Wicked: Crap for the masses, or something worth seeing?

[HopeChanged]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 6:50pm

Your opinions, please.

[Wickedlover56]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:05pm

It is definitely not crap. Contrary to many peoples view on this board, I think Wicked is a very well crafted show. The score is great and very intergrated into the show, and the book is also great, full with themes about politics and who people are. For instance, one is about how people need a villain to define who we are. The spectacle enhances the show, instead of covering up what is a show with debatable quality (Aladdin, Big Fish, Pippin, Ghost, and Mary Poppins). I truly love the show and hope you do too. It is by far one of the best shows on broadway right now. Just because the show has style, does not mean it has no substance.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:12pm

Read the novel first. Then decide for yourself.

By the way, using the word "crap" in a question like this as a thread title makes you sound like a troll, at best, and an assHole, at worst.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:14pm

I enjoy the script, the set, the acting, and the singing. I don't enjoy the music. There are a few good songs (popular, for good, and Defying Gravity) but there are a lot that aren't so great. The show is beautiful and worth seeing but the music (especially the chorus numbers) can be pretty terrible.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:24pm

See the show first. Then decide for yourself.

By the way, using the phrase "the masses" in a question like this as a thread title makes you sound like a troll, at best, and an assHole, at worst.

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:26pm

Regarding the score:
I actually like most of the melodies in Wicked, but the lyrics are pretty atrocious. Stephen Schwartz sacrifices natural speech patterns for strange and forced rhymes in Wicked and Pippin. If the lyrics don't rhyme, they are repetitive gems like this -
"And goodness knows the wicked's lives are lonely. Goodness knows the wicked die alone. It just shows when you're wicked you're left only on your own."
The show as a whole is... okay. It's definitely not as horrible as something like Scandalous, but it isn't nearly as good as the classics - Gypsy, Cabaret, etc.
There have been a couple of REALLY talented cast members over the years who elevate the material. Donna Vivino knocked it out of the park when I saw her as the standby for Elphaba. She made me forget how "okay" the material is. She was my favorite Elphaba out of the three I've seen.

[kurt.perry41]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:33pm

First this is a ****ing stupid thread. That being said, I firmly believe that Wicked will be studied a hundred years from now as a wonderful example of musical theater from this era, a la, La Boheme. An excellent example of what the art was at this point in history.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:34pm

I really just can't stand the songs sung by the ensemble. They're so freaking campy. They sound like they're grinning so hard they might hurt themselves. Try watching some videos of the show and listen to some of the music so you can make your own opinion.
I think it's crap for the masses.

^^Wicked is no great art piece Updated On: 7/12/14 at 07:34 PM

[Adair Haywind]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:38pm

I think it's the most overrated show on Broadway, but there's plenty worse out there. My biggest problem is the score. Stephen Schwartz is a BRILLIANT composer and I really hate that his biggest success is, in my opinion, the worst example of his work.

[JayG 2]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:39pm

The most bloated show on Broadway - and that's saying something. Loud, chaotic, and ugly. Joe Mantello's grievous mistake. And I am a fan of much of his work.

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:41pm

Hope Changed, if you think you aren't part of the "masses" you are kidding yourself.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:42pm

One of the most overrated shows I have ever seen. Not one of my favorites.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:44pm

It's pretty bad.

[kurt.perry41]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:44pm

Benjamin, That's what they said about Carmen when it debuted and now it's one of the most well known scores on the face of the planet.

I think it's one of the best constructed Shows in MANY years.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 7:53pm

^it has good qualities but it is heavily flawed.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:06pm

This heading is elitist and downright offensive and is just there to create offence.
Spend your own dollar and decide for yourself then let's hear your intelligent critique.

[HopeChanged]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:17pm

Wasn't my intent to be elitist, or offend anyone. Was simply trying to be clear, concise, & BS-free. If that upsets, you, that's unfortunate. For those who gave thoughtful responses without judging my wording, thanks.






Updated On: 7/12/14 at 08:17 PM

[indytallguy]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:23pm

I usually describe it as well-manufactured averageness that requires little of the audience other than making it until the end. But I fully own being in the minority among the masses who seem to find it far more enjoyable.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:34pm

It's crap for the masses you have to see because you won't know what you're talking about if you don't see it and you want understand the market forces that have been brought to bear on the subsequent creations of the musical they're genre. You know. If that's your thing.

[brdway411]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:40pm

Crap for the masses. I have slept through it twice.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:40pm

That first response is quite amusing to me. Wicked is the current definition of spectacle being used to cover up subpar material.

[binau]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:43pm

I don't care what anyone says here, I still love "No Good Deed".

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:45pm

I like "Wicked", for the most part. It is entertaining for both adults and children. I first saw the show in 2006 (the only time I used a ticket broker for a show). After that, I've seen in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. Yet, by the last time, I wasn't overly excited by it, as I knew what would be happening.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:49pm

The show is one of those things that people are supposed to grow or mature out of. If you're in your mid-to-late twenties or older and are still listening to the cast recording and feeling as if you're Elphaba, then you really need to do something about your life.

[Wickedlover56]

Posted: 7/12/14 at 8:54pm

That first response is quite amusing to me. Wicked is the current definition of spectacle being used to cover up subpar material.

This is hilarious as you love Cats.