Hopefully when the mods open up a forum for Wicked in Helsinki they will move this thread there.

The first detailed and I mean detailed review of opening night can be found here

Musical Net

This sounds so interesting and good that even though I won't understand one word I want to go to Helsinki to see this production. I need a new fix of Wicked magic!

ETA: And to Starlene if you're a member here and reading this a big thank you for giving us a perfectly wonderful look into the new version of Wicked. Your descriptions really explained what we were seeing in the photos that have been posted here. More of my thoughts to come about the changes some for good which I wish could be incorporated into our version especially the melting scene which sounds spectacular!

ETA: Looks like they removed this topic from the site why I haven't a clue!

Loved the review!

It also answered many questions, like why Dorothy is a character and why they had so many set changes. The person who mentioned in the photos thread that it looked like the stage was too big for the show happened to be right. The reviewer mentioned that there was a lot of empty space.

I'm sad to hear No Good Deed, Thank Goodness, and For Good didn't translate well. Especially NGD, because it's sort of important for Elphaba's characterization.

But I'm glad to hear Defying Gravity went well, and I'm happy to hear the melting scene worked with a different way to get her to melt.

i wana see DG now!

Decided to join the forum where the review here was posted and respond to Starlene with some of my own thoughts regarding this new version of Wicked. Here is what I posted to her.

Starlene, thank you so much for posting your thoughts about the new production of Wicked in Helsinki. It was so detailed and really explained so much about the differences in the traditional productions and now the 1st non replica version. It made me want to buy a ticket to Helsinki just so I can see it even though I wouldn't understand one word they would be saying.

I had seen photos at the Finnish website and had lots of questions but many were answered thanks to your excellent review. I especially enjoyed hearing about the cultural differences in audience reactions in Finland versus the noisy and boisterous ones that we have in the States plus the difficulties in translating some of the songs. It's too bad that two really important ones No Good Deed and For Good lost their enormous appeal in the translations.

Loved your description of one of the scenes involving the embryos that when I saw the photo I didn't have a clue as to what was happening or to which song it was attached. Wonderful is not one of my favorite songs, but this interpretation doesn't seem as though it would make this song any more enjoyable for me.

Love the fact that the Finnish audience gets to see Dorothy and wish that somehow we could especially to see that fabulous melting scene that you described. It sounds fantastic and what we see is such a disappointment.

Loved your comment about Galinda's entrance dress. It wasn't to my liking when I saw the photo of it and I referred to it as something you might envision for a Norse Goddess so perhaps that's why they chose this design. I too liked the new One Short Day dress which is much better than what we have.

Really like that Fiyero's tattoos are featured in this production since they're in the book. Norbert Butz, the original Fiyero wore them on his face in the San Francisco pre-Broadway tryouts but they disappeared before the show hit the Great White Way. Loved that they utilized them in both his costume and on his body; this is a huge upgrade in my opinion.

You asked about the kiss on the cheek in Popular and it could be that they decided to bring in something the book dealt with the sexual attraction they had for each other which would never be tolerated in a U.S. version.

The giant eyeball really didn't make sense to me when I saw the photo but I like how it's done in this version although because of The Wizard of Oz movie and how they presented it the one we have is probably more familiar and better for our version.

Defying Gravity sounds fantastic and if you find out how they did it remember to post the secret here.

Your description of Elphie & Fiyero in As Long As You're Mine is LOL. You'd think that the sexual tension given off in this song would be much more explicit in Finland than in the States. Maybe they'll read your review and change it.

Hope you don't mind but I linked people at the Witches of Oz website to your review since we've been waiting for someone who saw it to give us a look into this new production.

Sounds like a great production. Thanks for posting!

Looks like the critics or at least one of them doesn't feel the same way about Wicked in Finland as Starlene does. She posted a newspaper review here and then proceeded to critique it with her own blog. Some things never change when it comes to Wicked theatre critics and their reviews!

One thing the review pointed out and I missed totally and so did she is the political reference to the Finnish Wizard meant to be Josef Stalin. He looks just like him; how did I miss that? Finnish Wizard

As she pointed out in her blog the allegory here doesn't work well because the audience would get confused, offended and annoyed by that when the Wizard is singing about his wonderfulness. For the Finns there was nothing wonderful about Stalin during WWII.

Sorry for the double post but the trailer is here.

Nessa looks great, very tragically beautiful and her costume is nice, although her jewelled shoes are red which I'm not keen on. Morrible and the Wizard look great. Love the Shiz uniforms. Love the "Animals should be seen..." bit. Love DG. Love the bubble.
Hate Elphaba's costumes, they just look shabby and like they don't fit her properly although that could be intentional, sort of a Cinderella type of thing. Hate Fiyero's costumes. Not too keen on Glinda's costumes and why does she never change her shoes? Totally un-Glindaish.
Overall, this production is growing on me.

Quite minimal orchestrations, it has to be said.

OMFG I think it's a stellar/beautiful production. My one complaint is Glinda's "Popular" costume is wayyyyyy too short and unflattering. LOL. Jesus. DG has FIRE. I love it. And the way she melts... we caught a glimpse of it, and WOW. Perfection. It gave me chills, not gonna lie.

I think the fire was for No Good Deed. And I totally agree about the melting. Such a clever way to do it

Oooh, yeah the melting looks great!

Galinda's POPULAR dress looks more like sexy nightwear...not a party dress haha. whats up with those weird clear egg things?? I LOVE the One Short Day segment (where they are running down the stairs) the music is so joyous. The melting is amazing, NGD looks great, DG still looks cheesy to me, and I love how they use flashlights for the mob scenes, it really looks haunting. Monkeys look scary, and ALAYM is sex onstage haha

^ agreed that the monkeys are a bit scary for my liking and that ALAYM is indeed sexonstage hahaa...but anyways, I still say that while it is completely innovative, it is also very "sloppy" in many areas (costumes being number one..what is up with the newsboy look for Shiz Elphie and why must G(a)linda's Popular dress be soo super short? haha)

I'm now awaiting a Finnish recording. Waiting. Waiting.

Sorry to say you won't get one. I asked that question to Starlene who posted the opening night review and she does post here.

Now I REALLY want to know the mechanics behind Defying Gravity. I wonder if it's just an ordinary harness, or something completely different. Either way, it looks fantastic! Also: does anyone see a very slight Chenoweth resemblance in this Glinda(in certain scenes)? I do.

That does indeed make me sad.

And

It's a much more intellectual production/interpretation... reminds me of the Dutch and Essen productions of Elisabeth.

I want to hear the vocals...maybe they'll make a CR....it is "Wicked", after all...

Concerning the ring of fire it is not from DG or NGD it's in the Melting Scene. Starlene posted this at her site regarding the comments here...



Wow, that makes more sense and makes The Melting all the more spectacular!

If an administrator is reading this could you help her get her account open? She wants to post here and would be the eyes and ears for this production. I explained to her about the Wicked trivia fact step and told her to try to re-register and make sure she does that step. Is there anything else she should know since she's reading this thread but just can't post!

Sorry for the double post but here's the show's program. I'll bet someone here can get us some good photos for the pictures thread.

Of course! I love making myself useful! It'll be just a minute...

Here we go.











And I hope that girl in Finland is able to post. It would be great having someone there who knows what's happening. And of course, just to have another great member! I just wish we had someone in Japan.

The rest of the pics are coming.

And here is the melting scene and their map of Oz.

^Thank you for doing this and so quickly. I'll be posting my comments and thank you's at your Facebook page!

ETA: Someone at Broadway World who saw it posted this...

That's what I came to this thread to say. XD I was like, huh, Galinda lingerie.

Thought this was interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT3eDRG-6Fw

That is interesting! And here are some costumes we didn't see in the proshots...




It'll really be a shame if there is no CR. I'm in love with Maria's voice. I'm sure Anna's is good too, but they didn't really give any good examples of her singing alone.
I also noticed it looks like they painted Maria's arms instead of using a body suit. That makes sense, since Elphaba is sleeveless a lot more here than she is in the original productions.



That's...awesome.

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this picture, since I think the melting is my favorite part of the Helsinki production.

I'm mixed on DG. On the one hand, I like that she actually looks like she's flying, with her feet dangling, because I'm always too rapped up in the drama of the Broadway production to consciously interpret "Oh, she's flying" since it is much more suggested with the actress's upright posture, etc., but I do think the Broadway version is more dramatic and is that mind-blowing act 1 finish that brings everyone jumping to their feet.