Wicked

[bjornolf]

Has anybody seen Wicked? My wife read the book several years back and LOVED it. So, for her birthday, I got a limo (she'd never been in one) and took her to dinner at Ruth's Chris, followed by Wicked at the Kennedy Center. I sprang for box seats, cause she deserves it. She had an unbelievable time. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

We bought the CD, and I must say that while the Glinda in the version we saw didn't have nearly as good a voice as Kristin Chenoweth, the woman playing Elzabah in the version we saw blew the original one from the CD out of the water. I wish there were a CD with Chenoweth and the Elzabah we saw.

Anyway, point being, it was amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Even I enjoyed it, and I'm not generally a musical guy.

[ArkieDukie]

Has anybody seen Wicked? My wife read the book several years back and LOVED it. So, for her birthday, I got a limo (she'd never been in one) and took her to dinner at Ruth's Chris, followed by Wicked at the Kennedy Center. I sprang for box seats, cause she deserves it. She had an unbelievable time. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

We bought the CD, and I must say that while the Glinda in the version we saw didn't have nearly as good a voice as Kristin Chenoweth, the woman playing Elzabah in the version we saw blew the original one from the CD out of the water. I wish there were a CD with Chenoweth and the Elzabah we saw.

Anyway, point being, it was amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Even I enjoyed it, and I'm not generally a musical guy.

Great birthday present, bjornolf! I love Wicked so much I've seen it twice. I also have the CD. I think the original Elphabah, Idina Menzel, has a pretty good voice, too. Fun bit of trivia: both Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel have appeared on the TV show Glee.

[devildeac]

Fabulous show that we have seen twice, once in Chicago and the other in Durham at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). Actually, upon further review, my wife has seen it three times. What a great birthday (anniversary, Christmas, etc) idea! The original Broadway recording is superb (you inspired me to play it as I type) but we have heard really fine performance of Glenda and Elphaba from the touring companies, too. I have not read the book yet but this should prompt me to put it on my expanding list. Reading the lyrics as the soundtrack plays before seeing the shore was very helpful to me to understand the stories interwoven in the show. This helped before seeing Phantom and Les Mis also as I am a bit hearing impaired and have a bit of trouble with dialogue and lyrics of movies/shows.

Well done!

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[Jarhead]

...as I am a bit hearing impaired and have a bit of trouble with dialogue and lyrics of movies/shows.

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Oh, oh. I'll have to give up trying to brew my own beer.

[JBDuke]

My wife and I saw "Wicked" on our honeymoon a couple of years ago, and we both really enjoyed it. My wife played the soundtrack for the kids, and they loved it so much that we took them to see it as well.

IMO, the Elphaba/Glinda pair we saw on Broadway were excellent. Chenowith and Menzel had moved on at that point. Our Elphaba was a truer alto than Menzel, who is more of a second soprano, and I think an alto voice suits Elphaba's character and songs a little better. Menzel has a wonderful voice, but it isn't quite as strong as she drops into the alto range. Chenowith is excellent as Glinda - her bubbly voice suits the character very well, although I don't think she had the character quite nailed yet in a couple of songs on the Original Soundtrack CD. Still, the CD is very much worth buying.

If you haven't read Gregory Maguire's book, be prepared for a very different experience from the musical. Maguire's style isn't for everyone, and I know several folks that tried to read the book after seeing the musical and came away sorely disappointed. If you try it in the opposite sequence, and find the book not to your liking, please don't let that dissuade you from seeing the musical, which is, IMO, the best mainstream musical from Broadway since the turn of the century.

A short plot background, for those that don't know anything about this story. It's basically a backstory to "The Wizard of Oz", told with the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) as the protagonist. Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) is the narrator. If you know and love the movie (or Baum's book), then you may very well enjoy the clever way that the familiar elements of Oz come to be, as I did. Many Broadway musicals have strong soundtracks but weak characters and/or story. I believe that "Wicked" is such a smash because it has several great songs, but also a clever and funny book, some interesting twists, and strong characters. I've recommended it even to folks that don't normally see or enjoy musicals, and no one has ever been disappointed.

[bjornolf]

Great birthday present, bjornolf! I love Wicked so much I've seen it twice. I also have the CD. I think the original Elphabah, Idina Menzel, has a pretty good voice, too. Fun bit of trivia: both Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel have appeared on the TV show Glee.

Oh, she has a great voice, don't get me wrong. It just doesn't compare to the woman we saw.

[DukieInKansas]

What a great present, Bjornoff! You're a great husband.

I've seen Wicked twice - once in KC and again in Chicago. It was fun seeing it the second time as I was the only one that had seen it before. I really enjoyed both times. I tell people that after seeing Wicked, you won't look at the Wizard of Oz the same way - but it doesn't ruin it at all.

[Reisen]

We're theater fans as well. Living in NYC, we see a fair amount of Broadway, but have also seen a lot in London's West End, and even a fair bit in DC, and in Charlotte. Saw Les Mis at the Greensboro Colliseum years ago :-)

Anyway, we've seen Wicked probably more than any other show, maybe 4 or 5 times. It's the perfect show to take family members and houseguests to. As you mentioned, it will appeal even to folks that don't normally like musicals, as well as kids.

Some other shows we've seen in the last few years, with my take following:

Spamalot - Great
Baghdad Tiger at the Bengal Zoo - Not so great. Ben Stiller was in the audience, though.
Steady Rain - Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. Interesting, but more for the two-man show than the story.
Lion King - A let down.
Addams Family - Horrible. And I never thought I could dislike anything with Nathan Lane in it.
Producers - Great. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were excellent.
Rock of Ages - Fun
Avenue Q - Great
Mary Poppins - Meh...
Chicago - Meh...
Miss Saigon - Meh...

I think I'm going to go book tickets for Book of Mormon right now...

[Highlander]

We're theater fans as well. Living in NYC, we see a fair amount of Broadway, but have also seen a lot in London's West End, and even a fair bit in DC, and in Charlotte. Saw Les Mis at the Greensboro Colliseum years ago :-)

Anyway, we've seen Wicked probably more than any other show, maybe 4 or 5 times. It's the perfect show to take family members and houseguests to. As you mentioned, it will appeal even to folks that don't normally like musicals, as well as kids.

Some other shows we've seen in the last few years, with my take following:

Spamalot - Great
Baghdad Tiger at the Bengal Zoo - Not so great. Ben Stiller was in the audience, though.
Steady Rain - Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. Interesting, but more for the two-man show than the story.
Lion King - A let down.
Addams Family - Horrible. And I never thought I could dislike anything with Nathan Lane in it.
Producers - Great. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were excellent.
Rock of Ages - Fun
Avenue Q - Great
Mary Poppins - Meh...
Chicago - Meh...
Miss Saigon - Meh...

I think I'm going to go book tickets for Book of Mormon right now...

Jersey Boys is hands down the best show we've seen this year. Wicked was the best show we saw the year before that. My wife adores musicals, so I've seen most of the big ones and some of the other lesser known ones. Want to go see Rock of Ages this year, but the rest of the Charlotte circuit didn't excite me much.

Some other fun ones:
Urinetown- very funny. Wish this one were still around.
Rent - one of my all time faves. Music is excellent when done right.
Next to Normal - meh
Mamma Mia! - fun, but not deep or thought provoking
Lion King - staging is cool, but that's about it
Wicked - Very well done
Spamalot - meh
The Producers - good, but not great
Mary Poppins - good, but not great
Young Frankenstein - okay if you like d**k jokes
In the Heights - pretty good actually.
The Book of Mormon - on the bucket list

[DevilWearsPrada]

I saw WICKED at DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center in April 2010 and Rachel Tucker played Elfy. She was awesome. I also bought the CD. WICKED is one of the best Broadway shows, ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqecN8_5PKE

The youtube link is Defying Gravity with RAchel Tucker.

[devildeac]

The Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) is starting its 4th year (IIRC) next month and it will be our 3rd season as patrons. This year the show include:

Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Sinatra: Come Fly with Me
Rock of Ages
Memphis
The Addams Family
Bring It On
West Side Story

Last year it was:

Billy Elliott-really well done show
Young Frankenstein-typical Mel Brooks
Lion King-3rd time for me and still very entertaining
In the Heights-better than I thought an "unknown" show would be
Blue Man Group-yea, it's not a "Broadway" show and we gave our tix to daughter and future SIL
Shrek-gave tix to my office manager and her 7 year old who both loved it
Hair-opted out

2009-10 was:

Wicked-discussed already; fabulous
Phantom-upgraded to 5th row for $7/ticket; great move; 4th time for me and would attend again
Spring Awakening-lewd; vulgar; depressing; left at intermission
Beauty & the Beast-wonderful costumes; even this old geezer enjoyed it
Cirque de Soleil: Dreams/Illuminations-amazing shows; saw one in Vegas 10 years ago
Mama Mia-wife and daughter went; NOT an Abba fan
Grease-always entertaining; Taylor King, an American Idol finalist (?) (winner?) was in it

Also loved Jersey Boys in Raleigh last year. I really liked the Four Seasons as a child but like Billy Joel and Movin' Out a wee bit more, 'cuz It's Still Rock and Roll to Me.

[bjornolf]

I'm so uncultured. I've hardly seen any live theater, but here's my list:

Phantom of the Opera: Saw it three times back in the early 90s, twice with Michael Crawford as the Phantom. AWESOME.
Beauty & the Beast: Again at the Kennedy Center. I enjoyed that one a lot.
Showboat: Saw it at the Kennedy Center. It was okay.
Shear Madness: Kennedy Center. A lot of fun.
Chicago: National Theatre. It was okay, but not great.
Wicked: Kennedy Center. Amazing.

Local theater (my friends are really involved in this, so we used to go a lot) and dinner theater:

Mikado
Fiddler on the Roof
Brigadoon
Grease
1776
der Fledermaus
Ten Little Indians
Guys and Dolls

Stuff I was in in local theater or high school:

HMS Pinafore: I was in this one in community theater. The main actors were actually paid, and it was a pretty good one.
Dinny and the Witches: High school.
Il Trovatore: UCSB's drama department did it, and my high school choir performed the Anvil Chorus at one of their shows.

[devildeac]

I'm so uncultured. I've hardly seen any live theater, but here's my list:

Phantom of the Opera: Saw it three times back in the early 90s, twice with Michael Crawford as the Phantom. AWESOME.
Beauty & the Beast: Again at the Kennedy Center. I enjoyed that one a lot.
Showboat: Saw it at the Kennedy Center. It was okay.
Shear Madness: Kennedy Center. A lot of fun.
Chicago: National Theatre. It was okay, but not great.
Wicked: Kennedy Center. Amazing.

Local theater (my friends are really involved in this, so we used to go a lot) and dinner theater:

Mikado
Fiddler on the Roof
Brigadoon
Grease
1776
der Fledermaus
Ten Little Indians
Guys and Dolls

Stuff I was in in local theater or high school:

HMS Pinafore: I was in this one in community theater. The main actors were actually paid, and it was a pretty good one.
Dinny and the Witches: High school.
Il Trovatore: UCSB's drama department did it, and my high school choir performed the Anvil Chorus at one of their shows.

Probably my favorite show of all time is Music Man. Why? Because as a junior in HS, not being able to sing a note on key/pitch (still can't either), I played the role of Mayor Shinn as it was a non-singing part.

[Olympic Fan]

I've enjoyed a lot of the mjusicals mentioned in this thread. But my all-time favorite has not been mentioned: Big River.

If you get a chance to see a revival, jump at it.

I always wondered why that one never made the transition to film.

[devildeac]

Surprised no one has mentioned Les Mis yet. This is a great show with the stories and fabulous music. One of my all-time faves.

Rent-I did not like this as it was too dark and depressing.
Miss Saigon-I liked this but not nearly as much as many of the other shows I have seen. Quite dark and depressing also.

[ArkieDukie]

Here's my list - at least, the ones I can remember. I'm sure there are others at the Rep that I'm forgetting, but these are the ones that stand out.
Dreamgirls (AR Repertory Theatre) LOVED it. I was disappointed in the movie because this production was so great.
A Chorus Line (AR Rep)
Beauty and the Beast (AR Rep)
The Producers (Robinson Auditorium, Little Rock)
The Wizard of Oz (Robinson Auditorium) My niece was a Munchkin in this production.
Wicked (Fox Theatre-StL, Robinson Auditorium) Loved it so much I made a special trip to take my favorite Munchkin to see it.
Legally Blonde (Muny)
Singin' in the Rain (Muny)
Little Shop of Horrors (Muny) My favorite show of the past summer
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Muny)
Kiss Me, Kate (Muny)

[devildeac]

Movin' Out was very enjoyable but I like Billy Joel's old music, too.

We saw We Will Rock You in London about 7 years ago. A Queen musical set in the future when all rock and roll had been "banned." Entertaining show but, then again, I like Queen's music, too. I think this may have played for a while in Vegas and was supposed to tour the US but never made it out on the road.