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By Chris Jones
Tribune arts critic
Published March 7, 2006
Kristy Cates, the engaging new Elphaba in the Chicago company of "Wicked ," has a rich emotional presence, vulnerability that easily can be converted to one's own vulnerability, and a very decent set of pipes. And when you're playing the most beloved green girl in Chicago theater history, those are the main qualifications.
Cates -- the permanent replacement for Ana Gasteyer who decamped in January for Brechtian fame and fortune on Broadway -- reads as the youngest and most nervous Elphaba of the four I've seen to date. But for a show in which she's supposedly a schoolgirl most of the time, that's an asset. Sure, none of the women in this role has been able to pick thrilling notes right out of thin air quite like Idina Menzel, the original New York star. And Chicago's Gasteyer was by far the best of the bunch at all the non-musical elements, such as conversation and comedy. But for an all-rounder with a broomstick, a certain latent sensuality and an ability to start a spinal shiver with her "Look to the Western Sky," Cates has the goods.
Stacie Morgain Lewis, the show's new Glinda, and a recent arrival from the New York company, similarly has charm, a fine voice and the required qualifications. But she has further to go. In many ways, this is the tougher part of the pair (playing dumb blonds is harder than you think). And in the show's famous "Popular" sequence, Lewis finds exactly the right fresh comic rhythm. But the earlier sections are rougher. And it's not yet a consistent style -- she's yet to fully inhabit the role. At the start and the end of the show, you have to peer inside Glinda's soul. She has, after all, been changed for the good. Lewis still needs to show us that.
She'll get there, I suspect. One advantage of well-maintained long-running shows (which is the case here) is that actors settle into their roles. Contrary to popular belief, you don't always get inferior shows months later -- you often see better performances. If you haven't seen the evil comic duo of Rondi Reed and Gene Weygandt since the show's first weeks here, you'd be amazed at how much better they look now. On the opening night of this company, Reed read to me as someone who wasn't quite sure if she really belonged (or wanted to belong), as a one-dimensional evil villainess in a major Broadway musical. Now, the woman flies through the evening -- her wild wigs seem like permanent parts of her head.
She has embraced the camp aspects, her voice booms all the way to the back of the balcony and she looks like she owns the place. It's a sight to see. Similarly, the initially jumpy Weygandt has settled into quite an interesting kind of malevolency.
"Wicked," then, is in very decent shape. The place is packed to the gills every night -- my money says the show stays through 2008, at least. By Chicago standards, this is a steady paycheck for some long-suffering actors. So aside from the two new leads and a couple of ensemble members who've moved on to other gigs, most of the other denizens of the Emerald City are likely to ride this train until it pulls out of the Loop.
"Wicked"
When: Open run
Where: Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: $25-$85 at 312-902-1400
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cjones5@tribune.com
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