2.25.2010: A mini review.

Due to the snow, my classes on Thursday were cancelled, so a friend and I decided to lotto and my friend won.

Full cast, no understudies.


Dee: I liked her the first time, but I really liked her a lot more this time. Her voice was in tip-top form (which is good after how long she was sick) thus she nailed the vocals on 'The Wizard and I' and 'Defying Gravity' fabulously. Having gotten used to her acting, I was a bit surprised to see her changing things up here and there, which truly made her performance a lot better than I recalled. I truly enjoyed her a lot more than I did the first time and felt a lot more connected to her.

Katie Rose: Once again, best Act I to Act II transformation since Jennifer Laura Thompson! Her 'Popular' is ridiculously hilarious and I loved every second of it. During the classroom scene prior to 'Something Bad', she accidentally tossed her feather pen across the stage, so when Timothy was coming over to answer her question, he handed it back to her and she thanked him and went into her usual line about harping on the past. She and Dee had fantastic chemistry and truly are heartbreaking during 'For Good'.

Andy: Again, I love Andy as Fiyero. Andy (like Aaron) truly just scream everything that Fiyero is and truly does a great job. I really enjoy his approach to Fiyero in Act II and his voice blending with Dee was really great.

Alex: It was so great to see Alex, especially since the last time I saw Adam and didn't enjoy him much. Alex truly commits a lot to the character, so it was good to see him back.

Jenny: Once again, I really really love Jenny's Nessarose. She nails the innocence in Act I and the witchy-ness in Act II perfectly.

PJ: I'm so ready for PJ to leave it's not even funny. His schtick is getting so old and boring, he just needs to go.

Rondi: I still enjoy Rondi, because she truly seems to having a blast up there and never once comes off as boring as PJ.


That's pretty much all I have to say, but if you have anything else you'd like to know: Just ask.

February 14th 2010 [MATINEE]

There’s something I just love about the Broadway company of Wicked. I can’t truly place finger on it, but there’s several reasons I could name: Its where Wicked first took flight or the Gershwin is just a magical place being among the millions of reasons.

I hadn’t seen the Broadway company since September, which in my universe had been too long. I had spent the last week trying to see them, and finally success on Valentine’s Day! DefyingGravity777 won lotto for myself and Katherine, my best friend/Valentine, which brought so much joy to my heart on good old Valentine’s Day.

Also, this very day marked the end of my streak of having never come face to face with a standby or understudy Elphaba: Ms. Jennifer DiNoia was on as Elphaba with Adam Fleming on as Boq.

Jennifer: As previously mentioned, I had never seen an understudy or standby for Elphaba, but: I’m extremely glad to have gotten the chance to see Jennifer. Jennifer’s vocals were simply gorgeous: She riffed notes in various places that simply sent chills down my spine: especially her “Fiyero” during “No Good Deed” which caused my jaw to drop with shock. Her riffs during “Defying Gravity” also sent chills down my spine, similar riffs to that of a former-standby turned full time Elphaba that I love, Shoshana Bean. I loved Jennifer’s acting with Elphaba: Her rough exterior and shy-awkwardness in Act I transcended into a complex and strong woman in Act II, which was just incredible to watch. Her reaction when the Wizard is proven to be a fraud was one of the most genuine reactions to that scene I’ve seen in so long. Unfortunately, ‘this Wicked witch’ didn’t get her chance to fly: Jennifer sang/spoke out: “It’s not her, I’m the one you want, it’s me. It’s MEEEEEE…” and I awaited the usual lifting into the air, but nothing. Jennifer sang the rest of the verse, then dashed center and finished the song from center stage. The guards remained on the ground, while the first ensemble member to rush on didn’t seem to see her center and pointed to the air only to realize she wasn’t there. After that semi-hilariously awkward moment as she/he searched for her and found her center and pointed there and all the ensemble followed suit. I had never witnessed a lift failure before, but I’d rather not witness one again, but Jennifer truly made that moment her own even if she wasn’t truly defying gravity. Jennifer has nestled her way into my heart and among one of my top Elphabas, truly an exceptional performance.

Katie Rose: Many posters on here have discussed their love of Ms. Clarke (My best friend had seen her in Light in the Piazza several times and was excited to see her as G(a)linda.). Please add me to that growing list of posters who praise Katie Rose. Katie Rose has a gorgeous voice, which soars and hits the high notes with ease and beauty, especially during ‘Thank Goodness’. Her ‘Popular’ was extremely hilarious, especially her toss, toss (which was Toss, Toss- Loud ‘YES’ and thrusting of the hip.). Her chemistry with Jennifer was fantastic, like they had been paired together from the very beginning. Katie has one of the best Act I to Act II transformations I’ve seen since Jennifer Laura Thompson: Her Act II Glinda is a woman who has so many worries on her mind, but is in desperate need to hide all such worries from the public at large. After seeing someone like Helene on tour, I was truly glad to see a much more grounded and wonderfully thought out Glinda in Katie Rose Clarke.

Andy: After numerous performances of Kevin as Fiyero, Andy was truly a breath of fresh air. His acting is good, especially the moment when Elphaba calls him out for faking his whole persona during the Cub Scene. Another great moment for him was the scene with Glinda in the midst of ‘Thank Goodness’, where Andy truly showed the change in Fiyero very well. His voice is great, but I’ve always loved his voice and he sounds really great on ‘Dancing Through Life’ and ‘As Long As You’re Mine’. His chemistry with Jennifer was explosive, they truly blazed the stage during “As Long As You’re Mine’. Overall, Andy is a perfect fit for Fiyero and I truly am glad to have him in the Broadway company.

Adam: I wasn’t very fond of Adam’s Boq, there were times (especially during ‘Wicked Witch of the East’) where he seemed to be rushing lines together and not really giving much thought to the meaning of them. His voice was okay to fine, but he lacked the energy and enthusiasm I had grown to love about Alex.

Rondi is still doing a wonderful job as Morrible, which I had actually sworn she had left until I saw her name in the Playbill. PJ had a lot more energy than I had seen in him in awhile, which upped his performance, but I really do hope he moves on soon.
After the underwhelming nature of the 2NT ensemble, it was wonderful to return to the committed and truly dedicated Broadway ensemble. Their energy, enthusiasm, and dedication never ceases to impress me and truly bring a smile to my face.

Even though a green girl didn’t defy gravity, Wicked once again placed a smile on my faces, tears in my eyes, and a song in my heart.


Random notes:

-Manuel Herrera (original Chistery) is now in Adam Perry’s old track.
-February 14th marked Amanda Rose’s final performance with the Broadway company.
A message for all from Mr. Andy Karl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDeuNh2JybE

1.23.10M/1.24.10E: Philadelphia

Back when the first national tour of Wicked blew through Philadelphia in 2007, I had the misfortune of seeing one of the weakest green girls ever to play the role, Victoria Matlock. The previously mentioned experience left me fairly reluctant to revisit the touring productions of Wicked, but I had heard great things about Marcie and the second national tour itself, so myself and a friend did the lottery for the matinee on January 23rd, which my friend won. We ended up lottoing the rest of the weekend (and losing) and yet ended up with partial view second level of the theater for the final performance in Philadelphia.

The cast (as previously reported) had been on the sicker end of health for most of the stay in Philadelphia, especially Marcie who missed several shows due to being ill. However, Marcie was on for both shows I attended. However, Kristine Reese (Nessarose) was out both performances and there was a new addition to the company: Todd Anderson playing the role of Chistery. For the Saturday matinee: Michelle London was Nessarose, while on Sunday evening: Jacqui Graziano was on.

Side Note: I always seem to attract Nessarose understudies, but I have come to terms with the tragically beautiful girl in the chair never being around. …Perhaps, a house fell on her. </lame attempt at humor>

Helene: While Helene might not be the most amazing G(a)linda, she knows how to make you die laughing. I laughed so hard during “Popular”, I thought I was going to fall out of my seat and roll into the orchestra pit. She was sometimes a bit too much with several of her actions (Example: The name change was really awkwardly done with this far too delayed bow. However, her Act II Glinda was fine, it sort of reminded me a bit of Annaleigh in that whole “I deserved this, I deserved this” kind of brattyness during “Thank Goodness“. I’m not sure if it was due to illness or not, but her upper range is not that great and thus the upper notes of “No One Mourns The Wicked” and “Thank Goodness” were not that strong. She’s charming, a bit too spastic here and there, but still entertaining.

Marcie: I have been wanting to see Marcie for the longest time due to how many people really loved her on Broadway. I do believe she was part of the first national tour when I saw it during the 2007 run in Philadelphia, but I don’t recall seeing her in the ensemble. This woman is a force to be reckoned with and truly blew me away with her entire performance. Marcie’s voice is simply stunning: Her “The Wizard and I” was chill inducing (especially her “All to do with me/And I’ll stand there with the Wizard…”). Her “Defying Gravity” was simply gorgeous and left me in tears as she rose high above the Ozians with a defiant look on her face. Marcie’s Elphaba is strong, fiery, passionate, and sarcastic and I loved every second of it. She showed next to no signs of illness beyond a small cough during “No Good Deed” (yet another stunning vocally performed number). Marcie stormed her way into my top favorite Elphabas and truly gave one fabulous performance that is still on my mind even now days after.

Colin: Colin’s Fiyero is one of the better Fiyeros I have seen. He’s handsome, charming and very sexy. His “Dancing Through Life” was fun, well-sung and danced to perfection. His voice is good, not fabulous, but good. What he lacked in vocals, he truly made up in charm and charisma. His chemistry with Marcie was very good, giving one of the sexiest “As Long As Your Mine”’s I have seen in recent time. His transformation from shallow-prince in Act One to a determined, secretly-in-love man in Act Two was very very well done, one of the best since Aaron Tveit. Colin was one of the first Fiyeros in awhile (Note: I’ve seen Kevin Kern far too many times and witnessed bland performance after bland performance from him) to truly make me feel connected to Fiyero and like him, and not want him to disappear into the background.

Zach: Zach’s Boq lacked the adorable factor of many other Boqs, he was good, but nothing truly special. His acting choices in “Wicked Witch of The East” were strong, but sometimes he would throw away an action or a line that normally was garner reaction from the audience. He did the role well, but didn’t truly capture the character as well as people such as Christopher Fitzgerald, Robb Sapp or Alex Brightman. His singing was good, not great, but good. Again, he did a good job and was serviceable, but nothing to write home about.

Michelle London (1/23/10) as Nessarose: Not only did Michelle and Marcie look very much a like, but they had a sisterly bond feeling that was almost instantly obvious. Michelle’s vocals in “Wicked Witch of The East” were fabulous, if not ferocious. Michelle’s acting choices were fantastic, drawing you in with her innocence in Act One only to lead to see the bitter woman she becomes in Act Two. One moment that truly caught my eye was as she wheeling away from Galinda and Elphaba as Boq has run off, she had this look on her face of determination, sadness and a small amount of growing bitterness, that truly foreshadowed second Act Nessarose and her journey perfectly. Truly a fabulous Nessarose, which makes me truly want to see what Michelle can do with Glinda.

Jacqui Graziano (1/24/10) as Nessarose: Unlike Michelle, Jacqui’s vocals weren’t very strong (however, it seemed like she was feeling under the weather, so that could very well explain the issue). Her acting was good, but I felt like she left me with wanting more to be desired. Also, she came off a bit too bitchy even during Act One, which is the moments when Nessarose is supposedly at her sweetest, yet she came off a bit too bitchy for my liking. Her Act Two Nessarose was very good, again the vocals weren’t fantastic, but she did a very good job showing Nessarose’s emotions. Overall, I’d take Michelle over Jacqui as Nessarose, but if she was indeed feeling under the weather, I’d love to see her when she’s feeling better and one-hundred percent.

Marilyn: It was fantastic to actually hear someone actually SING the lyrics leading into “The Wizard and I” unlike “sing-talking” like many Madame Morribles have become guilty of. Marilyn’s acting choices and movements were perfection: As time went on, you noticed the slimey and untrusting Madame Morrible slowly becoming clearer and clearer. Her voice was so fantastic (which almost made me wish Madame Morrible had more to sing) that she seemed almost too good to be playing such a small role. However, she truly did a wonderful job, which was a nearly perfect Madame Morrible, except I wish she had made some small wink or nudge when referring to how “if you do much for the Wizard, he’ll do MUCH for you” which is something some of my favorite Madame Morribles have done in the past, which garners such a great reaction from innuendo.

Don: Don’s Wizard wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen (Ben Veeren, Lenny Wolpe are my two favorites) and he certainly wasn’t the worst (Paging George Hearn, Paging George Hearn.), he was just okay to good. His voice was good, not great, but good and he acted the role fairly well (he sort of reminded me of PJ Benjamin, with a bit more charisma and charm). His “Sentimental Man” and “Wonderful” were good, but he sort of lacked the mix of charm and charisma with that secret dastardly side that I grew to love from Ben and Lenny. He was nowhere near as bland as PJ has become and not as bad as George, he was just good, if not almost boring.

The ensemble: I felt they were a really good collective group, but lacked some of the charm and energy that I’ve come to love from the Broadway ensemble. They sang and danced very well, but I just felt they just lacked something here and there that I feel the Broadway ensemble had. For example: During the classroom scenes, they just kind of sat there without really much going on, while Broadway’s ensemble always seemed to be committed and connected to their characters and their own little quirks. Again, they were very talented and did a good job, but they just kind of lacked some of the “magic” that makes the Broadway ensemble magical.

Overall, the second national tour is leaps and bounds better than the first national tour ever was back in 2007. With a strong duo of leading women and some great supporting players, they truly renewed my faith in the traveling tours of Wicked.

Stage door photos, load-out and more: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1511...mp;l=3b35187137

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September 26th 2009|M|[REVIEW]

After epically failing at Bye Bye Birdie rush, My friend wanted to lotto Wicked and who was I to not want to give it a go. Well, our friend won.

This was my first time seeing Dee, Erin, and the first time in awhile that I've seen Michelle.

Dee's Elphaba is really dry, and everything she does is very straight-forward and to the point, there's no in between, she says and does what she means. It took me a bit to get use to her being that way as opposed to how I was use to Nicole's mannerisms and portrayal. Dee's Elphaba grew on me as the show went on and I totally understand how her Elphaba is: She built this wall as a young girl, and has kept it up because she has experienced nothing but harsh treatment in her environment, and only when Galinda becomes her friend and she starts to fall for Fiyero, does she slowly begin to open up. Her straight-forward, almost simple approach was almost refreshing because there wasn't something complex going on, it was just very simple and relate able. Her voice was really good, which I sort of knew from seeing her at Broadway in Bryant Park. I was pleasantly surprised how much I did actually like her, because of the less than enthusiastic things I had heard from people across different places. However, I did enjoy her and I think in time, I could really grow to love what she brings to the character.

Erin's G(a)linda was very adorable and precious, and the entire time I kept thinking about how she was Lindsay Lohan's stand-in for many scenes in the Parent Trap, which is completely off-topic, but still. Her portrayal is similar to Dee's in that it's fairly simple to understand and see where she's coming from: She's a spoiled rich girl who has never had anything but her way, until she ends up with Elphaba as her roomate. Her Act 2 persona was very regal and royal, but like I said, it's not like she's bashing you over the head with the transformation, it's effortless and simple. Her voice is very pretty, and I kind of love how she goes up on "girl" in "I'm Not That Girl (Reprise)" as oppose to going down.

Michelle, Michelle. I've been down the yellow-brick road with Michelle before, she was my first (and second) Nessarose. First of all, she looks older, which is a bit of a throw-off especially with her being 'the younger sister'. Michelle is good, and she was never the best vocally with the role, but seeing her made me miss people like Dee Dee or Jenna, who truly made this huge transformation from this sweet girl to the biggest witch with a b in Oz. I'm sure that a few times seeing her, I will get back into the Michelle-round.

Kevin Kern is still too old looking for Fiyero, and I long for the day I will get to see Kyle Dean play that scandalious Winkie Prince. Kevin has a great voice, but he simply looks too old to be a late-teens, early twenties college student. He and Dee had pretty good chemistry together, as well.

Alex Brightman is a great Boq, and truly brings a spark to the character that I hadn't seen since Christopher Fitzgerald. He has this sparkle and excitement in his eyes and when he is basically trapped by Nessarose, the sparkle fades to a dull grey.

Rondi Reed and PJ Benjamin are fantastic, especially Rondi. Rondi's Madame Morrible is fantastic, and just gets more and more fantastic with each time I see her. She truly takes on the character and just brings her own flare to it that is really entertaining every time. PJ is good, but I'm slowly growing bored of him and wanting something different from the Wizard, so maybe an understudy will happen the next time I go. I can't believe he's signed for another year!

The ensemble is always fantastic, but during my performance, they were just on fire. Sarah Bolt made a comment after Erin said "Bright, she's phosphorescent." that unless you were close up, you never would have heard it. She laughed and then said "I don't even know what that means." Also, during "Dancing Through Life", Maia Evwaraye-Griffin kept saying "This is stupid." over and over as everyone was doing "The Elphaba". The ensemble of Wicked, especially recently, has been pretty much amazing and perfect.

Overall, a pretty fantastic performance and a good way to be introduced to the new Witches of Oz. If you want anymore details, simply ask.