just FYI, Julia is (and has been) sick for some time, hence the quality of her voice. she actually has a very versatile, amazing voice.
also, it's Kate Reinders, not Katie. And Eden Espinosa, not Mendoza. but yeah, if we can come up with the cash, i'll definitely donate to the Kristin/Idina fund.
i appreciate the individual takes the different actors use on the songs. it is clear that each actress approaches Elphaba/Glinda from a different perspective - Idina's Elphaba was a quiet but brave one. Julia's is headstrong and loud. Kendra and Kate's Glindas are much more hyper than Kristin's. it's all a matter of how an actor reads a character. while our mind thinks "no, no, that's not the right riff!" there is actually no right or wrong. :)
hadar
· 2 years ago
I truly appreciate the response. First, I am very embarrassed at the incorrect names, since I've previously written about them and got them correct. I will correct them in the original post right after sending this reply.
It's interesting to hear that Julia is sick. I can believe it, as you could hear the strain in her voice. That said, her YouTube videos (at least three that I watched) were no more impressive, so I will have to be skeptical that it's just because she's sick.
As for "there is actually no right or wrong", we'll have to respectfully disagree. For me, this isn't an individual performance, but something that a Director is supposed to be directing. If it were up to me, and it's not, I'd be directing it the way it was originally produced. :-)
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, and for the corrections!
Vickie
· 2 years ago
I think that each performer interprets the role differently and brings something totally different to the role from the last player. This makes life interesting. I don't want to see a show that sounds like Idina and Kristin. I think there are others as good or better. A live performance is not a recording and shouldn't sound like it. I have onlyl seen Wicked twice; two different casts. While different, the performers in both were excellent. I find it very egotistical to make the statement that this one or that "doesn't cut it." I will see Wicked for the third time in October. I wish I could see Julia, but I will be seeing it in Chicago again. I think it is the most awesome show ever.
hadar
· 2 years ago
As I said to Steph, we can agree to disagree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :-)
Vickie
· 2 years ago
Well, one thing we definitely agree about is that Wicked is an absolutely awesome, electrifying show. Have you always seen the show in NY and not in the other venues? Those You Tube videos of Julia are not very good; I have heard she is better in person. Anyway, do you want to say who you saw as a standby that was bad? I know that some people don't like Victoria Matlock as Elphaba, but she was my first Elphaba when I saw Wicked in Tampa this past March and I loved the show and Victoria as did my two friends whose house I was staying at for my trip there solely to see the show. In Chicago I saw the standby who was Carmen Cusack. She is awsome and too good to be a standby. I p redict she gets the lead when the cast changes there. So, if you would like to say who the awful standy was, I am curious. Long live Wicked!!!!!!!!!!!!
hadar
· 2 years ago
Thanks Vickie, we definitely agree on how awesome Wicked is. To quote myself, "It is far and away our favorite show of all time on Broadway". :-)
I purposely didn't name the understudy for two reasons:
1) I didn't want to hurt her feelings should it ever come to her attention.
2) I didn't want to spread her name as being associated with Wicked either.
I know that many people will consider that inconsistent with me naming Julia and Kendra. First, they are the leads, and given that I date my blog, only a fool wouldn't know who they were. But, more importantly, there is nothing that I can say that will harm their career in any way, and I didn't think either was awful, so there was a qualitative difference to my comments as well.
The understudy I was talking about is not the person you saw. ;-)
I'm glad you liked your understudy. As I wrote a week ago, we saw an understudy in the female lead in Spamalot, and she was spectacular. I'm not against understudies as a rule, just when they can't perform the role as intended.
Finally, to answer your question about where we saw it. Yes, all five times were in NYC. I sat in the left orchestra once, center orchestra twice (once close once way back), right orchestra way back once (that was the first time, and the most magical!), and once in the balcony.
We saw Eden Espinosa twice (simply brilliant), the understudy once, Anna Gasteyer once (she was wonderful as well!) and Julia once. In the Glinda role, we saw Kate Reinders 4 times (she's amazing) and Kendra once.
I would definitely be up for seeing Wicked in another location, and if I ever found myself in LA, I'd love to see Eden again (if she's still doing it there).
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, it's much appreciated.
Vickie
· 2 years ago
I saw that Stephanie J. Block will be taking over when Julia leaves. I wonder how long her run will be. I definitely want to make it up to NY to see her. She is one of the great Elphabas. I didn't know that Eden had the lead in NY already; I was hoping she would perhaps be there at some point. I would love to see her but not sure I will make it to LA. I would love to know who will be in CHicago when I see the show again on Oct. 7. I think many of them will be leaving at the end of September.
The only other show I have seen a zillioin times (not that I've seen Wicked that many yet, but will) was JC Superstar and I recall how the first show had the best Jesus ever. The subsequent ones usuallly paled by comparison, but there was just one that was really bad. I always enjoyed the show. The one that was bad was not so becuase he had a bad singing voice or anything; he just didn't fit the role and acted poorly. Cheers!
hadar
· 2 years ago
Cool! Thanks for letting me know about Stephanie J. Block. Something to look forward to. :-)
Vickie
· 2 years ago
I thought that Idina and Kristin played for much longer than they obviously did if so many others played in NY. I heard an interview with Kristin saying she was involved with the show for a total of four years. THat must have partly been in the creation of the show, rehearsals, etc. So, you never saw them; I guess I was under the impression that you had seen them. I would love to have seen them but it isn't going to happen.
All Comments
also, it's Kate Reinders, not Katie. And Eden Espinosa, not Mendoza. but yeah, if we can come up with the cash, i'll definitely donate to the Kristin/Idina fund.
i appreciate the individual takes the different actors use on the songs. it is clear that each actress approaches Elphaba/Glinda from a different perspective - Idina's Elphaba was a quiet but brave one. Julia's is headstrong and loud. Kendra and Kate's Glindas are much more hyper than Kristin's. it's all a matter of how an actor reads a character. while our mind thinks "no, no, that's not the right riff!" there is actually no right or wrong. :)
It's interesting to hear that Julia is sick. I can believe it, as you could hear the strain in her voice. That said, her YouTube videos (at least three that I watched) were no more impressive, so I will have to be skeptical that it's just because she's sick.
As for "there is actually no right or wrong", we'll have to respectfully disagree. For me, this isn't an individual performance, but something that a Director is supposed to be directing. If it were up to me, and it's not, I'd be directing it the way it was originally produced. :-)
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, and for the corrections!
I purposely didn't name the understudy for two reasons:
1) I didn't want to hurt her feelings should it ever come to her attention.
2) I didn't want to spread her name as being associated with Wicked either.
I know that many people will consider that inconsistent with me naming Julia and Kendra. First, they are the leads, and given that I date my blog, only a fool wouldn't know who they were. But, more importantly, there is nothing that I can say that will harm their career in any way, and I didn't think either was awful, so there was a qualitative difference to my comments as well.
The understudy I was talking about is not the person you saw. ;-)
I'm glad you liked your understudy. As I wrote a week ago, we saw an understudy in the female lead in Spamalot, and she was spectacular. I'm not against understudies as a rule, just when they can't perform the role as intended.
Finally, to answer your question about where we saw it. Yes, all five times were in NYC. I sat in the left orchestra once, center orchestra twice (once close once way back), right orchestra way back once (that was the first time, and the most magical!), and once in the balcony.
We saw Eden Espinosa twice (simply brilliant), the understudy once, Anna Gasteyer once (she was wonderful as well!) and Julia once. In the Glinda role, we saw Kate Reinders 4 times (she's amazing) and Kendra once.
I would definitely be up for seeing Wicked in another location, and if I ever found myself in LA, I'd love to see Eden again (if she's still doing it there).
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, it's much appreciated.
The only other show I have seen a zillioin times (not that I've seen Wicked that many yet, but will) was JC Superstar and I recall how the first show had the best Jesus ever. The subsequent ones usuallly paled by comparison, but there was just one that was really bad. I always enjoyed the show. The one that was bad was not so becuase he had a bad singing voice or anything; he just didn't fit the role and acted poorly.
Cheers!