Post by tiktok on Oct 7, 2009 1:14:07 GMT -8
Note: This is a review of the play in general, but I watched the 2009 tour production in San Francisco, on September 19, 2009. The pictures and references below are from the cast I saw, not from the original Broadway cast.
Remember my Avenue Q review? Well, I've recently had the pleasure of watching the other side of the coin, or to be more precise, the other big competitor of the 2004 Tony Awards: Wicked. Based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, Wicked is essentially a parallel work based on L. Frank Baum's timeless book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Actually, there are even some references to the 1939 MGM film adaptation of Baum's story, but I'm getting ahead of myself!
Prior to viewing the musical, I had only heard vague details about Wicked, as well as heard one or two songs. Not to mention that I had never read Maguire's books, nor am I likely to. Before Amanda and I watched the play on September 19th, I was under the impression that the play would chronicle the life of the Wicked Witch of the West, and would end just before the events of L. Frank Baum's story picked up.
Much to my surprise, I was only half right.
As a matter of fact, Wicked does indeed detail the life and times of Elphaba (the future Wicked Witch of the West, whose name is a very clever reference to L. Frank Baum), but it actually delves into the Dorothy story in the second act. Dorothy Gale's presence is played very cleverly; she is never seen on stage, and when she is she is obscured to a silhouette.
Despite being labeled the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba is truly the biggest difference between L. Frank Baum's story and the musical: instead of being a heartless, completely evil antagonist in the former, this green-skinned woman is very sympathetic and 'human' in the latter. Elphaba is not Margaret Hamilton's wart-ridden, roadkill face; she is a fairly attractive woman who happens to have green skin.
I don't intend on giving anything big away... well, okay, maybe I already have. But I'll just blaze through the minor spoilers and then get right down to what I think of it all.
The play's opening really caught my interest. It begins with the citizens of the Emerald City jovially celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (played by Vicki Noon in the performance I've seen), thanks to "some country girl." Glinda (spectacularly played by Kendra Kassebaum) is now a good sorceress. The allegedly Wonderful Wizard of Oz has departed. But what led up to all of this?
Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda) and Vicki Noon (Elphaba), in costume. Vicki Noon is the standby to Teal Wicks' Elphaba, who has evidently been pulled out for a long time, due to illness.
In this story, Elphaba and Glinda (then named Galinda--I won't say why she changed her name!) both attended Shiz University, where they were roommates. Although they initially disliked each other, they ultimately become best friends. Elphaba has green skin because her unfaithful mother had an affair with a man with a mysterious, green "elixir." Elphaba also has a sister, Nessarose, who is normal and beautiful, but she is wheelchair-bound.
In Shiz, headmistress Madame Morrible (played by Patty Duke, probably best known for her role as Helen Keller which won her an Academy Award) takes a strong interest in Elphaba, who possesses magic powers that are cast when Elphaba reaches a breaking point. Elphaba also befriends the Animal professor, Doctor Dillamond, who is tragically the target of discrimination. Dillamond is frightened, because there are increasing rumors of Animal citizens throughout Oz losing their humanity, as well as their ability to speak.
Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke, as Madame Morrible. She looks an awful lot like the Marquis de Singe from Tales of Monkey Island to me.
Nessarose falls in love with a Munchkin named Boq, but Boq has his eyes on Glinda. To make things more complex, Glinda is in love with a ne'er-do-well named Fiyero, but Fiyero ultimately becomes a man of morals and comes to share a mutual love with... wait, I said I wasn't going to spoil anything big! Crud! Sorry.
Uh, this is hard. Okay, just a few more things. Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard of Oz (the original Seymour Krelborn of the musical Little Shop of Horrors, Lee Wilkof), and from there, the Shiz hits the fan. The second is quite different from the first. While the first act introduced the characters, it is during the second act that the meat of the drama takes place.
Wilkof as the Wizard of Oz.
I'll say this right now: Wicked is wickedly good. It's also a great-looking play. The sets, the colors, even the "Map of Oz" curtain is gorgeous. The play is exemplary eye candy, and, fortunately, the script and songs are just as dandy. The songs were made by Stephen Schwartz, whom we probably know best for his Disney songs, specifically in Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The songs in Wicked are appropriate and emotional, and altogether strong. It's funny, too; although there are some truly tragic and dramatic scenes/songs in this musical, there is an inherent sense of humor. Many have both laughed and wept while viewing this play.
Vicki Noon was a standby, but she could definitely hold her own as Elphaba. She had a great voice, and she was really committed to her role. Kendra Kassebaum stole every single scene she was in; she was constantly hilarious as Glinda, who was portrayed here as a vain and ditzy airhead, but her character also had the most interesting change of personality. The strong singing and acting performances of both Noon and Kassebaum made the bittersweet ending all the more... er, bittersweet. The character Madame Morrible is horrible (someone had to say it!), but the good, entertaining kind of horrible. Patty Duke was unsurprisingly great with the role. Lee Wilkof was also fabulous as the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz; the song "Wonderful" has been firmly stuck in my head ever since I left the San Francisco Orpheum Theatre. Great acting all round, from the principal cast members to the ensemble.
One absolutely must accept the fact that Wicked is not classic Oz. Like Maguire's book, the story takes many, many liberties with the facts and details. Characters are quite literally different than they were in the Baum novel. For example, my favorite Oz character has always been the Tin Woodman, yet in Wicked he is... well, heartless. (Not really a criticism, mind you!)
And although the story is altogether strong, it seems to get lost sometimes. The pacing is a bit uneven, and seems to try to accomplish too much in its running time. But that criticism is far outweighed by everything else: Wicked is absolutely worth watching, and contemporary musical classic, in my opinion.
With gorgeous visuals, lush music and an engaging story, Wicked is certainly entertaining.
While it is true that I personally like Avenue Q more, I now understand why Wicked was a huge champ at the 2004 Tony Awards. If you have even a minor liking of Oz, and can accept a parallel twisting of the classic story, then I highly recommend giving Wicked a watch. Oh, dear. Wicked Watch of the West.
***½ out of ****
Thanks to the Touched by Cancer blog for the picture of Vicki Noon and Kendra Kassebaum!
Remember my Avenue Q review? Well, I've recently had the pleasure of watching the other side of the coin, or to be more precise, the other big competitor of the 2004 Tony Awards: Wicked. Based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, Wicked is essentially a parallel work based on L. Frank Baum's timeless book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Actually, there are even some references to the 1939 MGM film adaptation of Baum's story, but I'm getting ahead of myself!
Prior to viewing the musical, I had only heard vague details about Wicked, as well as heard one or two songs. Not to mention that I had never read Maguire's books, nor am I likely to. Before Amanda and I watched the play on September 19th, I was under the impression that the play would chronicle the life of the Wicked Witch of the West, and would end just before the events of L. Frank Baum's story picked up.
Much to my surprise, I was only half right.
As a matter of fact, Wicked does indeed detail the life and times of Elphaba (the future Wicked Witch of the West, whose name is a very clever reference to L. Frank Baum), but it actually delves into the Dorothy story in the second act. Dorothy Gale's presence is played very cleverly; she is never seen on stage, and when she is she is obscured to a silhouette.
Despite being labeled the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba is truly the biggest difference between L. Frank Baum's story and the musical: instead of being a heartless, completely evil antagonist in the former, this green-skinned woman is very sympathetic and 'human' in the latter. Elphaba is not Margaret Hamilton's wart-ridden, roadkill face; she is a fairly attractive woman who happens to have green skin.
I don't intend on giving anything big away... well, okay, maybe I already have. But I'll just blaze through the minor spoilers and then get right down to what I think of it all.
The play's opening really caught my interest. It begins with the citizens of the Emerald City jovially celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (played by Vicki Noon in the performance I've seen), thanks to "some country girl." Glinda (spectacularly played by Kendra Kassebaum) is now a good sorceress. The allegedly Wonderful Wizard of Oz has departed. But what led up to all of this?
Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda) and Vicki Noon (Elphaba), in costume. Vicki Noon is the standby to Teal Wicks' Elphaba, who has evidently been pulled out for a long time, due to illness.
In this story, Elphaba and Glinda (then named Galinda--I won't say why she changed her name!) both attended Shiz University, where they were roommates. Although they initially disliked each other, they ultimately become best friends. Elphaba has green skin because her unfaithful mother had an affair with a man with a mysterious, green "elixir." Elphaba also has a sister, Nessarose, who is normal and beautiful, but she is wheelchair-bound.
In Shiz, headmistress Madame Morrible (played by Patty Duke, probably best known for her role as Helen Keller which won her an Academy Award) takes a strong interest in Elphaba, who possesses magic powers that are cast when Elphaba reaches a breaking point. Elphaba also befriends the Animal professor, Doctor Dillamond, who is tragically the target of discrimination. Dillamond is frightened, because there are increasing rumors of Animal citizens throughout Oz losing their humanity, as well as their ability to speak.
Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke, as Madame Morrible. She looks an awful lot like the Marquis de Singe from Tales of Monkey Island to me.
Nessarose falls in love with a Munchkin named Boq, but Boq has his eyes on Glinda. To make things more complex, Glinda is in love with a ne'er-do-well named Fiyero, but Fiyero ultimately becomes a man of morals and comes to share a mutual love with... wait, I said I wasn't going to spoil anything big! Crud! Sorry.
Uh, this is hard. Okay, just a few more things. Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard of Oz (the original Seymour Krelborn of the musical Little Shop of Horrors, Lee Wilkof), and from there, the Shiz hits the fan. The second is quite different from the first. While the first act introduced the characters, it is during the second act that the meat of the drama takes place.
Wilkof as the Wizard of Oz.
I'll say this right now: Wicked is wickedly good. It's also a great-looking play. The sets, the colors, even the "Map of Oz" curtain is gorgeous. The play is exemplary eye candy, and, fortunately, the script and songs are just as dandy. The songs were made by Stephen Schwartz, whom we probably know best for his Disney songs, specifically in Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The songs in Wicked are appropriate and emotional, and altogether strong. It's funny, too; although there are some truly tragic and dramatic scenes/songs in this musical, there is an inherent sense of humor. Many have both laughed and wept while viewing this play.
Vicki Noon was a standby, but she could definitely hold her own as Elphaba. She had a great voice, and she was really committed to her role. Kendra Kassebaum stole every single scene she was in; she was constantly hilarious as Glinda, who was portrayed here as a vain and ditzy airhead, but her character also had the most interesting change of personality. The strong singing and acting performances of both Noon and Kassebaum made the bittersweet ending all the more... er, bittersweet. The character Madame Morrible is horrible (someone had to say it!), but the good, entertaining kind of horrible. Patty Duke was unsurprisingly great with the role. Lee Wilkof was also fabulous as the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz; the song "Wonderful" has been firmly stuck in my head ever since I left the San Francisco Orpheum Theatre. Great acting all round, from the principal cast members to the ensemble.
One absolutely must accept the fact that Wicked is not classic Oz. Like Maguire's book, the story takes many, many liberties with the facts and details. Characters are quite literally different than they were in the Baum novel. For example, my favorite Oz character has always been the Tin Woodman, yet in Wicked he is... well, heartless. (Not really a criticism, mind you!)
And although the story is altogether strong, it seems to get lost sometimes. The pacing is a bit uneven, and seems to try to accomplish too much in its running time. But that criticism is far outweighed by everything else: Wicked is absolutely worth watching, and contemporary musical classic, in my opinion.
With gorgeous visuals, lush music and an engaging story, Wicked is certainly entertaining.
While it is true that I personally like Avenue Q more, I now understand why Wicked was a huge champ at the 2004 Tony Awards. If you have even a minor liking of Oz, and can accept a parallel twisting of the classic story, then I highly recommend giving Wicked a watch. Oh, dear. Wicked Watch of the West.
***½ out of ****
Thanks to the Touched by Cancer blog for the picture of Vicki Noon and Kendra Kassebaum!