1.7.07 Wicked Tour in R.I.

A good Friend of mine, Kristen, was so kind as to take me to catch a mat. showing of the Wicked 07' Tour

The Providence Performing Arts Center is absolutely beautiful. I'd just like to say that first.

Cliffton Hall as Fiyero:
ThanksToPhantom, I would love to just copy and paste what you said. He seems like hes got a good set of pipes on him, but it wasn't as developed as it could have been.
This is what she actuallly said
"He had a great voice, and seems very talented, but the voice was not "strong" enough for him to have that leading man quality that the role needs to get by, seeing as how it is so underwritten. "

Josh Lamon as Boq:
He played well. His voice was surprisingly strong. He was a cutie and won everyone's sympathy. :)

Victoria Matlock as Elphaba:
First of all it seemed like her had tech problems. Her Mic was the quietest mic of the entire show. In the beginning of the show she acted as if she was still living in the shadow of Shoshana and Julia. That caused her character to appear thin and underdeveloped. She seemed to be singing somewhat like a little girl in chorus her voice sounded VERY young. I thought a mix between Jenna Leigh Green and Shoshana Bean. Her singing was riding the Quality Roller Coaster, weak at times, very strong in others.
The character was not believable and I was unimpressed by her...
Until Act Two
I'm not sure what happened during intermission but Victoria embraced Elphaba as her own and allowed to make her voice be heard. she was singing with confidence, acting her heart out. The sweet little chorus girl finally graduated!

P.J. Benjamin as The Wizard:
Played a fine Wizard, his voice was soothing to listen to and his acting was dead on.

Alma Cuervo as Madame Morrible:
This. Woman. Is. Hilarious.
GLINDA:Can I touch it? (referring to the book longingly.)
Long pause
MADAME MORRIBLE:whisperedNooooooo.
I was laughing so hard! Oy.

Deedee Nagno Hall as Nessarose:
Bravo Deedee! Deedee was Power House for Nessa. I was floored and just so enthralled when she sang anything. In my honest opinion I thought Deedee and Victoria should have switched roels. Her singing was right on the money throughout the show and Nessa was so realistic.

Christina DeCicco as Glinda:
Honestly, (and I wouldn't be surprised if I get crap for this) I have Never particularly cared for Ga/linda. Well, thats all done with now. Christina DeCicco had me sold completely. Her character was so believable and strong... "Deeply shallow" if you will. Her voice was absolutely perfect, not nasal, manly, or too breathy. I've seen 3 Ga/lindas before this performance, and where she may have not been the funniest, she was the most believable. Hands down. In my book, she was the star of yesterday's show.

Technically:
The audio was a bit awkward sounding. Elphaba's mic was very quiet opposed to every other main actor's mic. The ensemble was very quiet as well, during Good News and Thank Goodness it was very obvious that there was something not right with the sound. Also you could hear Tromping around in the first 5 or so numbers, but that was shortly resolved.

Audience?
NO Cell Phones.
No one was talking.
No running up and down the isles.
However.
The food was unbelievable.
My friend and i walked in to be seated and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! (Providence Performing Arts Center) so I'm taking in the sites and all when i look into the seats and there is a 40-45 year old couple eating McDonald's.
Not a drink, or a little cup of fries.
They have the bag, the cups, the burgers in boxes the little cup crate. Everything.
Its almost as bad as seeing a bucket of wings from KFC after intermission.
And there were very nice people in front of us (not sarcastically) who came back intermission with Pretzels wrapped in crinkly wax paper (as did the rest of the section), Reese's Pieces, Skittles, and bottled water. Well the bottled water was fine, but not when the girl was Squeezing like a plush toy each time she drank from it. This was going on up until if not after As Long As Your Mine.
Why would the people who own the theater sell those things with a crinkly wrapper like that? I understand money, yes, I understand, make a profit. But at least put the pretzles in a box or something instead of those wrappers!
Sorry, I know I sound like a complete jerk.

FINALLY...
In the beginning it felt a bit flat, lacking energy. As soon as, we, the audience got into it the entire cast fed off our energy and we got back what we put into it. It was the most dramatic change (energy wise) I've ever seen in a show.
Overall? It was a good show, great actors, I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I went!

Wow that was long...



To see the entire conversation go here: 1.7.07 Review