Tuesday, October 03, 2006

No-One Mourns The Wicked

So tonight we went to see Wicked and I think it may be a victim of its own hype. It had its moments, but I didn’t come away desperate to see it again.

The sound system wasn’t good; it was difficult to hear the lyrics at times, but they can fix that. A lot of the performances were somewhat lacklustre, but they can fix that too; indeed Gary S said that Glinda had improved considerably since he saw it a few weeks ago. What worries me is the telling of the story. At times I was gripped and really involved in the story but for most of the time I was just watching upmarket pantomime. Maybe that will improve as the performers settle into their roles – but then maybe it won’t.

I also wasn’t at all keen on the surprise ending; for me it destroyed the integrity of the story completely.

On the plus side, the woman who plays Elphaba is outstanding and carries the show. There are a couple of songs which have lodged in my head (Defying Gravity, Loathing & No-One Mourns The Wicked.) The costumes and sets are excellent and the finale of the first half was worth the cost of the ticket by itself; absolutely electrifying.

We are going to see it again in a month or so with Rod, Jess and my sister. Let’s see if it’s improved any with time.

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