Wicked - lavish?

I may be coming over to Broadway again next February. Sadly I'm not going to be booking my flight until about December so tix to The Producers with M/N are out just in case I don't come so I was wondering what Wicked was like. Will I be able to get tickets to that two months in advance?

Basically, when spending $100 on a ticket to a Broadway show I like good assurance that what I see will be as lavish and expensive looking as hell.. eg, I can see my money on stage! What is Wicked.. what is it about? What's so great about it?!

Sorry to act so dumb about this but there were so many threads about the show at the time that I just gave up!

Cheers, Jake.

very lavish. great physical production with a great score in my opinion. Idina has some great numbers like "the wizard and i" and "defying gravity" wher she really gets to let her belt rip. Kristin is a riot in "popular' and her entire performance is hilarios! "what is this feeling" is a funny duet between the two and there are some very touching songs. The physical production is being enlarged for Bway and it should really be a sigght to see. I put this on my don't miss list.

I think this will be a great show. I cannot wait for the OBCR to come out!!

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"in fact I may make this the key reason to go to New York!"

- Ouch, I just had horrible visions of it becoming a Dance of the Vampires..

I'd say get tixx ASAP. I think it'll be a big hit. It's music is fantastic, and this was already said, but with Idina Menzel adn Kristin Chenoweth as your leading ladies, you can't go wrong. With those two ladies in the show, I thnk it'll do quite well. All i have to say is: I wish I had $100 so I could buy me some tickets!

If you are literarily minded, you have time to read the book, on which the musical is based. It's by Gregory Maguire. I just finished it, and it's verrry intersting.

How long can we expect the original cast to stay in Wicked?

I can't get there until May 2004 -- do you think KC and IM will still be there?

I think they will still be there. Once the show opens, I think leads usually have contract for a year. I also think they would want to still be in the show when the Tonys come around- so yes, I think they'll be there.

ACK! Suleen! How can you possibly place Wicked in the same category as DOTV or UC???

Hee hee...I know. I was just funnin' ya.

Expectations are one thing...word of mouth is EVERYthing.

"Wicked" is more bang for your buck than you can possibly imagine.

Just the idea behind it (and this is "loosely" based on the book...with many liberties taken) tickles the fancy.

Know this -- the Oz sequences are BREATHtaking -- and every bit a match for what you saw onscreen in "The Wizard of Oz" in terms of costumes and dazzling emerald green settings.

About the songs -- I'm still holding out for "I'm Not That Girl" being a key song in the score. When I first saw the show on May 31st, I remember both Elphaba AND Glinda singing the entire song (in different acts). When I saw the show on June 29th, Elphaba sang it in the first act, as she did in May, but Glinda sang only one verse in the second act...and I'm under the impression that was one of the ways in which they tightened the show. It's a bittersweet ballad and fits each character when she sings it.

"The Wizard and I" is a song of Elphaba's hopes and dreams. It didn't make an impression on me until the second time I saw the show...now I find it one of the indelible memories. I'm fairly certain that my senses were overloaded the first time.

Go into "Wicked" with a love of musical theater, an appreciation for comedy and powerful voices, a fondness for the Oz stories but no locked-in-concrete concepts about them or the book on which the musical is based -- and your evening will be one of the most memorable of your life!

Don't spend $100...spend $80 or $60...see it from a balcony...get the widescreen/letterboxed effect...it fills the eyes no matter how close or how far away you are. And the sound is crystal clear all the way to the hindmost rafter.

My first look at it was two rows from the stage and it overwhelmed me (but I was quite often just a few feet away from Chenoweth and Menzel). My second look was from a central balcony (just behind Loge) seat and it was perfect, especially for the larger numbers. "Defying Gravity" was magnificent from the balcony and overwhelming from the orchestra.

No matter where you sit, you'll not feel you wasted your money.

Updated On: 8/28/03 at 01:44 PM

Ron...

What a great review without giving away any story line plots or spoilers. You're such a genius. LOL

Billy, the picture you see of Idina singing the Wizard and I corresponds to the end of the song when she hold out that "The wizard and IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII." That would be why she's standing there with her hands in the air and that mouth open so wide, (and what a great mouth it is - I only wish I were so blessed as it must help in making a nice big sound).

There is a streaming video for "Spark" with a nice little presentation on the makings of WICKED in San Fran at the Curran here:

http://www.kqed.org/spark/artists-orgs/bestofbroa.jsp

Thanks again for the link, Billy. The sound is pretty bad but at least you can get a feel for some of the songs. I can't wait for this show.

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