Wicked in Chicago- August 30 review

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 8/31/05 at 7:56pm

This was my fifth time seeing Wicked, but my first time seeing this production. I was lucky enough to be in the 2nd row. Ana has an amazing voice! She had no problem belting and holding those notes. She really comes to life when she sings. I have to admit she did look a bit old for Elphaba, but that's not her fault. :) She defintely had presence. Her acting was quite good too. She was very sincere and connected. I did feel at some points that she was emoting without intentions behind the words, and her movements were somewhat jerky (maybe on purpose). She did dance beautifully with Ben, and was grinning from ear to ear. Overall, I really enjoyed her performance. I thought her best song was Defying Gravity. She practically blew the roof off! And I'm soooooooooooooooo glad they did "the flash" at the end of DG. That's where the stage goes dark, except for her face, for less than a second. For me, that's by far the most powerful moment in the show. Ana did a weird dance at curtain call, which was hilarious. Kate did an excellent job. She only over-acted a little bit (which is a challege for any Glinda), her singing was beautiful, and you could tell she was having so much fun. She was really high-energy, extremely funny, and deep when she needed to be. She had a lovely presence. She's my 2nd-favorite Glinda, after Kristin. Ben Vereen- wow, what charisma! He was happy to be there and hamming it up, but he's entitled. :) I still prefer Joel, but Ben did a fantastic job. Rondi Reed was wonderfully evil as Morrible. Carole Shelley will always be the best, but Rondi really nailed it perfectly. Telly was adorable as Boq. He's my 2nd-favorite, after Chris Fitz. Kris Cusick was ok as Fiyero. Not bad, not great. My only complaint is Heidi Kettenring as Nessa. There was something lacking in her performance. She didn't have the depth that Michelle and Jenna have. All in all, it was an outstanding show, and I highly recommend it.


Updated On: 8/31/05 at 07:56 PM

[Act0r721]

Posted: 8/31/05 at 9:07pm

eeee! I really want to see it this weekend!

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 8/31/05 at 11:17pm

Thanks for the review....Now I'm extremely excited about seeing it (also for the 5th time) on Friday

[AllNite429]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 9:41am

YAY! That was a great review. I'm seeing Wicked for the 6th time Saturday evening.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 1:08pm

Thanks for posting your review.

[FlaBroadway]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 2:08pm

My apologies if this is a stupid question ...

In articles on the Chicago production of Wicked, it's called a "sit-down production." What do they mean by that?

Thanks!

[theninthshow]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 2:16pm

A "sit-down production" means it will play Chicago as long as it is selling tickets, instead of moving from city to city after a certain amount of weeks. There is also a Wicked touring company that is currently in San Francisco.

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 2:53pm

I totally disagree about Heidi. She has the best voice of any Nessa I have seen and heard. Definatly think she really made this most of the time overshadowed character memorable

[FlaBroadway]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 3:54pm

Ninth Show - thanks for the answer. I knew there were 3 productions going on, just didn't understand the term "sit-down production." Appreciate the insight!

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 4:06pm

Despite the fact that I have only seen the Chicago production on coughvideocough, if Ana is doing anything, it's having fun. I always knew she could sing though--SNL didn't do her justice.

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 5:14pm

"did a weird dance at the curtain call"

When I saw it a few weeks ago, Heidi and Telly did an Irish jig after the curtain call, and I think they were the only ones.

I thought it was the strangest curtain call I'd ever seen.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 5:36pm

Yup, I'm pretty sure the cast does some sort of different dance every night at curtain call. My sister saw the cha cha, I've heard they've done the conga...I think it's a little tradition. :)

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 9/1/05 at 5:40pm

Ebonic - Ana was served well on SNL. She was hilarious and had many great characters. I saw the matinee yesterday and I am now a huge fan of Ana. She was wonderful.