wicked tour set question *spoilers (i guess)*

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 6:53pm

okay before i'm shot this is not the average wicked thread its just something thats baffled me after seeing it in philly.

how do they handle the elphaba coming out of the floor bit without a trap door. i figure she lays under the show deck for the actual reveal but i mean more succinctly how does she manage to have the costume change in time to get under there/

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 7:11pm

When I saw it at the Bushnell in Hartford last December, Jenna just walked on from stage left. I think the audience was a little lost as to why she entered. The trap door on Broadway makes the reference to the movie instantly recognizable.

[James885]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 7:18pm

When I saw the tour at the Kennedy Center, Stephanie Block came up through a trap door at the end, so I guess it just depends on the theatre that the tour is playing.

[Parks]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 7:21pm

I wasn't aware there was a costume change...other than her losing the hat.

I'm curious as to how they do the trapdoor at the end as well. They did the same thing with her entering from stage left for NGD and her coming out of a trap door at the end in Dallas.

[LA2NYC]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 7:32pm

IM sure if the theatre has room for the sets floor than they use it. I belive in SF, they didnt use a floor entrance either. Elphaba walked in stage right....odd. It was nice to see the change in NY.

[X x Fiyero x X]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 7:35pm

some theaters dont have trap doors,thats why.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 8:38pm

let me rephrase, in philly she basically sat up out from under the trap door, when she melted she had the act 2 dress on, when she popped back up it was a far simpler black sorta nightgown looking dress.

[overthemoon419]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 12:55am

I saw the tour in Philly as well, and I didn't notice any difference in her dress after the trapdoor... I was sitting Family Circle, SL, practically in the lighting fixtures, so I could see lots of details (even though I was a tad high, I was really close). If it is a different dress (and I'm just oblivious) I would assume she has the simpler dress on under the more elaborate dress, to allow a quick change. I could be totally off the mark, though.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 1:54am

so how do they handle the melting if there is no trap door?

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 2:13am

I was wondering the same, how can she "melt" under these circumstances?

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 4:05am

Quite easily since the "melting" is a projection!

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 4:25am

ohhhh, the use a projection just for the tour, how clever!

[tthomas76]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:38am

In Cincinnati, OH she came out of a trap door at the end. I was glad she was able to, I think it'd be weird to see her enter from stage left.

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:42am

The projection worked well in Philly.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 11:18am

I don't think the entire melting is all a projection. When I sat in the lottery seats the one night, the curtain on the stage left side (right side of the audience) moved over too far and I could see behind the curtain. Julia was crouching down as if she were melting and then the projection took over for the final moments.

And she does have a different dress on. It's just a simple material, like something she would wear under her elaborate Act II dress. But, she changes back into the elaborate dress for curtain call.

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 11:28am

She's always come up with a little black slip on. It's been on the original cast did it. I always thought it was symbolic of Elphaba, as she has cleansed herself and started new.

But yeah, that sucks about the trapdoor. She came up normally during the Toronto run. In NGD, though, she ran on from teh wings with monkeys.

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 11:52am

Even if you saw Julia crouching I can't imagine they actually act out the melting scene (maybe she had to since the curtain moved). It would be pointless if only a few people could see it. I personally thought the projection is kinda stupid though and would rather have it acted out (I saw the Chicago production by the way).

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 4:01pm

Well, the tour production currently uses the somewhat new "well" prop. It's a well with a trap door that is sort of to the well's right and she pops up through that door if the stage does not have an appropriate one. I'm only guessing that the actual well part somehow hides her body, as she does not come up through the well. I really could not figure out how it works. And, yes, definite dress change.

[Sparklesss]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 5:58pm

thats interesting someone said in Cincy she came through a trap door..maybe it depended no the show?i saw it twice and she walked in from the stage during no good deed...

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:20pm

a "well"? I don't get it? Can you eleborate more. I wonder how it will work in ATL.

[stageishome]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 10:47pm

Here is how it works... the actress playing Elphaba is crouched behind the small set piece themed to look like a "well" and then the trap door piece opens and the actress does a "body role" type maneuver in which she pops up to make it seem like she comes out of the floor. You can see her upper body but she is laying on her stomach in a way and the rest of her body is hidden behind the prop. Hope this isn't too confusing... its a very well done illusion, and obviously it works if some people thought it was a real trap door!

[thez914]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 11:09pm

*sorry to thread jack*

Does anyone know how the floating broom is achieved on the tour? I saw the tour last year, and couldn't figure out how it was done - it floated on from off stage-left, and the actress just grabbed it out of the air and did no notable gesture to release it from strings or another support. Then when I saw the show on Broadway, I was really disappointed when the broom "floated" up from beneath the stage - and was obviously on some kind of stick the actress could just pull it off of. (Sorry if this is confusing...these things are so hard to explain.) Just wondering...

Updated On: 4/14/06 at 11:09 PM

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 11:31pm

my guess is the wires are velcroed onto the handle, the broom ironically is flown with the same rigging as one of the monkeys

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 11:54pm

The broom is attatched to a bungee-type cord so that it looks more natural. Then it just comes out from the wings, and the actress playing Elphaba unclips it and the bungee cord goes into the wings. There was an article about how this effect was done in the Chicago Tribune (i have no idea why though).

[Horton]

Posted: 4/15/06 at 8:21pm

For Melting on the tour what happens is that she goes closer to the screen, and then she there is a blackout where she goes off.