Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Wicked on Broadway

Outside the Gershwin Theatre in New York City.
While I was in New York City I was able to see seven shows in five days!  I included a few new shows that I had not seen before and a few of my old favorites that I can see again and again.  Wicked is a show that I never get tired of because I absolutely love the music and I can definitely relate to the story about a girl who doesn't quite fit in.  The Broadway production was one of the best I have seen (maybe even better than the London production).  I tend to think that whoever is playing Elphaba in the production I am currently seeing is the best one but Rachel Tucker was simply amazing!  She just about blew the roof off the Gershwin Theatre during "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed."  I also really liked Carrie St. Louis as Glinda, especially when she tossed her hair.  She added her own hilarious touches to "Popular" by stretching and throwing punches.  I laughed and laughed.  St. Louis and Tucker had great chemistry in "What Is This Feeling" (they had the best facial expressions) and they sang "For Good" beautifully (I had a tear in my eye).  Jonah Platt (Fiyero) was not the best dancer I have seen in the role but he had an incredible voice and I loved his song "As Long As You're Mine" with Tucker.  When the Wizard sang "A Sentimental Man" at the end of the first act, I kept thinking that I recognized him so I looked him up in the program during intermission.  It turns out that the Wizard was played by Peter Scolari, a veteran of several TV shows and movies, most notably Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.  I have to admit that I was a bit star-struck by his performance!  I thought Madame Morrible (Judy Kaye) was the best I've seen and the ensemble was great in all of the big song and dance numbers, especially "No One Mourns the Wicked" and "March of the Witch Hunters."  I really enjoyed myself at this production because several people in our group had never seen it before and it was fun experiencing it through their eyes.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...