"WICKED" Second National Tour Review ☑


    On May 20th 2015, I saw one of my favorite shows of all time..."WICKED"

    First, lets talk about me and "WICKED". "WICKED is without a doubt one of my favorite musicals. I have seen the show twice live and I have also seen countless bootleg videos and listened to countless audios. I am also a "WICKED" encyclopedia. If you lost your playbill and need to know who you saw as Elphaba on March 8, 2008? Stephanie J. Block. That's how big of a fan I am. It's kind of unhealthy.

      Let's start with the cast.

     Alyssa Fox was a fabulous Elphaba. She is an amazing singer, but as Elphaba, she is more of an actress. Her vocal portrayal of Elphaba when she speaks is how I imagine Elphaba's speaking voice in my head. She is an outstanding singer, but she could've been a bit more louder while belting and I have heard better singing from other Elphabas. No disrespect to her singing because she is still phenomenal. She also did some of the really great vocal riffs. Such as the famous "Feeling things I've Never Felt" riff and "Fyiero riff" as well as many other cool vocalizations that I have never heard from an Elphaba before. She also acts more through her singing which I liked alot. When I say "acts through her singing" I mean she doesn't go crazy with her singing when her character is supposed to be in a more depressed mood. Another thing, Fox's "I'm Not That Girl" was one of the best renditions I have heard of that song. She also sang a spectacular "Defying Gravity".

   Carrie St. Louis was a fantastic Glinda. She is one of the more belty Glindas that I have heard. She gave a very great vocal performance, but I'm not sure I like her acting. Its not that she can't act because she can, its just that she was extremely ditzy practically the entire show. Glinda is supposed to be very ditzy in the first act, but it the second act, she shouldn't have been as ditzy as she was. Louis' "Popular" was hilarious and she has a lovely soprano voice. When she descended in the bubble at the beginning of the show, she came off as more belty. Louis also showed some pretty great emotions while Alyssa Fox belted "Defying Gravity".

    Fox and Louis showed excellent chemistry and were a lovely Elphaba/Glinda pair. 

    John Davidson was not my favorite in the role of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". He is an awesome actor but his singing ruined it for me.

  The role of Fyiero was played by Ashley Parker Angel. Like Davidson, I was not a fan of Angel's singing. He sure can act though. Alyssa Fox saved him in "As Long As You're Mine" because he did not sound pretty.

    Kristine Zbornick was a hilarious Madame Morrible.

  Nessarose was played by Liana Hunt. If Hunt was not wearing a microphone, her voice wouldn't have carried past the orchestra pit. Overall, she was great in the role of Nessarose, but nothing really stood out about her performance.

  Lee Slobotkin was a really fantastic Boq! He has a strong voice and is an exceptional actor.

    It was so great to see Michael Devries as Doctor Dillamond since he is a long running cast member in the show. He was really fanatstic.

     I would like to give a shout out to Wayne Schroder who is my favorite in the small role of the Witch's Father.

  
  "WICKED" seems to fit perfectly into El Paso's historic Plaza Theatre. It is a great venue and I am sure the sets by Eugene Lee look absolutely gorgeous in the last row of the balcony more than they would from any other balcony (I sat in the orchestra section so I wouldn't know).

  I love "WICKED" so much and it was spectacular as usual. This show will never get old for me. 5 stars

  If the show comes anywhere near you, you better go see it. If not, then you will regret it forever.

"WICKED"

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Winnie Holzman

For more information, please visit  http://www.wickedthemusical.com/broadway-tickets




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As of December 9 2015, the principal cast of the second national tour of "Wicked" consists of:

Elphaba- JESSICA VOSK
Glinda- GINNA CLAIRE MASON
The Wizard- FRED APPLEGATE
Fiyero- JEREMY WOODARD
Madame Morrible- ISABEL KEATING
Nessarose- JENNY FLORKOWSKI
Boq- ROBIN DE JESUS
Dr. Dillamond- HARRY BOUVY

  
      

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