally new sensation for me. It was veeeerryyy wobbly and it reminded me of the very irritating Sarah Brightman, but then she really started to grow on me over the show and I slowly began to accept her voice. Many people say she might be the "weak link" in the cast, but definitely not. Her voice and Stephanie's is just such a great mixture, and even while they're not singing, they make a terrific pair. She really did a lot of quirky things and it just made the character of Glinda really pop out and I love her interpretation of it. I'm sure it was nothing like La Cheno's, but it worked and the audience got a hell of a laugh.

Derrick? I'm pretty sure his name is. I didn't like him. That's all I have to say. When he first made his appearance, I thought, hmm...okay, so he's adding his own spin instead of following Butz's steps. Didn't work. I tried to be as open-minded as possible, and it somehow worked until As Long As Your Mine. His voice was very childish and I was just thinking, "No. Stop. You're ruining the entire musical." It sounds harsh, but it was very true. His acting was...formidable. Very suave, and something like the superficial "popular" guy. It worked for the beginning, but his character made an awkward transition into Act II.

Carol Kane- Oh. My. Lord. This woman is hilarious. She played Mme. Morrible perfectly. It's like the role was made for her. She doesn't really sing though, she mostly speaks her singing lines, and when she actually does sing, her voice isn't very pleasant. It sounds like she's speaking...with a tune.

David Garrison- I believe, plays the Wizard. He was amazing as well. Nothing bad to say about him. He was very cool.

Jenna Leigh Green- It was interesting to finally hear what everyone was babbling about. I like her as Nessa. I could imagine her being Elphaba. She did a really nice job, and from what I could tell, she'll have many possibilities in the future.

Logan Lipton- Nothing too outstanding, but he played his character extremely well. His singing voice seemed kind of weak, but he wasn't on the wrong pitch. It just seemed like he was holding back.

So, overall, great experience. Didn't have a chance to go the stage door because it was a school trip, but I'm hoping to go again in the near future and take a visit to the door. Oh, god, it was amazing. I can only imagine the cast will get stronger. I highly recommend you see it when it comes near you.

And let me just add, the Oriental Theatre is perfect. The theatre itself is beautiful, and the show just worked really well with it. I switched seats a couple of times (I was in the balcony), and I could see everything fairly well. I'm looking forward to the sit-down production.

Hope you enjoyed! Night!

[DickonDefysGravity]

Posted: 5/5/05 at 3:50am

Glad you seemed to enjoy the show!!! I'm interested to see Stephanie in the role.

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 5/5/05 at 11:47am

Glad you enjoyed it Aigoo! hopefully I can be saying the same thing tonight!!! :)

Pray for me!!

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 5/5/05 at 11:55am

Thanks Aigoo - as I have stated in nyumerous threads - I loved it.

Stephanie - post a review tomorrow.

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 5/5/05 at 12:02pm

knock on wood that I get tickets! i'm leaving in a few hours! yay!

I will surely review if I get to see it!