The Ongoing Wicked Discussion Thread

I’m in next Wednesday and I am very excited! I could feel myself zoning out a little at points during the last cast’s last show, so my hope is that this cast will refresh the show for me. Had a cheeky listen to a Lucie DG audio that’s cropped up on Twitter and she sounds out of this world, so I’m very very excited to see her alongside Helen who was already my favourite Glinda.

Such a super night.

Whilst not 100% yet (no one expected her to be it's her first time doing it in front of 1000+ people), Lucie looks to be on track to be one of the best we've had in london. Vocally very secure as we expected, but I really noticed her acting today which has been lacking for me previous times I've seen her. She's just gonna get better and better.
Helen is a dream as Glinda (which we knew) and it's so good having a vocally solid Glinda who is also super funny.

Ryan is a bit wet as Fiyero and his accent is doing a round the world tour, but I've certainly seen worse.

Gary Wilmot good, but not great. Will warm up in the coming weeks.

Sophie Louise Dann best Morrible we've ever had. Got every laugh possible, got every sinister moment, and was high camp all the way through.

It's gonna be a good year - excited to see it again soon!

Did Sophie’s Morrible remind anyone else of Bernadette Peters? I loved her.

I thought Fiyero was stronger in act 2 and As Long As You’re Mine wasn’t bad. Helen was one of the best Glinda’s I’ve seen, up there with Louise Dearman and Sarah Earnshaw. The screaming in No Good Deed was frustrating.

Also - I did enjoy the obvious friends and family in the audience cheering on their loved ones. "This is my monkey servant, Chistery" "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Helen as Glinda has been criminally underrated until now, my hope is that now that more people are seeing the show due to the appeal of Lucie/new cast as a whole, she’ll get the appreciation she really deserves.

Maybe they thought she was too young previously ?

Fiyero seems to be the only sticking point - a friend went last week and said he really stood out as sounding weak.

I was there last night. In my view, Lucie needs some improvement. She reminds me of Louise Dearman and Emma Hatton - excellent voices in other roles but for some reason large parts of the Wicked score just don’t sit comfortably in their voice - to my ears at least. I thought there were some slightly uncomfortable moments last night - a few flat, strained belts and notes cut short. But equally lots of lovely softer moments. she will improve and of course it’s only her first show. Helen was a delight

Would've most likely been Alistair Brammer who I actually thought was one of their stronger Fiyeros from recent times. David Witts on the other hand... no comment.

Apologies for my previous linked post, here is our write up of the 1st Feb performance:

“I think I’ve found the place where I belong!” - Lucie Jones (as Elphaba)

1st February 2022, remember the day. The day Lucie Jones flew, the day she found where she belongs, the day Elphaba got the voice she has been waiting ten years for.

A true story of perseverance, of a determination to never settle for being ‘good enough’ and never taking any of her knock backs as anything other than a motivational springboard to be better. Lucie Jones has come so far in the ten years since her first audition for Wicked. So many would have been disheartened, but it is a testament to the casting crew of Wicked who clearly have a huge amount of respect for auditionees in giving constructive feedback. It is then down to the individual to use that feedback to focus their energy on continually improving their skills. Lucie Jones’ has done just that and her humility has helped to get her here. She has been wowing audiences in Les Mis, Waitress and selling out her own concerts yet cannot contain her childlike excitement at seeing her photo outside the Apollo Victoria, she is an incredibly endearing human and a true sensation.

For tonight’s show, we saw debuts for several of the other principals and a return for another. Ryan Reid (Fyero), Sophie-Louise Dann (Madam Morrible), Gary Wilmot (The Wizard) all performed for the first time while Helen Woolf (Glinda) returned to the role after her maternity leave.

There was an incredible buzz around the theatre leading up to performance. The only time we have seen anything like this was when we saw Amber Riley in her first performance in Dreamgirls - tonight was something extra though.

As Helen Woolf descended in the opening scene the audience erupted in spontaneous cheers and applause. Sophie Evans’ Glinda has been outstanding and to follow that was going to be very difficult but Helen Woolf showed her experience and gave a sparkling display of vocals and great comedic value.

Ryan Reid looked like a towering figure of a man in the publicity shots leading up to this performance but he was remarkably light on his feet and showed beautiful shape in his dance numbers. He clearly has the vocals to go with this dance ability but the sound mixing possibly let him down tonight meaning that he sounded like he was holding something back. The best is still to come from the new Fyero and it’ll not take long to come out!

Gary Wilmot and Sophie-Louise Dann were excellent in their roles and you would never have known this was their first performance, both were flawless and they supported the leads perfectly. Honourable mention to Nicholas McLean who continued his role as Boq, he plays the part brilliantly and his vocals have really come on since we saw the show in November!

The night, in our opinion however; belonged to Lucie Jones. Following on from the amazing Laura Pick is a mammoth task but anyone who has been following Lucie over the past few years would have been in no doubt that this was only going one way.

The moment Elphaba made her entrance carrying her suitcase you could see how much this meant to her. The audience let her know they felt the same and greeted her with applause before she had even sung a note. No amount of green makeup could hide the smile and at times the giddiness that shone throughout the night. It wasn’t all plain sailing however, a delay on the show’s quickest change meant Glinda was singing from the wings for 15 seconds of One Short Day but Lucie took it in her stride and did not miss a beat. She hit all of the big notes through the show, in fact she hit every single note. The performance was beyond exceptional and to hear Lucie Jones’ unique dulcet tones gives a whole new sound to Elphaba and it’s everything!

We had fabulous seats Q25 & 26 in the stalls which is the first row in the rear section meaning you have extra legroom (not that us two shorties needed it!) but the distance from the row in-front makes it virtually impossible to have your view obstructed. These do come at a cost however but it was a special occasion!

The theatre is Wicked through and through, glowing green, you can spot it from a distance. Inside is equally ‘greenified’ and there are several bars and plenty of merchandise stands so queues are not bad. The merchandise is great, and we picked up the Grimmerie; a fantastic history and behind the scenes of the musical, and also got a program.

Upon leaving the theatre we found a mass of people waiting by the stage door - this was unprecedented for a musical, there must have been 2-300 people all waiting to see the stars as they made their way out. We were lucky enough to get a moment with Lucie who kindly signed our program and took a photo. As always was so kind and upbeat with her fans. The glow she still has when she is around her fans is amazing considering how long she has been doing this, she is a credit to herself and the industry - a true superstar.

Wicked is one of our favourite musicals and we highly recommend seeing this cast - obviously you can never be totally sure who will be on each night but always check in advance of cast holidays, these are shown at the bottom the cast page on the official website.

I am always stuck with those people too! I have people eating a full packed lunch, a kid kicking my seat or someone on their phone.