Post by Simple Rose on Oct 23, 2006 17:37:40 GMT -5
So, a few months ago, I let go of a good hundred dollars or so to pay for my own ticket to go see Wicked... a musical I had, before then, only heard about and, just, generally heard. I was an Idina fan from the start, and a Kristin purist. However, some months into my obsession, I found videos made by Shoshana Bean of life in the backstage, and with her personality I grew to absolutely adore her riffs. But I also saw that she had already finished her run in New York.
One day, I was on the internet, and I couldn't believe what I had found. Shoshana Bean and Megan Hilty were to join the tour cast, the cast that was coming to Toronto (that I had bought tickets for)! I think I squeed for fifteen minutes straight when I found that out! I was going to see Shoshana Bean, a broadway star and my current hero! I knew of Megan Hilty's hilarious "Popular", but admittedly did not get as excited over seeing her.
Time passed, and it never really hit me that I was going to see my beloved musical, with my beloved cast. I don't think it really hit me until the day of, when I was in study period. I began to draw a picture of Elphie and Glinda, and photocopied it twice.
We got to Toronto, and it still hadn't fully sunk in. We got to the Canon theatre, and all I could do was take in the unbelievable sights and the numerous "Ozdust Boutiques" that were scattered down every hallway. I bought a playbill and a t-shirt, and headed into the main theatre. I have never seen such a BEAUTIFUL theatre in my life.
Not to mention the map of Oz that served as a curtain onstage. Or the looming Time Dragon. When the show started, I couldn't have smiled bigger.
NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED: HO.LY.CRAP. This was undoubtedly one of the best numbers of the entire night. The chorus was wonderful, and when Galinda came in, I was like YAAAAYYYY. I looove how she was JUST about to get away when the random Ozian asks her about her friendship with Elphie, and she exasperatedly waves the bubble down. "Take another drink" was so cool, and Melena was brilliant. But near the end of this number, oh. my. gosh. Megan's operatic notes had been WONDERFUL already, but then she goes and pulls a high E, a la POTO!!! And PERFECTLY! I was astonished!
WIZARD AND I: Pretty darn brilliant. The audience applauded when Sho entered, and her whole explanation about being green was hilarious
She did seem to be holding back a little, as I think her throat was a little sore, but her final notes were AWESOME. It was hard not to sing along! And Sho was just so cute about it 
WHAT IS THIS FEELING: The transition from WaI to this was pretty quick, like, a matter of Elphie moving from the center of the stage to the corner. Megan was HILARIOUS in how she dragged out the "exceedingly pecuuuuuuuliar and altogether quite impooooooossible to descriiiiibe". My dad never laughed harder that night than with Elphie's response: "Blonde." The whole number was awesome, and the Shiz students were so perfectly sheep-like with Galinda haha. Partway through the song, Megan started shaking her butt at center stage, which was hilarious enough, and then Sho came along and butt-bumped her lol!
SOMETHING BAD: Aww, unbelievably heartbreaking. Funny to begin with, because it's not every day that you see a Goat-man eating paper lol but as he began to lose his human voice... I wanted to cry. The Dr. Dillamond was perfect.
DANCING THROUGH LIFE: I'm officially in love with this number. There's so much going on! Fiyero was good, if not extremely nasal when he tried to belt, but beautiful when he got softer. I love the whole "I'm perfect, you're perfect, we're perfect for eachother!". I also wanted to cry when Galinda realized what she was doing to poor Elphie and started dancing along (Sho's dance was hilarious!).
POPULAR: HI.LARIOUS. Megan Hilty IS this number. Her voice carried it SO comedically and SO well. When it got to the bit of dialogue, oh my word. I was dying of laughter. "All, because, of me!!! Yeeeah!" lmao! And oh geez, the hair toss. She didn't do her excercise-stretching thing, but Sho... good lord lmao. She started tossing her hair and they got so into it, and suddenly Sho starts having like, this head seizure! Hahaha! And Megan's "ooOOh!" will be ingrained in my memory for a long time. As well as, when Sho runs to leave, and then Megan catches herself in the mirror, and she's like "oh! Hello!" Absolutely wonderful!
I'M NOT THAT GIRL: First of all, the scene before it is one of my favourites in the whole show. Sho comes on, and she starts doing the head toss thing where she starts having a head seizure (lol! the audience DIED of laughter) and ultimately spins around, and then Fiyero's all like "You've been Galinda-fied". Then, everyone is under a spell she accidentally cast, except for Fiyero, who then helps her get the lion cub out of the classroom. That scene represents the chemistry they have together. When she reached up to touch his cheek, my heart broke. A very sincere rendition by Sho followed, and I was already convinced that Fiyero was WAY more into her than Galinda.
ONE SHORT DAY: Again, I fell in love with the scene before it. Galinda's worry about Fiyero starting to use his brain, how he's not perfect anymore but somehow she still loves him... ahh. One of my favourite lines from the show is when Fiyero comes in "I've been thinking-" Sho:"Yes, I heard!". My heart melted when she was all "I'm finally in a place where I belong!". The fat dancing things! Oh my gosh, HILARIOUS! The whole number was just so much fun!
A SENTIMENTAL MAN: I don't remember this number as much as I do the scenes surrounding it. Chistery gaining his wings and being in pain.... the other flying monkeys on the cages, Elphie's despair at it all... the whole thing was altogether too heartbreaking for one's own good. Glinda (as she is now called) and her sucking-up-ness really got to me here.
DEFYING GRAVITY: Again, simply heartbreaking. Madam Morrible's speech to the Ozians about Elphaba... the cry of "WICKED WITCH!"... the silence of Elphie and Glinda that followed... I'm surprised I didn't burst into tears. I loved the flying broom! Somehow, I didn't expect it to actually float onto the stage, but rather pop up out of some trap door lol The rest of the scene actually happened very fast, and I don't remember too many details, only that Sho did include a number of the riffs she pulled for her final New York performance, which was WONDERFUL. Seeing her rise above the stage was so awesome! Haha, my dad thought that that was the finale.
THANK GOODNESS: Another one of my most memorable numbers. This was actually where Megan blew me right out of the water, because at one point, she had an even stronger and more powerful belt than Sho! You could really see how Glinda's morals were beginning to change. I adored how Fiyero was the Captain of the Witch Hunters, just so he could find Elphie. I loved how he cared so much for her.
WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST: This number also went by rather quickly. Nessarose was a little on the childish and immature side, but once she got going with the song and really let loose.... she had quite the voice.
WONDERFUL: Also known as one of the most ironic numbers in the show. Elphie has just returned to the Emerald City to seek out the wizard, only to find he wanted to see her too. But merely for companionship. His song was so slimy and brilliantly performed, that you almost believe he's an innocent man. I wanted to get up on the stage and join in when Elphie and The Wizard started dancing!! I remember thinking, what an agile old man! The end of this number was also unbelievably sad, as Elphie came to realize just who was involved in this whole Animal mess, and how Dr. Dillamond could no longer speak. It was heart-shattering.
I'M NOT THAT GIRL (REPRISE): I won't say much about this number, except that I still hold that that last note is way too low for any self-respecting soprano or even alto. Both Sho and Megan had to stretch for it.
AS LONG AS YOU'RE MINE: Good heavens. If it weren't for the beautiful set and Sho's beautiful voice, this number would have been a mess. The Fiyero had no chemistry with her at all, and his voice clashed with hers horribly. I tried to focus on her voice, and it was all fine
NO GOOD DEED: This was Sho's shining number of the evening. I had been waiting all night to really FEEL her voice, and had thus far been somewhat disappointed. In this number, I FELT it. Sho is such a brilliant actress, and definitely knows how to mix acting and singing... a LOT of the riffs from her last New York show definitely made it in there, which I fell in love with. And, to my surprise and pleasure, the wind effect with her cape wasn't nearly as cheesy as it looks in bootlegs
MARCH OF THE WITCH HUNTERS: Geez. Boq is really an angry little munchkin, isn't he. I was actually scared for Elphie here. I was a little disappointed when all they showed of the Lion was his tail, but the wonderful, wonderful chorus soon made up for that. Did I mention I ADORED the costumes?
FOR GOOD: The scene before this takes place is also one of my new favourites. Megan pulled it off with just the right amount of hilarity and emotion. The song itself was living proof of the connection that the actors have with the orchestra... Megan's timing was always a smidge different than usual, but the orchestra did not falter. She acted it very well, as did Sho... it was very, very hard not to sing along here. When the screen was pulled across the stage, I knew what was coming, and almost bawled my eyes out. When it happened... I'm surprised I didn't. When Megan went to confront Madam Morrible and The Wizard, it was, as always, equally heartbreaking and hilarious. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?" Ahahaha. And her repetition of what Morrible had said to her earlier was GENIUS.
FINALE: A perfect way to bring the entire show full circle. I loved it, loved it, loved it. Everyone applauded when Elphie came out of the trap door, but I wanted to cry so hard when she explained to Fiyero that Glinda must never know she's alive. Gahh. Besides the awkward hug from Fiyero that lasted forever, the whole scene was so tragically beautiful. The perfect way to end the night.... or was it?
You know what's funny? The show itself wasn't even the best part of that night.
But you know, I'm not going to elaborate on that just yet, because this has been a beast of a post already, and because I just like suspense
Anyone else have stories from seeing Wicked? Anyone else a fan?
One day, I was on the internet, and I couldn't believe what I had found. Shoshana Bean and Megan Hilty were to join the tour cast, the cast that was coming to Toronto (that I had bought tickets for)! I think I squeed for fifteen minutes straight when I found that out! I was going to see Shoshana Bean, a broadway star and my current hero! I knew of Megan Hilty's hilarious "Popular", but admittedly did not get as excited over seeing her.
Time passed, and it never really hit me that I was going to see my beloved musical, with my beloved cast. I don't think it really hit me until the day of, when I was in study period. I began to draw a picture of Elphie and Glinda, and photocopied it twice.
We got to Toronto, and it still hadn't fully sunk in. We got to the Canon theatre, and all I could do was take in the unbelievable sights and the numerous "Ozdust Boutiques" that were scattered down every hallway. I bought a playbill and a t-shirt, and headed into the main theatre. I have never seen such a BEAUTIFUL theatre in my life.
Not to mention the map of Oz that served as a curtain onstage. Or the looming Time Dragon. When the show started, I couldn't have smiled bigger.
NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED: HO.LY.CRAP. This was undoubtedly one of the best numbers of the entire night. The chorus was wonderful, and when Galinda came in, I was like YAAAAYYYY. I looove how she was JUST about to get away when the random Ozian asks her about her friendship with Elphie, and she exasperatedly waves the bubble down. "Take another drink" was so cool, and Melena was brilliant. But near the end of this number, oh. my. gosh. Megan's operatic notes had been WONDERFUL already, but then she goes and pulls a high E, a la POTO!!! And PERFECTLY! I was astonished!
WIZARD AND I: Pretty darn brilliant. The audience applauded when Sho entered, and her whole explanation about being green was hilarious
She did seem to be holding back a little, as I think her throat was a little sore, but her final notes were AWESOME. It was hard not to sing along! And Sho was just so cute about it 
WHAT IS THIS FEELING: The transition from WaI to this was pretty quick, like, a matter of Elphie moving from the center of the stage to the corner. Megan was HILARIOUS in how she dragged out the "exceedingly pecuuuuuuuliar and altogether quite impooooooossible to descriiiiibe". My dad never laughed harder that night than with Elphie's response: "Blonde." The whole number was awesome, and the Shiz students were so perfectly sheep-like with Galinda haha. Partway through the song, Megan started shaking her butt at center stage, which was hilarious enough, and then Sho came along and butt-bumped her lol!
SOMETHING BAD: Aww, unbelievably heartbreaking. Funny to begin with, because it's not every day that you see a Goat-man eating paper lol but as he began to lose his human voice... I wanted to cry. The Dr. Dillamond was perfect.
DANCING THROUGH LIFE: I'm officially in love with this number. There's so much going on! Fiyero was good, if not extremely nasal when he tried to belt, but beautiful when he got softer. I love the whole "I'm perfect, you're perfect, we're perfect for eachother!". I also wanted to cry when Galinda realized what she was doing to poor Elphie and started dancing along (Sho's dance was hilarious!).
POPULAR: HI.LARIOUS. Megan Hilty IS this number. Her voice carried it SO comedically and SO well. When it got to the bit of dialogue, oh my word. I was dying of laughter. "All, because, of me!!! Yeeeah!" lmao! And oh geez, the hair toss. She didn't do her excercise-stretching thing, but Sho... good lord lmao. She started tossing her hair and they got so into it, and suddenly Sho starts having like, this head seizure! Hahaha! And Megan's "ooOOh!" will be ingrained in my memory for a long time. As well as, when Sho runs to leave, and then Megan catches herself in the mirror, and she's like "oh! Hello!" Absolutely wonderful!
I'M NOT THAT GIRL: First of all, the scene before it is one of my favourites in the whole show. Sho comes on, and she starts doing the head toss thing where she starts having a head seizure (lol! the audience DIED of laughter) and ultimately spins around, and then Fiyero's all like "You've been Galinda-fied". Then, everyone is under a spell she accidentally cast, except for Fiyero, who then helps her get the lion cub out of the classroom. That scene represents the chemistry they have together. When she reached up to touch his cheek, my heart broke. A very sincere rendition by Sho followed, and I was already convinced that Fiyero was WAY more into her than Galinda.
ONE SHORT DAY: Again, I fell in love with the scene before it. Galinda's worry about Fiyero starting to use his brain, how he's not perfect anymore but somehow she still loves him... ahh. One of my favourite lines from the show is when Fiyero comes in "I've been thinking-" Sho:"Yes, I heard!". My heart melted when she was all "I'm finally in a place where I belong!". The fat dancing things! Oh my gosh, HILARIOUS! The whole number was just so much fun!
A SENTIMENTAL MAN: I don't remember this number as much as I do the scenes surrounding it. Chistery gaining his wings and being in pain.... the other flying monkeys on the cages, Elphie's despair at it all... the whole thing was altogether too heartbreaking for one's own good. Glinda (as she is now called) and her sucking-up-ness really got to me here.
DEFYING GRAVITY: Again, simply heartbreaking. Madam Morrible's speech to the Ozians about Elphaba... the cry of "WICKED WITCH!"... the silence of Elphie and Glinda that followed... I'm surprised I didn't burst into tears. I loved the flying broom! Somehow, I didn't expect it to actually float onto the stage, but rather pop up out of some trap door lol The rest of the scene actually happened very fast, and I don't remember too many details, only that Sho did include a number of the riffs she pulled for her final New York performance, which was WONDERFUL. Seeing her rise above the stage was so awesome! Haha, my dad thought that that was the finale.
THANK GOODNESS: Another one of my most memorable numbers. This was actually where Megan blew me right out of the water, because at one point, she had an even stronger and more powerful belt than Sho! You could really see how Glinda's morals were beginning to change. I adored how Fiyero was the Captain of the Witch Hunters, just so he could find Elphie. I loved how he cared so much for her.
WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST: This number also went by rather quickly. Nessarose was a little on the childish and immature side, but once she got going with the song and really let loose.... she had quite the voice.
WONDERFUL: Also known as one of the most ironic numbers in the show. Elphie has just returned to the Emerald City to seek out the wizard, only to find he wanted to see her too. But merely for companionship. His song was so slimy and brilliantly performed, that you almost believe he's an innocent man. I wanted to get up on the stage and join in when Elphie and The Wizard started dancing!! I remember thinking, what an agile old man! The end of this number was also unbelievably sad, as Elphie came to realize just who was involved in this whole Animal mess, and how Dr. Dillamond could no longer speak. It was heart-shattering.
I'M NOT THAT GIRL (REPRISE): I won't say much about this number, except that I still hold that that last note is way too low for any self-respecting soprano or even alto. Both Sho and Megan had to stretch for it.
AS LONG AS YOU'RE MINE: Good heavens. If it weren't for the beautiful set and Sho's beautiful voice, this number would have been a mess. The Fiyero had no chemistry with her at all, and his voice clashed with hers horribly. I tried to focus on her voice, and it was all fine
NO GOOD DEED: This was Sho's shining number of the evening. I had been waiting all night to really FEEL her voice, and had thus far been somewhat disappointed. In this number, I FELT it. Sho is such a brilliant actress, and definitely knows how to mix acting and singing... a LOT of the riffs from her last New York show definitely made it in there, which I fell in love with. And, to my surprise and pleasure, the wind effect with her cape wasn't nearly as cheesy as it looks in bootlegs
MARCH OF THE WITCH HUNTERS: Geez. Boq is really an angry little munchkin, isn't he. I was actually scared for Elphie here. I was a little disappointed when all they showed of the Lion was his tail, but the wonderful, wonderful chorus soon made up for that. Did I mention I ADORED the costumes?
FOR GOOD: The scene before this takes place is also one of my new favourites. Megan pulled it off with just the right amount of hilarity and emotion. The song itself was living proof of the connection that the actors have with the orchestra... Megan's timing was always a smidge different than usual, but the orchestra did not falter. She acted it very well, as did Sho... it was very, very hard not to sing along here. When the screen was pulled across the stage, I knew what was coming, and almost bawled my eyes out. When it happened... I'm surprised I didn't. When Megan went to confront Madam Morrible and The Wizard, it was, as always, equally heartbreaking and hilarious. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?" Ahahaha. And her repetition of what Morrible had said to her earlier was GENIUS.
FINALE: A perfect way to bring the entire show full circle. I loved it, loved it, loved it. Everyone applauded when Elphie came out of the trap door, but I wanted to cry so hard when she explained to Fiyero that Glinda must never know she's alive. Gahh. Besides the awkward hug from Fiyero that lasted forever, the whole scene was so tragically beautiful. The perfect way to end the night.... or was it?
You know what's funny? The show itself wasn't even the best part of that night.
But you know, I'm not going to elaborate on that just yet, because this has been a beast of a post already, and because I just like suspense
Anyone else have stories from seeing Wicked? Anyone else a fan?
, P.J. Benjamin as the Wizard, and Barbara Tirrell as Morrible. They were all basically brilliant.