No one mourns the Wicked......
Sep. 20th, 2006 02:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shewhoSo. Months of hype. Overexcitability. Shiney red shoes. On Monday, I finally got to see Wicked at the Victoria Apollo. My wonderfully cheap dress circle preview tickets had a FANTASTIC view, I urge you all to book scarily in advance for these ace deals :)
But what did I think of the actual show?
Wicked, then.
It is a beautifully staged show, Glinda's bubble is brilliant, Chistery and accompanying monkeys are perfect, and the moment Elphaba first takes flight is nothing short of wonderous. The Clock of the Time Dragon up above the stage framing all the action and moving at appropriate moments is freaking eerie. Plus that Idina whatsherface can REALLY sing, can't she?! I loved spotting the throwaway lines relating to all things Oz. And I automatically love Miriam Margoyles, who is perfect as Madame Morrible, although the character itself is too blatant.
In fact, that is one of my major gripes at the show. It is incredibly obvious. And very chirpy and upbeat. Whereas the book is sinister around the edges and things get darker. Admittedly the show is fine for kiddies, and the book certainly isn't, so I'll forgive lots of omissions, but the tone of the show was very different to what I was expecting.
The love story with Fiyero is almost incidental in the book, not the whole focus of Elphaba's life (well, until he dies. And he DOES die. Certainly doesn't become the Scarecrow! Cuh!). And Glinda isn't in it for most of the time. It isn't a story about *two* witches, it is about Elphaba. Don't build up your part, Good....!
Also- Boq isn't the Tin Man! Nick Chopper is the Tin Man! Nonsense! OK, I confess, working the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion (same as the book) and Scarecrow into it would be seen by many as clever. But it just made the whole thing muddled between L Frank Baum's original Oz legends and Gregory Maguire's version. Which irritated me a bit, for not good reason.
And I can't help but get the feeling the big over-the-top production and belted out tunes that aren't *that* catchy are going to feel hideously dated in a decade or so. I will place a bet that it is still running, and hugely popular in a decade. Like Phantom, maybe.
In conclusion: a damn fine night out, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more had I not expected it to be true to the book. It is a good show, and a good story, but it isn't really Wicked. Does that make sense? I don't think I'm going to spend a fortune going again, at any rate....
******
I was feeling grumpy last night, prepared to be let down by Marion. However, a mini pub crawl of Camden and chance meeting with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angelv and sibling later things weren't so bad. And, like one of those rude people I hate, I forced myself down towards the front of the Barfly (where all the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ljusers in the world were) before they came on.
Cor, and I loved it so much more than Bath! Perhaps due to not having to look after acid-flying friends, perhaps because I knew how to get home, perhaps I've heard the new songs more. But ahhhhhh, 'Time', 'Fallen Through', 'Sleep', 'Sparkle', all good stuff. And I think I'm falling in love with 'Crystal Blue'. They're still the same old Marion, and Jaime appears to have one of those 'colds' (oh dear), by which I mean I love them dearly, but can't see how they are relevant to *now*, or what they're trying to be.
*******
It would be wrong to think of a computer game character as attractive, wouldn't it?
I had to stop playing DS on the train today, as I'd got up to the fingerprinting stage of Phoenix Wright, and didn't fancy looking like a mental whilst blowing pretend dust of a screen........
But what did I think of the actual show?
Wicked, then.
It is a beautifully staged show, Glinda's bubble is brilliant, Chistery and accompanying monkeys are perfect, and the moment Elphaba first takes flight is nothing short of wonderous. The Clock of the Time Dragon up above the stage framing all the action and moving at appropriate moments is freaking eerie. Plus that Idina whatsherface can REALLY sing, can't she?! I loved spotting the throwaway lines relating to all things Oz. And I automatically love Miriam Margoyles, who is perfect as Madame Morrible, although the character itself is too blatant.
In fact, that is one of my major gripes at the show. It is incredibly obvious. And very chirpy and upbeat. Whereas the book is sinister around the edges and things get darker. Admittedly the show is fine for kiddies, and the book certainly isn't, so I'll forgive lots of omissions, but the tone of the show was very different to what I was expecting.
The love story with Fiyero is almost incidental in the book, not the whole focus of Elphaba's life (well, until he dies. And he DOES die. Certainly doesn't become the Scarecrow! Cuh!). And Glinda isn't in it for most of the time. It isn't a story about *two* witches, it is about Elphaba. Don't build up your part, Good....!
Also- Boq isn't the Tin Man! Nick Chopper is the Tin Man! Nonsense! OK, I confess, working the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion (same as the book) and Scarecrow into it would be seen by many as clever. But it just made the whole thing muddled between L Frank Baum's original Oz legends and Gregory Maguire's version. Which irritated me a bit, for not good reason.
And I can't help but get the feeling the big over-the-top production and belted out tunes that aren't *that* catchy are going to feel hideously dated in a decade or so. I will place a bet that it is still running, and hugely popular in a decade. Like Phantom, maybe.
In conclusion: a damn fine night out, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more had I not expected it to be true to the book. It is a good show, and a good story, but it isn't really Wicked. Does that make sense? I don't think I'm going to spend a fortune going again, at any rate....
******
I was feeling grumpy last night, prepared to be let down by Marion. However, a mini pub crawl of Camden and chance meeting with
angelv and sibling later things weren't so bad. And, like one of those rude people I hate, I forced myself down towards the front of the Barfly (where all the ljusers in the world were) before they came on. Cor, and I loved it so much more than Bath! Perhaps due to not having to look after acid-flying friends, perhaps because I knew how to get home, perhaps I've heard the new songs more. But ahhhhhh, 'Time', 'Fallen Through', 'Sleep', 'Sparkle', all good stuff. And I think I'm falling in love with 'Crystal Blue'. They're still the same old Marion, and Jaime appears to have one of those 'colds' (oh dear), by which I mean I love them dearly, but can't see how they are relevant to *now*, or what they're trying to be.
*******
It would be wrong to think of a computer game character as attractive, wouldn't it?
I had to stop playing DS on the train today, as I'd got up to the fingerprinting stage of Phoenix Wright, and didn't fancy looking like a mental whilst blowing pretend dust of a screen........
