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Post by tr252 on Jun 1, 2017 20:58:52 GMT
And even that casual performance (I was there too) had a load of people in from Rachel's old drama school, so probably equally inclined to give a warm hand on her entrance (ooh matron). I wouldn't expect any entrance applause at a truly "normal" show. Interestingly, said casual performance back in November is by far the strongest I've heard Rachel sing, she was just on fire! Saw her twice during her first run and three times during her return (this one, plus the 10th anniversary and her final performance). Edit: Re writing this as for some reason the text didn't show when I posted?! There was audience applause at a Saturday matinee I went to in November as well which took me by surprise. She was on fire during that show as well, riff free until she whipped out a lovely 'high f' and 'second bring me down' riffs. I do bloody love her. (Not trying to start a 'so and so is better than blah blah blah' here so please nobody go there with that sh*t)
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Post by tr252 on May 31, 2017 11:46:43 GMT
Haven't had chance to post my thoughts until now... Wow, what a treat Monday night was! Rachel was absolutely wonderful, she's very engaging with the audience, coming down the aisles and interacting with them plus she's hilarious. There was a real mix of songs which I enjoyed and it gave us an glimpse at her (very good) taste in music. The Tina Turner medley was not only hysterical but very well performed and sung and one of the highlights. My other highlights were If You Ever See Me Talking to a Sailor from The Last Ship, Waving Through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen and like I said in my post above, of course, Defying Gravity. It was nice to see her speak so highly of Wicked during the show after playing the part so long, it clearly means a lot to her and she said she would be happy to do another 1000 performances - although I think she knows enough is enough and she's left on a huge high. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was gorgeous, as well, a great cover. She has such control of her voice I really could listen to her just sing the phone book. You can also tell she loves performing which is really great to see. Sam Lupton was the special guest and he was great. I can't remember what the cover was he sang in the first half (!) but in the second half he sang Part of your World while Rachel was getting changed and then he sang As Long As You're Mine with Rachel... have to say his voice is definitely more Boq than Fiyero but still great nonetheless. Quick mention to the band who were also great.
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Post by tr252 on May 29, 2017 23:02:15 GMT
I never saw Kerry's return, the day I went Kerry was off and Emma was on... and, well, Emma was Emma. I think I'd have preferred to have seen Emma, actually, and I do regret not seeing her. But I have pretty much a 2 year break from the show after seeing Kerry and didn't return until I saw Rachel in November.
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Post by tr252 on May 29, 2017 22:56:14 GMT
That's alright love, you take a jab.
But two observations:
Firstly, this was her final show. And, like all Wicked final performances, actresses are given a pass to go heavy. Rachel shouldn't be an exception just because some younger fans are not a fan of her (not you, general thought). Alice's was a casual show for a casual audience.
And secondly, Rachel's fit the song, Alice's really, really did not.
I wasn't really having a go at Rachel, I just wanted to try and be controversial for the fun of it ![:P](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png) I love Rachel really. I do agree that declaring every single performance by some Elphabas the best ever does make liking them difficult, I also agree that some people were put off Rachel because of the hype, it's a bit difficult to warm to someone when everybody around you is telling you how you HAVE to love them and how they're the best person ever to play the role. I remember when Kerry Ellis came back in 2014, all of these fans that I'd never met before just suddenly appeared and were adamant that Kerry was the best thing since sliced bread and that if she wasn't my favourite then I must just be wrong, I was too young / inexperienced / naive / clueless to know what a good Elphaba was and I ought to just worship Kerry and accept her as the greatest and only true Elphaba. I thought then, and still think now that in her return run she took advantage of the show. She called out as and when she felt like it, when she did turn up she'd give half-assed renditions of the songs and fidget with her costume instead of making eye contact with her fellow performers, and no amount of "maybe she was ill every single time you saw her" could change that. We all have our favourites and Rachel is absolutely one of mine before anybody interprets this as a slight against her, but I do think we can be biased towards who was lead when we first got into the show. Maybe time breeds nostalgia, I know people who were saying that Savannah really needed to leave because her performances had got stale that are now saying that she really needs to come back and I think a couple of years from now when the fans have rotated and moved on a bit that Emma will be remembered more positively too. There've been some really great performers in Wicked over the years, and this current cast is definitely one of the strongest there's been, I mean Willemijn is truly spectacular and Suzie is (IMO) the best Glinda the UK has ever seen, and I have no reason to believe the next cast will be any different. Neither Alice nor Sophie are big "names" in the Wicked world, but Dianne Pilkington wasn't in 2007, or Louise Dearman in 2010. I'm ready and excited for the new intake to be brilliant and earn their place as icons within the Wicked world. I completely agree with your summary of Kerry's return. I didn't see her original run so I was so excited when she was announced to be coming back... oh the disappointment. Such a half arsed performance. Lacklustre vocals cutting off the money notes here, there and everywhere and the most monotone delivery of the script. I always remember her confronting the wizard in the second act quite vividly for some reason - there was no life there at all, she literally just said "fly you monkeys, fly" in a really deadpan voice. Strange. I think she bit off more than she could chew though - wasn't she on tour at the same time?!
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Post by tr252 on May 29, 2017 21:41:31 GMT
I'm just on my way home from Rachel's show in Durham; let's add her to the list of Elphaba's who have come out of the side of playing Elphaba with no long term damage shall we? Her performance this evening was out of this world - her defying gravity absolutely sensational!
That's my fanboy comment - going to update the Rachel thread with further thoughts tomorrow if you fancy reading!
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Post by tr252 on May 29, 2017 21:08:40 GMT
I was at Durham as well - oh my god THAT VOICE!! Absolute goosebumps.
Also, she touched my shoulder, I'm never washing my jacket again. (NoI am not a crazy).
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Post by tr252 on May 28, 2017 9:49:10 GMT
In interviews with Susan Hilferty she's been known to say that each of the Act II dresses are personalised to the actress, each is different but along the broad theme set out when she designed the theme. Do they make new costumes for each actress then? It seems like a huge waste of money and resources! I thought they'd have a number of dresses in stock so to speak that they can then alter for the actress.
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Post by tr252 on May 26, 2017 18:02:09 GMT
Let's share some of the craziness we've seen at stage door! I was at the end of the UK tour and some fans were making leaving scrapbooks... For themselves! They wanted all the cast to write goodbye messages in them to THEM. The cast obliged and wrote a paragraph, not sure if one put "you do realise you're not in the show?" but I can hope. Handed the book back and a friend pipes up "oh can you do my scrapbook too..." No lunch break for you all today... Also, another favourite, when Kerry was pregnant I genuinely heard a fan girl ask her "can I rub your bump?" That poor woman has had it bad over the years, surprised she isn't in therapy. She probably would be if she was in the height of the craziness today. There'd be more than pins being thrown from the stage! These were the people that Jackie used to message and ask to pop down to Tescos for her When a few of the tour crazies came to see the show in London I happened to be there that night (it was during my own crazy period) and we got talking so when I went to see the tour I agreed to meet up with them. We were sat in a cafe at about 12.30 on a 2-show day and one of them looked at their phone and said "Jax says she's all out of Nutella" (Jax, I know). This group of people, with me awkwardly in tow, then proceeded to rush to the nearest supermarket - they knew where it was so clearly had been on Nutella standby before - and nervously debate which size to get before deciding on the largest one, which was easily enough to feed an entire primary school class for about a month. After buying it we rushed to stage door but then it "dawned" on one of them that she probably wouldn't be able to put it in her tour suitcase if she didn't finish it before the end of the run because it was too large, so we went all the way back so they could buy a small one as well, so she could eat from the big one and then leave it in Salford and take the small one with her. We went into stage door and up to the desk and one of them said that they had some things for Jackie; they also knew the stage door manager's name which slightly unnerved me as the tour was only there for a few weeks, but I'm willing to forgive that. Anyway, he agreed to take these things for her and we all went out and a fight almost broke out over who was going to DM Jackie to let her know that her Nutella was there, they were squabbling over who'd been the last one to DM her and how it was definitely their turn at which point I made my excuses and said I needed to pick my ticket up from the box office and hastily left and made sure I didn't bump into them again. I actually ended up in the same shop as Jackie after the matinee through complete coincidence, I really REALLY wanted to ask her if she'd enjoyed her Nutella What have I just read? I actually feel like these sort of crazies are unhealthily obsessed. Go run around a park or climb a tree, there's more to life than bloody Wicked. Jesus wept. (Not directing that at you Martello)
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Post by tr252 on May 26, 2017 8:54:19 GMT
I love the gift stories. That comment the other day about a cast member tweeting that she'd run out of perfume, and the one who has kiddies running around getting her crisps and sandwiches LOL 🤣😂 This. It's absolutely hilarious - if I couldn't leave my work place in peace without being hounded by the same crazy individuals, I'd be using them to my benefit as well! I cringe every time I see people huddled around the door or even just images of the same people at stage door. I've been twice but I'll never go again. I'd much rather be heading off to the pub after a show!
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Post by tr252 on May 25, 2017 20:37:46 GMT
I'm actually really looking forward to seeing Sophie as Glinda and also I haven't seen Alice so looking forward to her as well.
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Post by tr252 on May 25, 2017 7:24:54 GMT
I'm prepared for banality.
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Post by tr252 on May 22, 2017 21:37:46 GMT
Why did comments get deleted? Nothing was said in offence, we were having a discussion that was perfectly friendly and enjoyable, no negativity. No egging anyone on or trying to cause an argument.
Like, I'm confused, what are we supposed to discuss on a Discussion Board when we are discussing things to do with the show that isn't hurting anybody? It's Theresa May taking control of the internet.
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Post by tr252 on May 20, 2017 21:18:24 GMT
Ffs - this thread is really unenjoyable at the moment, its becoming a chore to read. I'm not arguing with the removal of posts but to see red writing every time you come into this thread is just boring now. Let's get a f****** grip. I quite like the red writing now. It feeds my paranoia that I've done something wrong even when I've not been contributing to the discussion. Long may it continue so when my paranoia beats me I know who to send the bill for my counselling to. I'm liking this post because it amused me, not because of the potential threat of more red writing about discussions of which actressn paints themselves green for living. When it's written down, it all sounds ever so silly.
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Post by tr252 on May 20, 2017 21:11:15 GMT
Ffs - this thread is really unenjoyable at the moment, its becoming a chore to read. I'm not arguing with the removal of posts but to see red writing every time you come into this thread is just boring now.
Let's get a f***ing grip.
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Post by tr252 on May 20, 2017 14:58:24 GMT
For me, its not just about the whole bumping up situation. Granted I have not seen her as Elphaba in person, but based on audios, she is just a very standard, vanilla Elphaba. But I have seen her live, I saw her as Fiona in Shrek, and she really wasn't that great. Like, at all. Compared to Carley Stenton who was fabulous in the role! I'd argue her vocals are slightly better than what you would normally get from a standby (although they can be quite inconsistent). However I largely agree her acting is very cookie-cutter Elphaba - she doesn't bring anything interesting to the part that we haven't seen a thousand times before. And I'm not sure anyone new to the show would consider her portrayal as deep and nuanced either. I think we should also remember that casting decisions for the UK are made by producers in America, where actresses are routinely swapped between productions or bumped up from standby to lead etc. When was the last original Elphaba on Broadway... Mandy Gonzalez in 2010? I think Lindsay Mendez was the last original Elphaba on Broadway - 2013/14 I believe? Still, a few years ago now! Actually, it's quite surprising the producers had a brand new Elphaba cover the shows 10th anniversary performance!!
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Post by tr252 on May 17, 2017 18:18:19 GMT
Ben Stott is the only actor who's really left an impression on me as Boq - I really like his portrayal and rapport with Louise and Zoe etc.
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Post by tr252 on May 14, 2017 16:06:59 GMT
I actually got one of the student tickets before when I tried to dayseat and they only had the end seat left. The only issue with it is that there's three of us, but only two students, and I'm not sure they would give us three tickets; plus, I think that's only 'off-peak' and that last week of June is probably peak season/summer season? I'll probably leave it up to my sister to decide, because the seats in the second row that are not 'restricted view' are about £70 each. Thanks guys :] (this is why I don't take people to shows with me)In that case, and as long as it's still off peak, why don't you get 2 student tickets and 1 at full price and then split the total between the 3 of you so it's nice and fair? It would be approx £40ish each.
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Post by tr252 on May 14, 2017 9:24:50 GMT
Yes, I'm not a huge fan of them either. It's a really audience 'wtf' moment but that's probably the reason... it is Oz, after all.
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Post by tr252 on May 14, 2017 9:11:05 GMT
I'm waiting for the producers to cast Kelly Clarkson as Elphaba. It will happen one day. And she will be incredible. (Vocally, anyway but I'm optimistic about her acting).
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Post by tr252 on May 11, 2017 14:01:57 GMT
I don't want to be the pessimist of the group but I think the announcement won't be for a while yet, Friday 26th May is my prediction. No, I agree. How long is the rehearsal period - 6 weeks? They don't have to announce anything until then really, it might even be early June that we get it.
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Post by tr252 on May 10, 2017 15:36:39 GMT
Imaging Beyoncé as Elphaba is amazing.
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Post by tr252 on May 10, 2017 15:23:33 GMT
I definitely feel like (at least at the performances I saw) Willemijn is much stronger at 'The Wizard and I' than Rachel is, whereas Rachel is much stronger at 'No Good Deed' than Willemijn. It's interesting to see how certain songs fit different performers. The big thing I took away from Willemijn's performance was that she plays the more awkward side of Elphaba more apparently than Rachel did. I still much preferred Rachel though, but Willemijn is brilliant in her own right. Yes, I always thought The Wizard and I was Rachael's weakest of the big 3 Elphaba songs. I do think she improved a lot with it though on her return to the show.
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Post by tr252 on May 9, 2017 17:25:20 GMT
Plot twist: Katie Rowley Jones only left the show so she could get ready to take over the role of Elphaba and play it for all eternity. Jesus wept, IMAGINE! This forum would implode.
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Post by tr252 on May 9, 2017 12:19:22 GMT
The Twitter account that was previously mentioned and apparently run by an 'insider' has tweeted that the new leads are Kara and Alyssa. I find this extremely difficult to believe. As it stands, this page has absolutely no credibility whatsoever. I'd be thrilled if it was Kara as Glinda! She is such a ball of energy, she would be fantastic! I don't want two American leads though, we have bags of talent over here - let's use it!
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Post by tr252 on May 9, 2017 12:18:36 GMT
On the old board, I think somebody described Rachael as a bit 'quiet' after her first performance. Quite funny looking back really - it really just goes to show that actors and actresses need to settle into roles. That's why I've never really been fussed on seeing a performer on their first night. Does anybody else still find it crazy that Louise Dearman played Elphaba? I'm still not sure her voice was quite right for Elphaba but she sung No Good Deed phenomenally well the one time I saw. I saw Louise as Elphaba about 7 or 8 times, I thought she was sensational! And vastly underrated in my opinion as Elphaba, because not everyone was a fan. But I thought her voice was so powerful, and her performance itself was fantastic! Don't get me wrong, I do think she was great and it was pretty special that she was taking over from Rachel. There's just something about her voice that doesn't say Elphaba to me but I'm putting this down to being used to it as Glinda. I do wish I had seen her more than once a I was meant to but she was off and we had Michelle Pentecost instead. I didn't rate her Elphaba at all - her acting was fine but her belt just wasn't there.
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