Wicked, my review of 8 Sep matinee with my son (and 13 Sep show - with the big tour group)…OK...so it took me a while to post this one too...sorry…
First of all on Saturday was the pre-show melodrama…I’ve been excited and eager to see Dianne Pilkington as Glinda since April, and the day is finally here. We walk into the theatre and I see the telltale ‘cover’ sign posted on the wall…so I get closer and, of course,
because I have the best luck in the whole wide world, it says there is a cover for Glinda and Nessarose.
I’m bummed, but since this show was for my son, I tried to not let it bother me and was still excited for him (plus I was coming back on Thursday, so chances are I would get to see her then.) Plus, Kerry was on and she never disappoints…so I was OK…
So the show starts, we have great seats…I wasn’t really paying attention to Glinda cuz although I said I wouldn’t let it bother me, I was (letting it bother me)
…I did think to myself that she was pretty good, but I was being a ‘grump’ so I was paying attention to the things I’ve never noticed before – like those blasted streamers that landed all over us
I should also mention that I thought of Iain at about this time because there were five kids seated behind us…and although I brought a child with me, it was only one child, and he was quiet…these five were NOT quiet…and they were all eating popcorn in those stupid plastic bags that make so much noise!
Then they talked during the first five minutes like we were in the cinema...grrrrrr
The ensemble were totally
wicked – for lack of a better word – they seemed to work so well in unison…they were awesome…totally tuned in to each other…
Anyway, Nessarose rolls out and there is Katie.
So now I’m puzzled, cuz we were supposed to have a cover…now my interest is peaked and I start paying close attention to Glinda. Problem is, I’ve only ever seen Dianne on stage once before and she was in a cat costume…so I’m trying to look at the programme without making any noise or distracting my son. I finally do it and then I go from looking at Glinda on stage, the understudy, Dianne as Glinda in the programme, and I’m thinking, yes that’s her…but that stupid sign was still nagging me…so during intermission I went out, saw that the sign was now gone, and just went ahead and asked someone. Of course, they said “no, there are no covers on today”…grrrrr…all that stress for nothing…
Despite all that to start, and my pursuant bad attitude…Dianne was great as Glinda! Her and Kerry as a team were like a perfect fit…they seemed to interact a lot more. There was also some kind of inside joke going on cuz there was some random laughing going on between the two of them (same as what Iain mentioned) on both Saturday and Thursday. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Popular was totally hilarious. I heard grown men not just laughing…but bellowing…one of them sounded like Santa… Dianne’s Popular was a lot like Megan Hilty (which I’ve only seen thanks to Jazz’s recommendation and the magic of You Tube – before the ‘You Tube Police’ took all the Wicked clips off…he he) very physical…she is all over the stage…a little ditzy, yet very genuine…you believe she is doing it from her heart…awwww...girl moment...
Oliver was on both times…
I think Oliver is such a cutie…(I'm still not going for the white trousers though). After he rides in on that little cart and it goes off stage, there was a crash sound on Saturday that wasn’t there on Thursday…it was funny…
Kerry was awesome, but she’s always awesome, so I wasn’t surprised
…one of the people that went on the tour with me Thursday was completely impressed with Kerry’s belts…another one thought she was American cuz she sounds American when she sings…I assured them that she wasn’t… ;D
SPOILERS...If you haven’t seen it, stop reading now!
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I SAID STOP READING!!!
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This show seemed to have more depth, more emotion, which really drew me in - even though I had seen the show before. I really did see their relationship evolve from hating each other
, into forming a bond, a friendship
. Dianne’s facial expression is amazing. I was in row D on Sat, but row N on Thursday and still had no problem seeing her face. Her reactions, her feelings…all in her facial expression. She was amazing!
Some of the memorable moments...when Glinda is mourning the loss of her friend – I wanted to cry
...and when she tells the wizard that Elphaba was his daughter, I had chills.
I was with a group of 50 on Thursday night, and several were my friends and neighbours. So for the ‘surprise’ at the end
, I watched their faces instead of the stage. It was cool. When Oliver comes back on stage as the scarecrow, I watched a friend of mine go from a confused look (kind of like – “who is that and where did he come from?”), to realization of who he is, then surprise when Elphaba comes up, and finished with a sort of “awwwww” look and teary eyes…it was priceless…I know, I know…I’m being very girly about it…blame it on hormones…it’s always to blame when us women cry…but it was sooooooo sweet! :')
‘For Good’ was like a blubber-fest for me – it was so sweet and sad…although on Thursday I think they were making each other laugh just a little so they turned away from each other…
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OK...END SPOILERS....
OK…that was it from me…I can never keep it short can I? I already know most of you have stopped reading cuz I don’t read any of your long reviews either…ha ha…that was just a test to see if you were still paying attention…
So now I have a few friends and a co-worker that want to do Wicked cuz they missed out on the trip…but I think I have had a little too much right now to go back soon…my other son wants to see it, so I think I will save my next time for him… ;D