Opined November 5, 2003
User Nonsense #12
WICKED - Music and Lyrics by: Stephen Schwartz, Book by: Winnie Holzman
Director Joe Mantello
With Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, Norbert Leo Butz, William
Youmans
Set - Eugene Lee, Lighting - Kenneth Posner, Costumes Susan Hilferty
Gershwin Theatre
"Woe is me - Shame and scandal in the family." So goes this island song and so goes
this show.
I am mystified. How is it that you can take Frank Baum (author of Oz stories),
Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell), Joe Mantello (Broadway hot director of the
moment), Kristin Chenoweth, and Joel Grey - mix them all together and forget to add
A STORY.
The good witch and the bad witch meet at school. They don't like each other. This
takes up about an hour of the 2 1/2 hour show. Interspersed with the dialogue are
songs that sound like they were meant to be in a Methodist rock concert - no catchy
tunes, but very loud and with a lot of verses. Visually it looks like a sing off - "Legally
Blonde" vs.Cher. The only thing that is missing is pyrotechnics.
During the other 90 minutes of the show, the bad witch (Idina Menzel) gets the notion
to protect the animals who are being disabbused of their ability to speak, runs up
against the Wizard (Joel Grey) who is not supposed to be a nice guy, falls in love and
deserts the Emerald City. The good witch (Chenoweth) changes outfits, tosses out
clever bon mots that refer to other broadway icons, and eventually sides with the bad
witch - but not in time to stop the fateful (or maybe not) pail of water.
Great sets, costumes, lights, dancers, singers and actors - just no story, folks. So at
the end you don't care who won or lost. You just wonder how it all came to pass.
© 2003 Tulis McCall
User Nonsense #12
WICKED - Music and Lyrics by: Stephen Schwartz, Book by: Winnie Holzman
Director Joe Mantello
With Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, Norbert Leo Butz, William
Youmans
Set - Eugene Lee, Lighting - Kenneth Posner, Costumes Susan Hilferty
Gershwin Theatre
"Woe is me - Shame and scandal in the family." So goes this island song and so goes
this show.
I am mystified. How is it that you can take Frank Baum (author of Oz stories),
Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell), Joe Mantello (Broadway hot director of the
moment), Kristin Chenoweth, and Joel Grey - mix them all together and forget to add
A STORY.
The good witch and the bad witch meet at school. They don't like each other. This
takes up about an hour of the 2 1/2 hour show. Interspersed with the dialogue are
songs that sound like they were meant to be in a Methodist rock concert - no catchy
tunes, but very loud and with a lot of verses. Visually it looks like a sing off - "Legally
Blonde" vs.Cher. The only thing that is missing is pyrotechnics.
During the other 90 minutes of the show, the bad witch (Idina Menzel) gets the notion
to protect the animals who are being disabbused of their ability to speak, runs up
against the Wizard (Joel Grey) who is not supposed to be a nice guy, falls in love and
deserts the Emerald City. The good witch (Chenoweth) changes outfits, tosses out
clever bon mots that refer to other broadway icons, and eventually sides with the bad
witch - but not in time to stop the fateful (or maybe not) pail of water.
Great sets, costumes, lights, dancers, singers and actors - just no story, folks. So at
the end you don't care who won or lost. You just wonder how it all came to pass.
© 2003 Tulis McCall
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