Wicked

Original Post Date: May 19, 2007

I will never get tired of this show. Seriously. Today was my 3rd time seeing Wicked. I saw the original tour that came through Denver a couple years ago. I saw the show on Broadway last year. And I saw the tour today. I saw it through different eyes today. After we saw it in New York, we went to the Behind the Emerald Curtain Backstage Tour. That's where I learned AMAZING things about show. Like about the costumes. I seriously couldn't take my eyes off the costumes today because of what I know now about that. (The Principals have symetrical costumes. The Ensemble has asymetrical costumes. Elphaba and Glinda go from asymetrical to symetrical over the course of the show. Also, everyone gets their own costumes that are designed just for them. That is so cool!)

Anyway, it was amazing to see how the show has evolved. Early on, most of the principals were performing in the shadows of the people who originated the roles. They weren't necessarily trying to copy Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Norbert Leo Butz, Joel Grey, and Carole Shelley. It just sort of came off that way. With the passage of several years, newcomers to the show are bringing their own style to the roles. It's very interesting to see. I've now seen 3 Elphies. Stephanie J. Block was the first, and still my favorite. That girl is the best belter I've ever heard, hands down. She had an amazing grasp of Elphie. She made her thoroughly likeable. Eden Espinosa was the 2nd one I saw. She had been Idina's standby on Broadway, so her performance is a very close copy of Idina. Not that it's a bad thing, but I would have liked to have seen her own interpretation. In my opinion, she was an awesome singer but fell flat as an actor.

Okay, I need to stop reviewing all the shows and review just the show I saw today. First of all, I have to mention that I went to school with Victoria Matlock, who played Elphaba. She was a senior when I was a freshman, and I knew her in passing from church. She most likely does not remember me. It's so cool, though, to see a UNC alum making good in the theatre world. GO BEARS! Anyway, Victoria was a wonderful Elphie. She played up the darkness and made her an angrier Elphie than I had seen previously. And it worked! It was different, and I liked it! Stephanie's still my fave, but Victoria totally rocked the part. And Christina DeCicco as G(a)linda. Holy crap, that girl had energy to spare. She took perkiness to a whole new level, and it was HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome to watch Glinda's journey, too. She starts to grow up, which you really see at the beginning of Act 2. Then you see the moment she becomes a leader and stops trying to do what the Wizard and Madame Morrible are telling her to do. It's an amazing transformation for a character...and not an easy one. She did great! And kudos to her for hitting the friggety high note at the end of the prologue.

The rest of the cast was great..not a weak link in the lot. And I'd just like to take this moment to say that I'd really like to play Nessarose someday. Not only does she not have to dance, but she gets one of the coolest songs in the show...one that isn't on the CD!!! "The Wicked Witch of the East" is an awesome song!!!

If you have never seen Wicked...GO SEE IT! Take my word for it. It's amazing the first time, and just gets better with each viewing. Pull back the layers and it's a whole new show each time!!!!