As you know i took my first trip to Germany last week and promised i'd write a couple things about the show! Willemijn and Lucy were both out the entire weekend so I ended up seeing Melanie Gebhard and Valerie Link. At first i was disappointed that Willemijn and lucy weren't there but then after sitting in front of the Palladium and actually realizing where I was, at Wicked and in Germany, I was just thrilled to be there! I still dont think it actually has hit me that I was in Stuttgart lol.

The Palladium is a gorgeous theatre as well as the Apollo across the street. I saw We Will Rock You for the matinee that day, which is an AWESOME show that you should definitely go see if you get the chance! =] I wanted to find the stage door before the show so i asked one of the workers inside which way was the shortest way to get there. She ended up taking me through the inside of the building to get there and told me she wasnt sure if the way we where going was allowed but we went through anyway lol. My seat was in the Front Row on the Right Side.

Melanie Gebhard: She had some major shoes to fill, condsidering like most, I am a huge fan of Willemijn. But as soon as she ran out on the stage during Glizzzzz the stage had been comanded. Definitely the tallest elphaba i've ever seen! Melanie tops as my favorite elphaba just by her characteristics, choices in movement and body placement. I couldnt believe how much she nailed the character by the way i have imagined elphaba to stand, walk, and most of all fidget. It was refreshing to see someone that i knew was positive about how she wanted elphaba to be portrayed. And as if her flawless acting wasnt enought, her voice is pure and powerful. Throughout Der Zauberer Und Ich, she controlled the song by making it soft, up until the belt. After listening to the entire beginning of the song on a softer level I was curious to see if Melanie could actually have a powerful belt, but she was perfect and had a brilliant take on the end of the song as well. She is a fantastic elphaba and without a doubt has done her research! It was an honor to have seen her as my Stuttgart elphaba.

Valerie Link: I know you shouldnt judge before you see, but I have Lucy up on such a high pedastal that it was hard to give Valerie a chance, but I went in open minded. She started off very strong with a power vibratto during Keiner Weint um Hexen. I found Valerie to be a very good alternate, but i have a hard time seeing her as anything more than that. She was able to play glinda well, but was lacking in character depth and sincerity. She was believeable to an audience member who has never seen the show, but not really to me. I think if she were to have more stage time, she may be able to grow better into the role, but as for now she is an acceptable alternate. Eventhough, im not to fond of her glinda overall, she does have a beautiful voice, did a very nice job and I'm glad i got to see her perform.

Some other things i noticed during the show...

- It didnt seem as though they finished the makeup job on Melanie. You could totally tell where the neck line of her leotard started and her green looked really blotchy. Around her chin and her arms where very faded. Probably not too noticeable to the audience but definitely something i noticed.

-Loved the monkey's flying over the audience!




^WOO!



^Stefan


^Mathias


^Katrin : What a sweetie! She started rambling to me in german before she found out i dont speak german and then apologized like 83273285 times lol LOVE HER! She also went on as glinda for the matinee.


^Melanie! Ahh! =] Good english speaker! LOL =] She really takes the time to talk to you, VERY sweet!



Feel free to ask anything!

Glad you enjoyed it Was it full cast exept for Valerie and Melanie?
I have to say that Valerie was my first Glinda and I really really liked her. Her acting choices are sometimes very different from the other Glindas which is quite refreshing to watch. Unlike Lucy and Jana (I haven't seen Katrin yet), she is very snobbish in act one which I think fits the character very well. I don't think that she needs more depth but maybe she could ad-lib a bit more! And her voice is just excellent, her high notes are so pure
Just my sentence

Sounds like an awesome experience! Melanie sounds wonderful.

Umm...there was a cover on for Madame Akaber. Yes she was very snobbish in act 1! I definitely noticed that. I think for me in general it was a lot harder to connect to the show in german since i truly didnt know what they were saying even with the show memorized in english. Im glad you like Valerie so much! It was good to see her, but Melanie was definitely the highlight! =]

Too bad you didn't catch Willemijn, well, she's on vacations so... =P
You saw the only Stuttgart Elphaba I haven't!! lol It's nice to hear such a good things of Melanie, I'm sure she must be excelent!! (Is my idea or Stuttgart has the best cast ever? =P)

(OOT: Did you get full cast in WWRY?? 'Cause if you got Kaatje Dierks as Killer Queen I'll envy you forever lol)

HAHA! well willemijn was scheduled to be there saturday and not sunday. but ended up not coming saturday either LOL but Melanie was fantastic! Definitely try to catch her!!! =]

LMAO! the only one who was out was Jessica Kessler...Julia J. Berger stepped in for her for Scaramouche! LOVED her! =]

Aah great review I'm glad you enjoyed it, even though it was not a Willemijn/Lucy show.

I have two questions (A) What seat number were you in, and how was the view?
And second.. where is the stage door? Or should I ask one of the workers also?

I can answer that! When you come out of the theatre, turn right, and keep going right around the corner of the building. You will see a ramp, and some stairs, you can't miss it! I and the others there the same night as me just all waited down the bottom, near the stairs

Thank You! I was in Row 1 Seat 8. The view was great! It was right in front of the little ledge they like to stand on in "Was Fuhl ich in mir?"...Good seat =]

Thank you I will try to remember it or write it down so I won't forget it.



Aah that's great - we will be in seat 8 & 9 Thank you also!

Heyy! I was there like only a few days after you. I saw Melanie and Valerie for the matinee. They were both great! Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

haha awesome! yes i did! =]

I would've been disappointed to miss Willemijn and Lucy a bit, but this sounds like a great show... I'd kill to see it in Stuttgart.

Yah, i was for awhile, but i wasnt going to let disappointment ruin my one chance to see the stuttgart production. ya know? I'll see Will/Lucy in something else another time! and that just gives me all the more reason to go back and look forward to something.

^ I agree.

I love your SD pics! Were you one of the only people waiting?

Thank you!...and ya pretty much! there were two other people waiting for Katrin, but thats it