Just doing a quickie review of the show from May 15, 2011. Val won lotto, so we got to sit front row just a bit to the right, which was a huge treat.

Understudies: Betsy Werbel as Morrible, Catherine Charlebois as Midwife; Ryan Patrick Kelly, Jonathan Warren, and Briana Yacavone joining the ensemble.

Teal Wicks (Elphaba) – Teal did a wonderful job as Elphaba. She is extremely angry in the role pretty much all the way through the show – I do generally like softer Elphabas a bit more, but Teal’s take is still valid. Her voice is also in great shape – her “Defying Gravity” in particular was sublime – we got the higher 2nd “bring me down” and her new Broadway ending turn. Like with her acting, her voice is a bit more shouty than I prefer, but she was certainly more-than-capable of handling the score. Glad I had the opportunity to see her.

Katie Rose Clarke (Glinda) – I’ve liked her a bit more every time I’ve seen her – she remains in top shape, not letting her extensive time in the show get to her. Her voice is excellent and fills the theatre, especially in her colatura range. She is still doing the optional note on “she died A-lone”, which I love, though I noticed that she held “died” a bit longer this time, giving it a slightly different rhythm. She was actually calmer than usual in “Popular”, which I liked. She also growled quite a bit at random points in the score (“this hat and you” is one I remember). Also, she mocked Betsy as Morrible quite brilliantly right before the finale.

Richard H. Blake (Fiyero) – Love him as Fiyero – I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. And again. His voice is silky smooth, yet powerful and he doesn’t have trouble reaching one note in the score. Furthermore, his acting is great – not over the top, not boring.

Tom McGowan (The Wizard) – Much improved from the eight times I saw him on Tour 2. Still a bit too tame for my personal tastes in the role, but also still a valid take on the role. I tend to like Wizards better who are a bit more over-the-top, so it’s definitely a personal thing. Vocally he seemed to be holding up better than on tour as well.

Betsy Werbel (*u/s for Madame Morrible) – Very different take on the role than I’ve seen before. She’s only been on a handful of times and is probably about thirty years younger than the character is meant to be, but she still did a very solid job in the role – just a few kinks to work out (in my opinion), and she’ll be phenomenal. Her “Wicked Witch” speech was brilliant, probably the best one I’ve seen. Spine-chilling. Her acting in the Ozdust ballroom was also brilliant – her Morrible HATED Glinda. From the get-go. Her acting in the scene after Dillamond was discovered might need a bit of work, but she is so new in the role that it’s to be expected. It seemed to me that she was going back and forth between playing Morrible young and playing her old – and the moments where she shined were those where she played her young. She was definitely a blast to see.

Jenny Fellner (Nessarose) – Jenny is a solid Nessarose through-and-through – both times I’ve seen her, she’s delivered a wonderful show. She’s very soft, both in Act 1 and 2, but she makes it work. Her voice is beautiful.

Etai BenShlomo (Boq) – What a wonderful, fresh take on the role! Etai has a smooth, yet powerful voice that wraps wonderfully around the score and an adorable Boq! Boq is a tough role – it’s too easy to make it too boring, too over-the-top, or too stalkerish – and he does none of the three. Fantastic.

Tom Flynn (Dr. Dillamond) – He is quite solid in the role and does a great job each time I see him.

Chemistry Notes – Teal & Katie Rose had excellent chemistry acting-wise; however, vocally, with Teal having such a deep voice and Katie Rose having such a sweet, high voice, the blend was not too great. Same with Teal & Richard – he overpowered her, though that’s really a microphone issue. Acting blend was excellent.

Other Quick Notes – Orchestra seemed to be a bit off, and I wasn’t the only one who caught it. Not sure why. LOTS of dry ice on the Broadway Production – I couldn’t even SEE Katie during DG, and I’m 6’4”. Catherine Charlebois is TINY, which made her look kind of funny in the Midwife track, but she has an excellent voice. Stephanie Torns’ “No one cries they won’t return” at this show. was the best I’ve ever heard in nineteen shows.

Just a few things to add.

I learned that the crazy "fog" was due to the humidity outside and inside the theatre. It was quite warm in there which usually isn't the case. Having Katie Rose's covered up to her waist with the fog in the cornfield scene was quite weird.

Our audience sucked and Katie Rose usually feeds off the audience. That's why she was calmer then usual. I saw her on Saturday afternoon and she was is rare form. The audience was great though that show. One of her bigger growls is in Popular on "determined to succeed". TG also has a few growls scattered in it. I never heard a Glinda as growly as her or any of them really growl at all(Not like Elphaba's do)

I will agree that Betsy's Morrible was a completely different take on the role. I have only seen one other younger Morrible(Erin Wilson) and she seemed so much more polished but like you said it was Betsy's inexperience.

Curious about these three and maybe Val can answer this if you can't. RPK & JW were on the 2nd Tour; have they been promoted or are they just there to fill in while someone is gone? This would happen a lot during the LA production and they always listed them as joining the tour even if they were there for only one night.

Briana Yacavone joining the ensemble She was in NYC both of the times that I saw it there. Isn't she a swing?

Thanks for your review Fritz!

Isaac meant that they were on that night as swings. NOT actually just joining the cast.

Jonathan Warren has been here ever since I started seeing the show 3+yrs ago. Ryan Patrick Kelly is a universal swing but has been here for months. Briana Yacavone has been back here for at least a year.

^Thanks knew you would know Shouldn't have included Jonathan Warren in there since he was in the cast when I was at the Gershwin last year, but the other guy RPK was just in the OC with the show and actually won lotto one of the nights that I tried and lost.

Yeah, they were just on the swing board. Briana was in Betsy's track, not sure who other people were in for.