A return trip to Wicked
David Levy
the original cast had departed. (Ben Vereen and Rue McClanahan were
in the cast at the time.) I didn't care for the show much at all. I
remember the odd feeling that my parents and I were clearly missing
something, because everyone else in the theater was clearly enjoying
the show So Much More than we were.
Well, the tour is in Providence, RI now and one of my friends wanted
to go see it so I figured it was time for a second chance. I recently
read Kristin Chenoweth's autobiography and it put the show in a
somewhat different frame than I had remembered it so I was curious
enough to give it a second chance.
Well, it's still not one of my favorites, but I definitely liked it a
lot more this time around.
I think the novel has one of the best endings of any book I've read. I
was really disappointed the first time I saw that show that the entire
theme of forgiveness was eradicated from the story. This time I was
able to see the play through fresh eyes and appreciate both the
replacement themes about relationships and the fun way the plotting
all fits together. I was really surprised by how many of the plot
points I had forgotten. That said, I think Holzman favored plot over
character at points that weakened the show from what it could have
been.
I suspect this one will hold up well once high schools and community
groups get their hands on it. In fact, I look forward to one day
seeing a production where the monkeys aren't so ugly and that stupid
flying effect at the end of act one is replaced by something more
clever (out of necessity).
Remysun
> Well, the tour is in Providence, RI now and one of my friends wanted
> to go see it so I figured it was time for a second chance. I recently
> read Kristin Chenoweth's autobiography and it put the show in a
> somewhat different frame than I had remembered it so I was curious
> enough to give it a second chance.
Can you elaborate on how Kristin's autobio helped reform your opinion?
> I suspect this one will hold up well once high schools and community
> groups get their hands on it. In fact, I look forward to one day
> seeing a production where the monkeys aren't so ugly and that stupid
> flying effect at the end of act one is replaced by something more
> clever (out of necessity).
I finally got around to the ABC News Special on a high school
performance of The Wiz, and definitely got the opinion that they're
waiting to go green.
David Levy
> > Well, the tour is in Providence, RI now and one of my friends wanted
> > to go see it so I figured it was time for a second chance. I recently
> > read Kristin Chenoweth's autobiography and it put the show in a
> > somewhat different frame than I had remembered it so I was curious
> > enough to give it a second chance.
>
> Can you elaborate on how Kristin's autobio helped reform your opinion?
Well... Part of it may be that I listened to the audiobook version of
her memoir and her enthusiasm for the show was somewhat infectious.
But she also talked about the way the show evolved from being
primarily the story of one witch to the story of the relationship
between the two. I know that should be obvious, but it was just
enough of an acknowledgment of how the aims of the show were different
from those of the novel that it helped me erase some of my
preconceived notions of what I thought the show was (or should have
been). Sorry to not be more specific, it's been a few months since I
read her book so my recall isn't so great.
Steve Newport
Chenoweth's autobiography
----------------------------------
How was it on the whole?
Christopher Jahn
news:92acdd52-c3c8-4b79...@j24g2000yqa.googlegroup
s.com:
> I saw Wicked for the first time many years ago, on Broadway
> but after the original cast had departed. (Ben Vereen and Rue
> McClanahan were in the cast at the time.) I didn't care for
> the show much at all. I remember the odd feeling that my
> parents and I were clearly missing something, because everyone
> else in the theater was clearly enjoying the show So Much More
> than we were.
>
How many of the original Oz books did you read? I suspect that
has a lot to do with it. If all you know is the movie, a lot of
the show's story would be going over your head, even though they
did dumb it down from the book.
--
}:-) Christopher Jahn
{:-( http://soflatheatre.blogspot.com/
Anything I do is purely coincidental.
Steve Newport
books did you read?
---------------------------------------
39 and I brought them with me to Florida. I've never read the book
WICKED, but I have read the book of the musical.
David Levy
> How many of the original Oz books did you read? I suspect that
> has a lot to do with it. If all you know is the movie, a lot of
> the show's story would be going over your head, even though they
> did dumb it down from the book.
All of Baum's and many of Thompson's. I actually think knowing the
books is distracting, since Holzman (& Maguire?) used some of the
names but made them into different characters, altered the characters'
origin stories, etc...