Broadway Shows and Tickets http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com Broadway Show News, Information, Reviews and Tickets Fri, 25 Aug 2006 21:12:46 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ en hourly 1 http://www.gravatar.com/blavatar/feca8b29ff34107dbf8cf3edc51a51f4?s=96&d=http://s.wordpress.com/i/buttonw-com.png Broadway Shows and Tickets http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com How “Wicked” Run Has Broken Chicago’s Curse http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/how-wicked-run-has-broken-chicagos-curse/ http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/how-wicked-run-has-broken-chicagos-curse/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:32:22 +0000 rockconcert https://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/how-wicked-run-has-broken-chicagos-curse/ ]]>

Check out Wicked tickets here.

The announcement came in Los Angeles, but it actually was a vote of confidence in Chicago. And it means that the Chicago production of “Wicked” — the show that has revolutionized the perceptions of Broadway in the Loop — is staying put at the Oriental Theatre. For many more months. Maybe for several more years.

On July 17, the producers of “Wicked” announced that a new production of their hit musical would open next spring at the Pantages Theatre in L.A. That was unsurprising — “Wicked” has grossed more than $350 million to date in New York, Chicago and on tour, and a new company designed specifically for the nation’s second-largest city was an obvious step to take. But there was a big surprise that day for many people who follow the vicissitudes of Broadway shows.

Los Angeles wasn’t getting the Chicago production. Even though that had been the plan all along.

In New York, the thinking about Chicago has changed. Drastically.

“Finally the curse has been lifted,” says Roche Schulfer, the executive director of the Goodman Theatre. “Now producers look at Chicago, and they see a huge city, and they see money. Really, this is a very big moment in the history of the Chicago theater.”

In a study released last month and based on an extensive survey of theater-goers, the League of American Theatres and Producers found that “theater-motivated individuals” in large cities such as Chicago spend an average of about $92 per person on dining, hotels, parking, shopping and the like on the nights they are going to a Broadway-style show. Using those figures, that would mean an additional year of “Wicked” is worth more than $86 million to the North Loop businesses that surround the theater.

When the Chicago company of “Wicked” was first announced in the Tribune on March 22, 2005, it was billed as an indefinite run. But in the touring Broadway business — where costs and risks are high and theaters can get locked up months or even years in advance — producers always need a more specific plan, even if they don’t always care to reveal it.

In the case of “Wicked,” producer David Stone actually was anticipating a Chicago run at the Oriental Theatre of 12-18 months — and that was in his best-case scenario. That meant the show would be able to move to L.A. in early 2007, opening up another huge market and saving the multimillion dollar costs of developing a whole other company from scratch.

“Eighteen months was our original goal in Chicago,” Stone admits, “and our initial plans then involved taking the show to L.A. But the show is doing so well in Chicago, we realized it would be stupid to leave.”

So what’s the secret plan now?

“We don’t have a specific goal anymore,” insists Stone, who produces “Wicked” in partnership with Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group and Jon B. Platt. “Our thinking now about Chicago is all about how you stay somewhere permanently. And that requires a whole other way of talking to your potential audience.”

Permanence and theater aren’t easy bedfellows, of course. But there has been speculation in New York — where the sold-out show carries a box-office advance of some $32 million — that “Wicked” could easily run another 10 years. In Chicago, where the advance is still a healthy $13 million despite much shorter booking periods, the run could easily last another two or three years — if not more. Ever since the show began its Chicago run, it has sold almost all the available tickets at the Oriental Theatre at full price. The weekly gross this summer has been about $1.2 million, week in and week out.

“Wicked” puts a new block of tickets on sale to the public Sunday, covering performances through February. Sales are expected to be brisk.

Clearly, this is good news for city boosters. Broadway in Chicago estimates that one-quarter of the tickets to the show now are sold to patrons outside the Chicago area.

Leads to hotel stay

“Because we draw so heavily on the Midwest region, we always need a compelling reason for someone to come to Chicago again,” says Dorothy Coyle, Chicago’s Director of Tourism. “This show gets people to make plans. And since it’s an evening event, that naturally leads to a hotel stay. Which brings the city revenue from the hotel tax.”

You could also argue that the new commitment by “Wicked” provides substantial vindication for Mayor Richard M. Daley’s promotion of the incremental use of public funds to create the Loop theater district — which initially was criticized for inactivity. “The show is now the anchor tenant,” says Schulfer. “And that makes a very big difference to the whole thing.”

In many ways, “Wicked” is the culmination of a renaissance that began with the hit Chicago tryout of “The Producers” in 2000 and has continued, with some notable stutters, ever since. Given the plans already in place for the next several years, it’s hard to imagine another time in the near future when Loop theaters are sitting empty for significant periods of time.

The initial idea to create a sit-down “Wicked” company for Chicago — a concept that has proved very profitable for many people — belonged to James M. Nederlander, the patriarch of the theater-owning family that owns many Broadway theaters, along with half of the Broadway in Chicago presenting and real-estate partnership. Live Nation (formerly Clear Channel Entertainment) is Nederlander’s partner in Chicago.

“I’ve always said Chicago was a run town,” Nederlander said from his New York office. “I remember when the Shuberts had seven theaters there. Then they gave up on the place. I always thought that was a mistake.”

It was Nederlander who persuaded Stone to create the Chicago company and let it stay. “That show is a big hit,” Nedlander says, “Why not?”

History contained several reasons why not.

Not for decades

Exactly why Chicago — despite its size — had decades of trouble establishing itself as a place that would support long-running Broadway shows is a matter of speculation. Oft-cited reasons include everything from simple neglect by New York producers to the large number of competing non-profit theaters to anti-Chicago naysayers in New York. Some cite the many years lacking a cohesive local management of the Broadway-style theaters in the Loop, and others suggest that the exacting standards of former Tribune critic Claudia Cassidy had a chilling effect on shows at a crucial time when the commercial theater was shrinking and changing.

Whatever the history and the reasons, “Wicked” (which, interestingly enough, got mixed reviews in Chicago) clearly has swept them all away for the foreseeable future.

The success of “Wicked” (which is a national rather than a Chicago phenomenon) cannot be easily duplicated, of course. But “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” another Broadway show with a dedicated Chicago company, has already recouped its initial (and modest) $1 million costs and now looks set to play the Drury Lane Water Tower Theatre through the end of 2007, if not beyond. “Spelling Bee” also is produced by Stone, but other producers now seem ready to come to Chicago to test the Nederlander theory.

In the spring, Scott Sanders’ production of “The Color Purple” will begin a Chicago run at the Cadillac Palace with Oprah Winfrey’s name above the title. If sales are relatively modest, it will decamp for another city after a few months. If tickets sell at “Wicked” levels (which could happen), Sanders says he will create another company and leave “The Color Purple” in Chicago, alongside its “Wicked” twin.

Chris Jones/Chicago Tribune

P. S. Check out Wicked tickets here.

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]]> http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/how-wicked-run-has-broken-chicagos-curse/feed/ 2 rockconcert Jersey Boys Once Again Breaks Wilson House Record http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/jersey-boys-once-again-breaks-wilson-house-record/ http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/jersey-boys-once-again-breaks-wilson-house-record/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:40:57 +0000 rockconcert https://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/jersey-boys-once-again-breaks-wilson-house-record/ ]]>

Check out Jersey Boys tickets here.

Jersey Boys, the 2006 Best Musical Tony® Award-winner about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, has set a new house record at the August Wilson Theatre for the 14th time, grossing $1,105,859.00 for the week ending August 21, 2006.

Jersey Boys is the winner of the 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The musical is written by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff.

Jersey Boys “is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), Bob Gaudio (Daniel Reichard), Tommy DeVito (Christian Hoff) and Nick Massi (J. Robert Spencer), about a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were thirty,” state press notes.

The musical opened to critical acclaim at the August Wilson Theatre on November 6, 2005. The national tour will begin this fall in San Francisco.

P. S. Check out Jersey Boys tickets here.

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]]> http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/jersey-boys-once-again-breaks-wilson-house-record/feed/ 0 rockconcert The Lion King News and Tickets http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/17/the-lion-king-news-and-tickets/ http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/17/the-lion-king-news-and-tickets/#comments Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:54:31 +0000 rockconcert https://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/17/the-lion-king-news-and-tickets/ ]]>

Check out The Lion King tickets here.

Nathaniel Stampley is the king of the jungle, and he is a just and noble king, so he thinks you should be warned about a few things before you visit his realm.

Stampley’s domain is the theatrical version of The Lion King, a story that started out as an animated Disney movie but is now in its ninth year as a live Broadway show. It’s also been showing in London for a very long time, and in Hamburg and in Tokyo, and two companies are currently touring it around the United States. One of them–Stampley’s–will settle into the Tucson Convention Center Music Hall for a substantial run Aug. 17-Sept. 24.

Stampley plays Mufasa, the story’s initial lion king, who is killed and usurped by his brother, who in turn is brought to justice and replaced by Mufasa’s son, the story’s ultimate lion king. But right now, it’s Stampley who is lounging on his jungle throne. Actually, he’s sitting on a hotel bed between shows in Houston, on the phone to tell the Tucson multitudes what they should and should not expect when they come to witness the end of his reign.

“It is very different from the film,” he says of the live musical. “From the opening number, you realize this is going to be somewhat like the film, but entirely different. We are people on a stage, so we can’t exactly re-create the animated film.”

This is not a bad thing. The Lion King makes full use of the theater’s potential for spectacle, not by crashing a huge chandelier or having a helicopter land amid singing and dancing Vietnamese crowds, but by populating the stage with actors in oversized animal masks (small part Disney, great part African) and large puppets, operated by visible technicians who become part of the fantasy animals. The show also bulks up the movie score; in addition to the original Elton John/Tim Rice songs, the Broadway version includes three newer Elton John songs and a great amount of more authentically African-sounding material by other composers.

Director Julie Taymor oversaw much that was best about The Lion King, and she and the rest of the original creative and technical teams were rewarded with just about every honor short of the Heisman Trophy.

All well and good, but there’s another important point that Stampley wants you to know: He is not James Earl Jones.

“The most difficult thing about this role for me is people automatically have the voice of James Earl Jones in their head from the film,” he says. “And then the role was created by Samuel Wright on Broadway. I have to try to make it my own version of Mufasa. The biggest challenge for me is not re-creating what someone else did, but living in that tradition while creating something that is mine.”

Stampley, a classically trained baritone who appeared in The Color Purple on Broadway and Ragtime on tour, has had plenty of time to create Mufasa in his own image. He played the character for a year in London, then nearly a year and a half in the first national tour, and now he’s been on this tour about three months so far. But it’s not something he’d yearned to do from the time the Broadway show opened. In fact, when his agent got him an audition, he hadn’t even seen the thing, and didn’t make it to a performance until the day of his first tryout.

“I immediately fell in love with the show, and I knew it was something I could do,” he says. “The story line was very powerful, and also just the pure visual stimulus of the show is quite invigorating. I really wanted to be a part of that.”

Now, about that visual stimulus–doesn’t it bother Stampley that people are looking at the heavy costumes and the masks and the puppets and the riot of color and motion on stage, and forgetting maybe that there’s a real man with a face portraying Mufasa? “No, it doesn’t,” he says. “I think the story line is strong enough that you could take away many of the visual aspects of the show, and it would still work. But those elements do heighten the story and help us tell the story better, so I don’t view them as a hindrance. And there’s so much happening on stage that a lot of people want to come back, because they feel they’ve missed something the first time.” In other words, it’s good box office. A wise king is always attentive to his treasury.

What motivates Stampley to come out and do the show night after night, eight shows a week over the course of several years, is that he and the company are taking the production to the masses instead of insisting that the masses make an expensive pilgrimage to Broadway.

“For some people, it’s their first show ever, but it’s one they really wanted to see,” he says. “Everywhere we go, people are very excited to see us. When you’re welcomed that way, you feel great, and it’s wonderful to share the story with them.”

James Reel/Tuscon Weekly

P. S. Check out The Lion King tickets here.

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]]> http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/17/the-lion-king-news-and-tickets/feed/ 0 rockconcert Tarzan the Musical Show Review and Tickets http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/14/tarzan-the-musical-show-review-and-tickets/ http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/14/tarzan-the-musical-show-review-and-tickets/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:53:21 +0000 rockconcert https://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/14/tarzan-the-musical-show-review-and-tickets/ ]]>

Check out Tarzan the Musical tickets here.

In this so called magical world of musical theatre where those seeking the finer tastes in life often find themselves creating and debating, one must ponder what the initial purpose of musical theatre is and what it truly stands for. For in our own special world, musical theatre is a separate entity from the rest. Some live for it, while many others will live avoiding it. But still what is it that attracts us to the stage?

For some, the ideologies of Broadway provide a night of entertainment and satisfaction which cannot be derived from any other aspect of media. While for others, it’s a transport to a far away land, where our own world is forgotten and the fantasy we take part in is fulfilled by the stories and songs upon the stage. The recent opening of Disney’s Tarzan; the rope swinging, Phil Collins musical was met with an array of negativity from those who have created a living by shunning the artistic worth of others; (we like to call them critics). But what was over looked by others, is the fundamental premise that the show was built upon.

When Disney announced plans to bring Tarzan alive on stage, there were in deed questions to be asked. Would the animated tale of a man raised by apes who falls in love with the first human female he ever meets, translate to the stage as well as the other adapted cartoon musicals of Beauty and The Beast, and the mega hit, The Lion King? With questions aside, it went without saying that if Disney was attaching its name to the project, a high quality product would be produced, and somewhere in the middle of this extravaganza many of those expectations were met, however, others seemingly fell through the vines.

Rather than saturate would-be patrons with all of negative criticisms that many fellow critics have divulged let us purely examine the facts here, and ultimately allow you the eager viewer a chance to decide for yourself. If the 2004 plunder of Dracula the Musical taught us anything, it was that aerial dynamics and flying human beings don’t necessarily erect the structure for a well mounted musical.

In Tarzan, the first scene depicts a shipwreck which leads to the untimely death of Tarzan’s parents. Here, a beautiful and sensual approach was taken in what is seen by the human eye as the entire family floating from the top to the bottom of the stage. The invisible cords did what they were meant to do, and the musical is off to a delightful start. But soon after, with an entire ensemble of flying apes parachuting out of the dismal never changing green vine set drop, one suddenly realizes that the story could have been executed in more artistic manner, if the constant need for flying fur had been eliminated.

The apes can swing; we get the point. There is no need to reinforce the sell over and over. But never fear there’s also flying butterflies, snakes, and cheetahs that do add some flavorful distraction from the still unchanging green vine set.

The costumes and makeup left an awful lot to be desired, and if we didn’t already know the words of “You’ll be in My Heart,” you may have in deed left the Richard Rogers Theatre without a memorable tune resounding in your head. All of this leads me to beg… Oh, Disney where has the splendid imagination and creativity that lives in the bones of Beauty and Beast disappeared to? Please bring it back, for this mounting doesn’t show you in your finest hour. Yet as a provider of three other mind-blowing shows, (including Elton John’s Aida) I know somewhere, under all this wreckage there is a story to be told, and a heart string to be tugged on. Just show me the way, and if you await that sensual satisfaction that your emotions are being tested, you may in deed find the beauty of the show.

So yes, some of the building blocks of musical theatre were over looked, or possibly over-killed, but there is a building eruption of beauty that does grasp on when you least expect it. While Josh Strickland (American Idol) did have a stronger Broadway debut than some who have come before him, it was the female lead of Tarzan who stole the spotlight.

Jenn Gambatese, who plays the vital role of Jane, is well known as the girl who captured our hearts for her turn in the short lived, All Shook Up. The moment Jane steps on the overly green set, the value of the production is raised, and the divas voice is praised. With a sweet yet powerful set of chords, Gambatese easily becomes the main focus of the musical. With minimal flying and swinging, and a touching descent from high above the stage on a swing, she adds a flavor to the show that says that this indeed is genuine. She is a real person with emotions and senses, and with such a gaping heart she can and does accept and fall in love with a man who believes he’s an ape. The concept is ridiculous but the execution is well mannered and intended.

There were nine new songs written for the musical, three of those songs are highly enjoyable, and to little surprise, Gambatese sings all three. She’s without a doubt worth the ticket price alone.

And as for Phil Collins? Composing a score for the musical theatre is never an easy undertaking, and with such an elaborate expertise in writing a memorable song, Collins does provide a handful of new melodies that push the show along, and embarks the audience on a Journey of musical story telling. Yet unlike Disney’s Aida and Beast, there was quite a defining texture to the coverage of delivery and structure that wasn’t apparent in this production. The masterpiece quality which we have come to expect from camp Disney wasn’t delivered, yet that doesn’t mean that an enjoyable, memorable, family friendly show isn’t currently gracing the great white way.

Whether the sets and score left some to be desired, this show has the one thing that every other show this season has failed to come up with. It has the approach of telling a story that provokes our emotions enough to remind us that it’s ok to feel, that its ok to lose track and lose sight of who we are, because somehow and somewhere, we can still find home. It’s acceptable to make mistakes, to be confused, to love someone others don’t approve of, and more than anything its ok to accept the differences among all of us as human beings. This exact message is what is delivered through this production.

Like it or not, you won’t find another show with as much heart as Tarzan. It’s a life lesson to all of us, young and old that life is a learning experience, and we must find the good in everyone and in everything, for at the end of the day, it is our hearts, our souls, and our good hearted conscience that renders us as human beings who aren’t afraid to feel.

David Marken/AssociatedContent

P. S. Check out Tarzan the Musical tickets here.

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]]> http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/14/tarzan-the-musical-show-review-and-tickets/feed/ 0 rockconcert Jersey Boys Show Review and Tickets http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/jersey-boys/ http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/jersey-boys/#comments Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:46:06 +0000 rockconcert https://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/jersey-boys/ ]]>

Check out Jersey Boys tickets here.

Watch your back, Mamma Mia! A new jukebox musical has arrived on Broadway, and it’s as much of a crowd-pleaser as you are. It’s also a lot smarter, and it actually tells the story of the group whose music it celebrates–the Four Seasons. Slickly directed by Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys stars a bunch of talented unknowns who are making the most of their big break. They, and the show, are a knockout.

The Four Seasons haven’t been popular for years, but the group sold 100 million records and produced numerous hit songs (“Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Who Loves You” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” to name a few). And, luckily for the show (if not always for the group’s members), the band’s story contains plenty of drama. Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice tell the Four Seasons’ strange-but-true tale in brisk, entertaining fashion.

After a loud opening number set in a Paris disco in 2000, we are introduced to Tommy DeVito (Christian Hoff). A tough Jersey boy and small-time crook, he takes us back to the origins of the Four Seasons in the mid-1950s. Tommy forms the Variety Trio with his brother and a friend, Nick Massi (J. Robert Spencer). Tommy does a stint in jail, and by the time he comes out the other two members are locked up. So Tommy recruits a young, innocent kid with a gorgeous, high-tenor voice named Frankie Castelluccio (John Lloyd Young). Frankie later changes his last name to Vally, and then to Valli. His bossy future wife, Mary Delgado (Jennifer Naimo), suggests the switch. “You’re Italian,” she says. “You’ve got to end with a vowel.”

The name of the band also changed several times before a neon lounge sign inspired the name the Four Seasons. And the group’s members changed so many times that it’s hard to keep track of all the different variations. The final “piece in the puzzle” was Bob Gaudio (Daniel Reichard), who would write the songs, arrange the harmonies and perform with Valli, DeVito and Massi. One other man was integral to the group’s success: their gay, astrology-loving producer-lyricist Bob Crewe (Peter Gregus). But let’s not forget the diminutive Jersey boy named Joey (Michael Longoria) who introduced Gaudio to Valli; he grew up to be actor Joe Pesci.

Brickman and Elice trace the group’s complex history so quickly that it’s easy to miss some of the details. (I’m still not sure what happened to short-lived band member Hank, for instance.) There isn’t time to dwell on the details, though, since Act One alone has 22 numbers. The story is integrated beautifully with the songs, and McAnuff’s dynamic staging makes the show as exciting visually as it is musically.

The director’s handling of the Four Seasons’ breakout hit, “Sherry,” is particularly snazzy: The singers start out performing for TV cameras, with the live images projected on large video screens; they then turn to face the audience, and suddenly they’re giving a full-throttle concert. It’s a showstopper, but the concert continues with high-energy renditions of their next number one hits, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.” McAnuff gives the concert treatment to other songs, including the bouncy girl-group number “My Boyfriend’s Back.” He also cleverly advances the story during “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)” and expertly mixes in Ed Sullivan Show footage during the first-act finale.

It’s tempting to say that the uptempo hits and McAnuff’s inventive direction are the stars of the show, except that the actors are so terrific. Making his Broadway debut, Young is a real discovery as Frankie. He has the short stature, the Italian features and (most importantly) the high notes. Like Valli, Young has an angelic voice, which is all the more impressive given that his credits are in plays, not musicals. His co-stars are all fine actors, too, especially Hoff (who played the Pinball Lad in McAnuff’s The Who’s Tommy). With a convincing blue-collar New Jersey accent, Hoff somehow makes DeVito likable even when his huge gambling debts to the Mob nearly destroy the group he created. Reichard and Spencer also sing as well as they act, and Gregus adds humor as the superstitious but savvy Crewe: “It will work. You know why? I did Frankie’s chart. His moon is in Taurus.”

After the witless Beach Boys musical Good Vibrations and the enjoyable but vapid Elvis tuner All Shook Up, a jukebox musical with smart writing comes as a pleasant surprise. Well, it’s not entirely surprising since Brickman co-wrote some of Woody Allen’s best movies (Annie Hall, Sleeper, Manhattan and Manhattan Murder Mystery) and wrote and directed the forgotten but funny film Simon. Elice has been a creative director at an ad agency, an actor and a consultant at Walt Disney Studio. The writers, along with McAnuff (who first staged Jersey Boys at the La Jolla Playhouse, where he is the artistic director), efficiently and breezily recount the Four Seasons’ dramatic up-and-down story. A few quibbles: The first act is a little long, the second act isn’t as upbeat as the first and the show’s female characters get short shrift. But these are minor problems in a highly entertaining show.

The tight production also boasts an industrial-looking set designed by Klara Zieglerova that echoes the band’s working-class New Jersey roots. It includes a towering fence, an elevated walkway and the silhouette of a factory. There are also projections of alternating comic-book-style images that are inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop Art paintings. The images vaguely evoke the 1960s but don’t really fit in with the rest of the set.

Jersey Boys probably won’t earn as many zillions as Mamma Mia! But strong word of mouth should help it run for at least a couple years at the recently renamed August Wilson Theatre. And casting agents should start looking for another short, talented Italian actor with a pretty falsetto, because Jersey Boys ought to be just as popular on the road.

William Stevenson/Broadway.com

P. S. Check out Jersey Boys tickets here.

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]]> http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/jersey-boys/feed/ 37 rockconcert Wicked Show Review and Tickets http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/witty-wicked-delights-a-spellbound-audience/ http://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/witty-wicked-delights-a-spellbound-audience/#comments Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:16:32 +0000 rockconcert https://broadwayshows.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/witty-wicked-delights-a-spellbound-audience/ ]]>

Check out Wicked tickets here.

“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” That’s Glinda the Good speaking, as she floats down in a cascade of bubbles at the start of the hit musical “Wicked.”

Legions of word-of-mouth fans who had to wait three years since the Broadway opening for “Wicked” to cast its spell here apparently felt very good to see the perky Glinda and her “evil” counterpart, Elphaba, when the show opened at the Civic Theatre Thursday.

For those who saw the first cast in a smaller theater in New York, well, maybe not so good.

The $14 million show, with slick pop music and lyrics by “Godspell” composer Stephen Schwartz and a witty libretto by TV writer Winnie Holzman, is based on the popular 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Both novel and show expand on L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories by imagining the psychological and near-tragic back story of the two witches who form the yin and yang to Dorothy’s adventures in the iconic MGM film.

Maguire subverts the Baum story by making pea-green Elphaba a bookish and astute misfit, possessed of the moral insight and courage Galinda (later Glinda) lacks. She’s much more than Margaret Hamilton’s cackling hag of the beloved film.

Granted, in the musical, you have to sort through a lot of bloat to find that mildly subversive message. But once you factor out the bombastic sound design at the 3,000-seat Civic, the spectacle of designer Eugene Lee’s fire-breathing dragon above the proscenium and his golden Sphinx reverberating from the wizard’s throne, some clever ironies emerge and entertain.

They derive mostly from Holzman’s shrewd book (based only in part on Maguire’s novel) that’s proven so appealing to girls and their moms. The wonderful witch shtick created by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who, respectively, originated the roles of Galinda and Elphaba, proves just as much fun in this tour cast.

As bubbly Galinda, Kendra Kassebaum nails all those nubile teen gestures – a little flick of the foot, flounce of the skirt and toss of the hair – that contrast with the unadorned directness of the stodgy, principled Elphaba.

Now and again in a show reviled by most critics because of its plastic pop score, there’s even a happy conjunction of a Schwartz tune with a sharp lyric.

“Popular,” the first-act number in which Galinda tries to make the green girl over in her own Barbie doll image, deserves all the delighted laughter it gets. Kassebaum’s voice is brassy and nasal, with none of the subtle colors and operatic range that made Chenoweth’s self-mocking performance so impressive. But that matters little in “Popular.” And what Kassebaum’s got – brash vocal confidence and a kind of manic glee – works well enough here. Julia Murney as Elphaba lacks Menzel’s passion and vocal warmth, but she deadpans her responses to the makeover to good effect.

In Elphaba’s generic ballads and anthems (“The Wizard and I,” “I’m Not That Girl” and “No Good Deed”), Murney shows off a huge belt and the stamina that make these “American Idol” stylings so (apparently) irresistible to pop-loving audiences.

Sebastian Arcello takes the pop over the top in his “Dancing Through Life” as Fiyero, a small and thankless role of airhead prince turned scarecrow lover.

Director Joe Mantello found just the right tone in staging “Popular.” And he wrings more fun from his “Evita” parody for Glinda once she gets the power she craves.

Elphaba, who’s been wrongly labeled wicked because of her hostility to totalitarian rule in Oz, has used her magical powers to flee with her broomstick. So Mrs. Morrible (veteran Alma Cuervo), a combination press secretary and Fox news “reporter,” labels her an enemy terrorist and, like recent political operatives, just makes stuff up. Glinda wants to share the wizard’s power so badly she goes along with the distortions of recent history, at least while she’s dressed like the populist Argentine heroine-saint of “Evita” and waving from behind a huge microphone.

“Wicked” mocks the political language George Orwell so famously wrote of – language “designed to make lies sound truthful.” The show treats us to a jaunty version of what Orwell called that “nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but the past.”

“Wicked” doesn’t go very far in its anatomy of political corruption, nor does it follow through on the revolutionary logic of its premise. It’s a pop musical after all, not Brecht. If it did push those buttons as Maguire’s novel fitfully does, the musical wouldn’t be so damn “popular.”

Instead, the show morphs into a conventional love-conquers-all-story in which misfit Elphaba – like outsider Tracy Turnblat of “Hairspray” – gets her man after all. Even sparkling Glinda, lonely at the top, misses her green friend.

Scheduled here for just two weeks – probably by design to pump up ticket demand – “Wicked” earned the kind of delirious response that signals it may return.

Anne Marie Welsh/Union Tribune

P. S. Check out Wicked tickets here.

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