Wicked- No Flying for Dame.- Page 2
Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
#25re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 12:36pmNot getting totally off topic. But a lot people consider Piazza's storyline "fluff."
#26re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 12:38pm
I agree that Derrick Williams is not a good Fiyero. I dont care about the the effeminate thing, I just think his voice sounded horrible on "As Long As Your Mine". Of course, subconsciously I'm comparing his voice to Norbert's and there is no contest...
#27re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 12:39pmHow anyone could call such a deep and meaningful piece like Piazza "fluff" is beyond me. But to each his own. Look at the insipid quality of the writing of Wicked and you'll know what I'm talking about.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
#28re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 12:48pmI agree that it was a little weird having her wave the broom around while flying. The effect was okay but what made it really cool to me was the lighting. I am still wondering why they took the hat out of the opening of the show. It seems they could have re-designed it so that it didn't need a special trap door and could possibly be pulled up into the fly space or off to the side of the stage. But actually, I won't miss it because it looked kinda hokey to me. Just my opinion.
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
#29re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:11pmIt was hot? I'd take a bit of warmth over the freezing-cold state of the Pantages when I saw Wicked. Everone around me either had their jackets/sweaters buttoned up or was shivering.
jonartdesigns
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/04
#30re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:22pmya know after designing this set eugene lee should never work again. It seems incredibly accident prone; the beds get stuck, people fall through trap doors, the flying mechanics (the bubble and the defying gravity rig) don't always fly, and it seems every fiyero so far has wiped out on that vine.
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
JMVR
Featured Actor Joined: 3/26/04
#31re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:37pm
I think the flying effect looks good as a whole, meaning with the lighting, the song, the guards rushing in, etc. I think it just works. Do I think it's the most spectacular thing they could come up with? Absolutely not, especially with a film studio backing the show, they could have come up with something a little more creative. This effect is in essence, the same they used for CATS twenty years ago for the tire levitating.
Certainly something could have been done to fly Elphaba sitting on the broom, which would have made more sense. So my conclusion is that the effect is OK and is a good end of first act, but certainly not the best they could have done.
The meat is always leaner on somebody else's dinner plate!
#32re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:40pm
How the hell could you be reading "Son of A Witch" when it hasn't even been released yet?!
Updated On: 7/27/05 at 01:40 PM
#33re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:41pm
Lone voice chiming in to say that I adore Derrick Williams. Not the best singing voice in the world, true, but I think that his acting is great, he has 'deeply shallow' in Act I down.
I've also caught the Fiyero understudy (Adam Lambert) at the Pantages- perfectly adorable, but he brought none of the... owning?... to the role that Williams does.
Ditto that I would have loved to see an adaptation of all the darkness that is Maguire's book.
#34re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:44pm
Ok, I understand that the actual mechanics of it isn't the most sophisticated or cutting edge. But I'm still impressed by how much effort it takes to make that one moment happen on the part of the actor, the lighing tech, and whoever else is involved. The timing of it and the fact that it takes some precision to look right is what impresses me. To take something so simple and have the end result be THAT is pretty cool to me. But I get your point. I mean if she actually flew over the audience that would be much cooler. Also, I think people expect to see it now so of course it's not going to look as great than if it just happened without you expecting it.
As far as the placement of the broom - I had to laugh at that one. Don't you know that Elphaba is really a closeted male gymnast who happens to just be especially good at the rings? I mean if it's really the broom that's making her fly than her arms must be SUPER powerful. LOL
Bottom line is that I think we're just all jaded. We need to just enjoy it for what it is. I mean if we can beleive that she is actually able to fly than really why can't we just go the extra mile and beleive that she can fly holding the broom like that?
#35re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:50pmI think the simplicity of the effect allows the focus to be on the notes that the actress playing Elphaba is belting, which would be far more difficult if she was strapped into a harness that enabled her to "fly" over the audience.
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
Jilani
Broadway Star Joined: 6/30/05
#36re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:54pmI definitely agree with Popular about being jaded. The first time I saw the show was with the OBC, before a lot of the hype, and I didn't know anything about the show or the effect used in "Defying Gravity". At that time, I thought the overall impact was very powerful. On subsequent viewings, it's just not the same (though I still enjoy it). I think it's too bad they show that scene in all of the promotional materials (trailers, TV reports, photos, etc.), because I think it diminishes whatever power it might have when the audience is already expecting to see it.
#37re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 1:55pm
Regarding "Son Of A Witch" . . . I read somewhere on this board that there are Advanced Reader's Copies of this book available (even though they aren't supposed to be sold), so I went searching for one. I figured $30 to be able to read something I was looking forward to BEFORE everyone else was worth the $$$. It's turned out to be.
Happy GOOGLING!!!!!!
". . . POP . . ."
#38re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 2:00pm
You can get copies of "Song of a Witch" on Ebay or Alibris.
I actually thought the book was a HUGE disappointment.It really has nothing to do with "Oz" or the plot of "Wicked".
My review of the book:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=857568#1204827
#39re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 2:03pm
Ditto on the "jaded" comment. The first time I saw the show, I was completely floored by the powerful effect the song, lighting, smoke, flying, etc. had. Sure, now that I've seen the show a few times, its not as impressive, but my friends and I had tears in our eyes at intermission the first time.
#40re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 2:07pmI liked everything about DG EXCEPT for the cherry picker effect. The lighting, smoke, staging, singing, song, costumes worked. She just didn't look like she was flying. Maybe if they had her moving around more when she got up there, but it just looks like she's standing on something and being lifted up. Part of the "WOW" factor is to be totally clueless as to how they are doing it. That's why the flying effect in Chitty works so well . . . you know it's on hydraulics, but you can't figure out how they make it all happen.
". . . POP . . ."
#41re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 2:15pm
Yeah I agree --The thing I dont get is that she's up in the air HOLDING the broom. Isn't she supposed to be "flying" on it?
Updated On: 7/27/05 at 02:15 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#42re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 4:33pmYeah... how is she "flying" without her broom? I've wondered this ever since I Idina perform the song at the Tonys last year.
#43re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 5:02pmIf you've ever seen a good production of Peter Pan (and I hope the most recent tour is going to come to NY again)...you'd know what great flying is all about. I still get goosebumps when I remember Cathy Rigby heading out over the heads of the audience and sprinkling fairie dust over everyone during the curtain call - now THAT was great theatre.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
sassypanz
Broadway Star Joined: 1/20/05
#44re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:19pmI think what might have happened to the flying thing is when the thing closes around her waist, if it doesnt close in all the way it wont go up. What happened those few times is that the Elphabas all got their pot bellies stuck in the thing or a piece of costumeand it wouldnt go up!
sassypanz
Broadway Star Joined: 1/20/05
#45re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:21pmJK!! their not fat. lol. Its probably run on radio shack equipment cause they all keep breaking down!
#46re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:30pmDerrick Williams is not effeminate. He's also straight with a girlfriend.
"It does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world. And it gives you a little tune to carry in your head. Something to take you away from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you're feeling blue. You know?"
#47re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:37pm
derricks awesome and you all know it :P
as for the flying effect, i think it would be pretty impossible to have her strapped in to any kind of flying harness, considering she has to belt a song for a minute and a half. i dont think peter pan was belting anything as she flew over the audience.
Updated On: 7/27/05 at 09:37 PM
Mythus
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/04
#48re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:38pmHe might not be effeminate, but he obviously comes across as effeminate to some people.
#49re: Wicked- No Flying for Dame.
Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:42pm
When the effect is working at 100% with the fog, lighting, and vocals in tact then it is a feast for the eyes of a typical theater viewer.
Most BroadwayWorld.com posters are not typical theater viewers and the effect does not work the same for them because they are viewing it more critically than the average person.
Updated On: 7/27/05 at 09:42 PM
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