Go ahead, man. I dare you. Prove me wrong.
Wicked
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by Winnie Holzman
Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire
Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The summer doldrums are over, and the theatre season is back in swing. Thank heavens. I was beginning to think I'd fallen behind on my blog again when, in reality, I hadn't seen anything since July. Inconceivable.
Anyway, there's hardly anything I need to say about Wicked, and I really don't want to fangirl all over this blog. I have seen this show six times, in four cities, and on two continents. Do I need to go on?
I didn't think so. (But I will.)
The first time I saw this show was on Broadway in 2004, the week after the Tonys (where it lost the big award to Avenue Q), and I was with a large group of high school students. When we got the tickets the previous October, we had no way of knowing this show would be a rousing success and cultural phenomenon. All I knew was that my friend and then-roommate Tracy, who was coordinating my students' trip, was a Wizard of Oz fanatic and thought this show would probably be good.
Now I have almost 30 theatre alumni who tell people, rather smugly, that "yeah, I saw the original cast on Broadway." Inevitably, the reaction is envy with a hint of meanness.
This July, however, was the first time I had sprung for good seats--and that's because there was a 50% off ticket offer. The spectacle of this particular musical is always overwhelming, and sitting in the balcony is really the only way to get the full picture of what's happening. This time I was in the eighth row and I got to see all the nuances up close. Not since I saw Kristin Chenoweth in 2004 was I so charmed by Galinda, and I found myself emotionally caught through most of the show.
Even the six middle-aged women behind me who chatted, sang, and commented throughout the performance couldn't ruin the spell of the show. Normally that kind of thing drives me crazy, but their joy in the performance was infectious. At the end of Act I, when Elphaba belts "Defying Gravity" while flying over the stage with her larger-than-life cape billowing behind her, the woman directly behind me SHOUTED
"I have seen the future! And this is what it looks like!"
I went into intermission laughing aloud.
Adaptation by Brian Friel
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
Thursday, September 19, 2013
(Preview performance)
What a difference a day makes. The following night, this was a strange comparison to Wicked's spectacle.
Friel's adaptation highlights the comedy in the play, even while retaining the character of Chekhov's bleak original. (Don't let that cheery publicity material fool you. It's still Chekhov.) If you're looking for a more thorough plot and character summary, check BroadwayWorld.com's review here. I can tell you that I laughed, I thought, and I felt all the bleakness Chekhov can supply. Uncle Vanya is playing until October 27. Should you see it? Yes. Into every life a little Chekhov must fall. When it does, it might as well bring a few laughs, too.
Should you see it the night after Wicked? No. The comparison is weird.
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