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Wicked!I'
Wicked!
I'm soooo excited, I get to see Wicked in two days!!!!!!! I'm reallyyyy excited!
I've read the book and, in my opinion, it was completely awful (plus, it's more of an adult book in some of the content), but I've heard two songs from the musical and have a friend who lovvvves it, so I'm veryyy excited! Have you guys seen it??
submitted by Emma, age 14, Oregon
(April 20, 2011 - 8:34 pm)
(April 20, 2011 - 8:34 pm)
Yes. Three times. It... used to be my favourite musical EVOR, and then I discovered Stephen Sondheim, and... well... there is no comparison.
That being said, it is wonderful, extremely emotional and the music is beautiful. Have fun!
(I love the book, by the way. Even if it is... odd. I like the slightly surreal tone, and the dark political intrigue.)
(April 20, 2011 - 11:05 pm)
*POKE*
(April 21, 2011 - 1:07 pm)
Oooh! Jealous! I so want to see that! Have fun!
(April 21, 2011 - 5:58 pm)
Luckyyyyy. I wanted to see this, but we couldn't get the tickets fast enough when it came to town. Tell us how it was.
^ANALESIA THE BOOKWORM^
(April 22, 2011 - 8:35 am)
You are lucky! Have fun!
(April 22, 2011 - 10:42 am)
Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious. Holy. Cow.
It. Was. AMAZING! :D I loved it soooo much! Since then I've been totally obsessed with looking at videos of the orginal cast and learning more about it and just very Wicked obsessed in general. :) Aaaaaand, I heard they're making a movie of it! I think they shouldn't have Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (the originals) play Glinda and Elphaba in most of it (I'll explain the "most of it" in a sec.) because they're in their 40's or so and you'd be able to tell they aren't going-to-college age. I do think, though, they should perform "For Good" because that's THEIR song and, well, they're just amazing! And they should be on set to help advise the cast. The way I see, they ARE Elphaba and Glinda, the others are just replacements. ;) Haha ;)
The only problems I had with the cast we saw was that our Glinda tended to be out of tune because she held on to the darker, lower side of her vibrato. Also, when Elphaba flies into the air on "Defying Gravity" some performances have her cape actually reach all the way to the floor, but ours just had lighting and fog machines to make it look like it did. Sadly, the actors and actresses that came out to sing the bit of "No One Mourns the Wicked" that layered over her voice ran right through the "cape" the lights and fog made... But they were really good at disguising her platform. It was also pretty funny to hear (in "No One Mourns the Wicked" in the beginning) Glinda's harness clip in every time she stepped on. :) ***SPOILER*** And, because of the book, I didn't know if she actually died or not, so I lovvved it when she was alive!! <3
Her line in "As Long As You're Mine" when she goes "For the first time in my life I feel... WICKED!" and kissed Fiyero was one of my favorite lines! :) And "There's a goat on the lamb!" :)
So... that's all for now! :)
(April 25, 2011 - 10:39 pm)
Kristin Chenoweth? As in the Kristin Chenoweth who played Lily St. Regis in the 1999 movie Annie?
(April 26, 2011 - 12:40 pm)
Um, yeah.
She originated the role of Glinda when Wicked was first being cast.
(April 26, 2011 - 3:35 pm)
Yay I'm glad you liked it!
re: Movie: I think they should cast Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as G(a)linda. (Ages are 38 and 42, respectively, since you seem to care about that. But neither of them look it). And also Neil Patrick Harris (37) as Fiyero, because how awesome would that be?! Him, or Wesley Taylor (25). Or Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (20's). All three are amazing tenors. Though of course, this being the film industry, NPH is the most likely, because, y'know, people know who he is.
As far as the age thing goes, Dawson Casting is not uncommon in film (though, it goes without saying that theatre relies more heavily on it because of the whole shortage-of-young-and-experienced actors thing). Certainly it's easier to get away with casting someone who's a decade or more older than the part in question on stage, but given special effects these days, it wouldn't be exactly hard in film. And you get the benefit of having a talented AND experienced actor/singer, instead of a talented but inexperienced actor/singer.
Alternatively, they could dub it, but that's the dumb way.
What I do not want is Lea Michelle as Elphie, which is apparently under serious consideration. *cringe*
What I also do not want is for them to take the "usual" musical movie route, i.e. to cast a well-known actor who cannot sing (see: the Phantom/Gerard Butler debacle), or, just as bad, a good singer who cannot act. Or, worse, a well-known singer who can't do either (*sidelong glance at the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Mis, which cast a Jonas brother as Marius*). This, however, seems the most probable outcome, unless they choose to be awesome like The Producers or RENT and cast (most) of the original cast. (Or even better pick my ideal cast. Not that that's likely, except perhaps with NPH because he looks maybe 25).
@Jess: I disown that movie generally, because Audra McDonald was its ONLY redeeming factor (Kristin apparently forgot how to act for the entirety of the movie and, while the 89 version wasn't much better, it at least had Tim Curry, Carol Burnett, and Bernadette Peters to make up for it), but yes, that Kristin Chenoweth. She also costarred with Matthew Broderick in the 1993 The Music Man, which was much better (though nothing compared with the earlier movie).
(April 26, 2011 - 5:32 pm)
I am SOOOO jealous!!! I dream of seeing this. I have the soundtrack and it's really awesome! I have the book too and I started reading it a year or so ago but it was a little... odd? I also didn't understand all the words.
(April 26, 2011 - 4:07 pm)
It's interesting how my opinions change as I hear more and more of the Elphies and the different ways they sing. I actually kind of do want Kristen and Idina to play their roles again in the movie. I think they have amazing chemistry, and Idina has a really good understanding of Elphie. I also really liked the way her voice sounds in the songs, it just seems to fit the character to me. I find SJB's voice a little more... Well, Elphie's voice, in my opinion, should be a "velvet" (NOT diamond) voice, but also not too dark. SJB's voice seems very deep to me. She also seems to keep a lot of notes that could easily be head notes in her chest, which, although she has the range and they don't sound bad, I think they would sound better if she let them ring as head notes. I've also noticed that she pulls her mouth back and has sharper vowels (i.e. high: "h-iiiii-gh instead of h-ahh-igh") instead of rounded, full vowels. That said, she's really good, I'm just being picky. Choir nerd, sorry. ;) I really liked the actress that played whenwe saw it, Anne Brummel. I haven't really looked at enough videos to decide who I like best, anyway, so all of this could change :P
Okay, that's all for the moment because I gotta go.
(April 26, 2011 - 11:30 pm)
I'll admit I'm not entirely sure by what you mean by velvet and diamond voices, but I'm going to assume that your velvet equals my chocolate (i.e., rich, smooth), and guess that your diamond is a bad thing (judging from the negative connotation, anyway). Do correct me if I'm wrong about that. I'm also assuming you're not using dark in the same way that I do, because when I say someone has a "dark" voice I mean they've got a full voice, with proper breath support, and adequate strength and control (as opposed to someone with a light voice who sounds like a mosquito).
Moving on.
SJB's Voice.
-What exactly do you mean when you say she has a very deep voice? If you're speaking in terms of pitch and range... I wouldn't say she's got an unusually deep voice, she seems to be planted pretty firmly in a mezzo-soprano range from what I've heard of her. If you meant something in relation to your "dark" comment, I would love clarification because I have no idea what you mean.
-re: the high notes in her chest thing: Well, yes. It's called belting. Idina did it too, and so does every other person who ever played Elphie because, honestly, can you imagine Defying Gravity without a belt? It would be like a Rose who sang all in her head, which is to say, bizarre. And certainly there are some songs in Wicked which would sound just as good with head tones as opposed to a belt (I'm Not That Girl and For Good, mostly), but for the most part I think Elphie's songs sound better in a belt. And frankly I like SJB's belt better than Idina's belt because Idina's sounds... plastic-y to me. It's like Saran Wrap. More on that later.
-As far as the vowels go, I think my obsession with SRS and, to a significantly lesser extent, Patti LuPone predisposed me to like sharper vowels, or at the very least be less likely to get headaches from listening to them for long periods of time. (Seriously, listen to Everyday Rapture and be in awe of SRS's ability to pull off sharp, often slightly distorted vowels, in particular her i's.).
-re: Choir nerd: YAY! We can be musically pretentious together!
Belting, and Why Idina's Reminds Me of Saran Wrap.
Okay, you know the thing Idina does with her voice when she sings high notes, where it sounds like she's somehow managing to stretch the note whilst keeping it from being tinny and light and generally icky? (A prime example of this is when she sings the final "I" of The Wizard and I. Also during the "What is it about them?" line in Take Me or Leave Me (from RENT).)
And I've always thought that it's like she's Saran Wrapping the note. Usually she manages to pull it off somehow. (I say usually because it was disasterous when she did Aida.)
(April 27, 2011 - 5:26 pm)
I, also, prefer the belt for Elphie, though it wouldn't sound bad with some notes in head voice.
(April 27, 2011 - 9:44 pm)
Velvet voices are voices that are softer, but diamond have a cutting quality to them. Diamond isn't bad, just NOT Elphie-ish at all. Velvet is soft and smooth but diamonds are flashy and bright. Same kind of thing with velvet and diamond voices. It's sort of hard to explain and I'm doing a terrible job! My choir teacher could actually sing it to explain it (she could fake a diamond voice even though she's velvet) and because I can't sing across the internet I can't really explain it very well. :P As to having a "dark" voice I was just meaning that SJB has... Just, a darker voice. I don't mean better breath support or a fuller tone, just a darker tone, I guess. Maybe I mean a richer tone? Same kind of thing with the deeper. Ehh, I give up! I officially fail at trying to explain this! :P Moving on, now.
I get what you're saying about Saran Wrapping the note. I like the way SJB doesn't do that to her high notes. They sound really good and full even when they're high.
With the sharp vowel thing, I probably could get used to it, and maybe it was just in the few songs I listened to that SJB sang. My choir teacher has drilled round vowels into us so hard I might just be over sensitive.
Wowwwww. I just watched a video of SJB singing No Good Deed (definitely one of my favorite songs) and it was a.maz.ing. Wowww woww wowww! I seriously had chills the whole time, especially when she says "Fiyero" in the "Nessa. Doctor Dillamond. Fiyero. Fiyero!!!" part. That was amazing!!! She just had so much emotion and pain that she put into her voice and expressions! Wowwww. Holy cow! Congrats, you may end up changing my mind. :)
One thing I forgot to add last time was that I'm terrified they'll cast Lea Michelle as Elphaba! When my choir was discussing casting for the movie one person said they were considering her. I didn't really know anything about her, but I had heard she had a decent voice and she looked a lot like Elphie. Thennn, I looked her up. Ahhhh! :O She sang Defying Gravity with NO emotion and just, ick! And with so many other incredible people that could play the role, they CAN'T cast her! If they do I think I might just disown the world...
(April 27, 2011 - 11:46 pm)
Ah, that makes sense. I think. So velvet is more or less what I mean by chocolate, whereas diamonds are more what I would describe as… brassy I suppose. (How would you classify, say, Krysta Rodriguez? And how would you classify someone who doesn't really fit either description, like… I dunno, Glynnis Johns or Bernadette Peters?) In regards to the "darkness" of a voice, I think I might know what you're talking about, but I'm not sure.
Moving on.
Yay my Saran Wrap explanation made sense. And it's totally an Idina thing, I've never heard anyone else do anything like it. It does add a certain… flavor to the roles she plays, but at the same time it gets a bit… wearing. And every time I hear it I think of vocal strain, which would be terrible.
Does your choral director tell you to pretend you've got a ping pong ball lodged in the opening of your trachea? Ours does. (It actually helped re: wide/round vowels, surprisingly enough)
SJB's No Good Deed is easily the best performance I've seen (and I've seen it three times, twice in Chicago, with excellent casts every time. And videos of Idina's, obviously). She does the BSoD thing very well.
If they cast LM in the movie, I will probably cry. I mean, she's got a decent voice-- far better than some other actors I could mention *coughCatherineZetaJonescough*, but… it's bland. She doesn't do anything with it. She has no… style. I mean, Sherie Rene Scott has her sharp-vowel-belting thing and the sick vibrato, and Leigh Ann Larkin has that almost-trill high note thing, and Patti LuPone has the wobble/vibrato, and Mandy Patinkin has the beast falsetto, and Roger Bart kind of sings through his nose, and Nathan Lane is… well, Nathan Lane, and Kristin Chenoweth has her trills, and the point is pretty much all good singers have something distinctive about their voice so that people can pick it out and say, oh, that's so-and-so, and then there's LM and it's like… she sounds like she could be a lot of different people. I think that's one of the things that sets the really good singers apart from the rest, having that unmistakable quality that is theirs and no one else's. Idina's Saran-Wrapping, for example.
Glee is horrible because all the singers (except Darren Chriiiiiisss, of course) are like that, AND they autotuned Rose's Turn. D:
(April 28, 2011 - 8:02 pm)