"Wicked" Review Chicago Sat. mat and evening 5/21

Was fortunate enough to see both the Saturday mat and evening performances of "Wicked" in Chicago this past weekend. I saw both Stephanie and Kendra, though not together--Kendra did the mat with Maria Eberline as Elphaba and Stephanie did the evening with Emily Rozek as Glinda. First off, Stephanie was AMAZING! I've only heard Idina on the OCR, and she's good. Though I'm no music expert, Idina's voice at times seems "thin." Not Stephanie--her voice is big, belty, and always on pitch. She sends Elphaba's songs to the rafters. I can't imagine a better Elphaba. Stephanie truly inhabits the role as both singer and actress. I'm already making plans to catch the show in St. Louis and Cincinnati. I can't say that I was fond of Kendra's Glinda, though she was better in Act II. Some of her choices acting wise seem odd, though her vocals are fine. As for the understudies, both did admirable jobs with roles I'm sure they don't play that often. I found Eberline to have pitch problems ocassionally, though she had an intensity that was endearing. Vocally, Rozek reminded me of Kristin.
As for the other performers...Some of the Toronto critics were not kind to Derrick Williams as Fiyero. He must have improved. I found him soulful, sexy, and, charismatic in the role and his vocals were just fine. Williams shared a chemistry with all the actresses he worked with. He makes it clear why Elphaba and Glinda vie for his attention. Carol Kane was an outstanding Madame Morrible and David Garrison made a spry Wizard. Jenna Leigh Green brought depth to Nessarose, along with some fine vocals.
Many deride the show, but I think it's among the best I've seen. This is coming from a person who has easily seen 700+ shows in thirty years of theatre-going--many of them professional touring productions. Get your tix early when "Wicked" comes to town. You won't be sorry!

Updated On: 5/24/05 at 04:57 PM

Who are Maria Eberline and Emily Rozek? Why didn't Jenna and Katie Adams do it?

Oh ok. No offense to them, but I *really* hope I see Stephanie on May 31!

Does the road company use the EVITA model, and have two sets of performers, one for matinee and one for evening? It's strange to me, since no approach was ever (intentionally) employed in NY, and Chenoweth and Menzell generally committed to, and played, all eight. Just curious.

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I saw Stephanie at a Sat. matinee 4-30 and 5/14, so I assume that the Evita rule does not apply. When Evita was here in Nov., I saw a Sat. matinee and there was no understudy.

I saw Kendra and Stephnie together and so did C7 and they were awesome!

Steph--I thought Eberline did an admirable job with Elphaba, though she didn't have Stephanie's voice. I'd love to see Jenna play the role. Do you think she'll assume the role when Stephanie's contract is up? Love the pic with you and Derrick.

Updated On: 5/25/05 at 03:10 PM