#also love elphaba's reaction during this scene

[cometblaster2070]

glinda is genuinely THE most disastrous queer person to ever grace the land of oz and I love her sm for it because this girl saw that fiyero and elphaba were having their own private moment about dr. dillamond and she went oh no my bf and gf aren't paying attention to me quick what do I do?

and then the first the foremost and the only thought to cross her mind is to change her fucking name like??? ZERO hesitation too it crosses her mind and she goes yes we are doing this fuck it.

immediately regrets it like 2 seconds later but hey at least she's committed yk.

[susandsnell]

i saw wicked today too and loved it! what did you think? (was i the only one who went "oh shit" out loud in the theater when That Cameo happened?)

well i may or may not have just gotten out of my second viewing of it in three days some fourish hours ago, so that should be some indication!

hiya bestie! sorry for the delays on this, things have been thinging and life has been lifing. I'll admit that as early as February I was not looking forward to this movie or its promised follow-up. Splitting it into parts confused me, I was dubious over some of the casting, the visuals, the lighting, and the use of CG, and was being a bit of a hater over the trailers. However, every hater worth their salt should eat crow when they're wrong, and wow was I ever wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong, actually, because I'll go so far as to say (though I have high high hopes for Nosferatu later this month)! that Wicked Part One was my favourite movie of 2024. Extended (gushing) quasi-organized thoughts under the cut, because like Elphaba, no I never stop talking.

Bit of background, I've been lucky enough to see the show live twice, plus countless bootlegs/the cast album being the soundtrack to my life since I was nine. I know the script, the score, and the lyrics back to front. So you can imagine how shocked/pleased I was to find that the movie retained just about everything! I know people are giving mixed reviews about the extended scenes/runtime, but honestly the Oz they gave us (which I'll get to momentarily) was so wonderful and the cast so wholly inhabiting of their roles that I could not get enough of the world and these characters. I also thought they fixed several plotholes/added depth and stakes to a lot of arcs from the musical with their changes, especially with respect to the villains.

Visually, the film is an absolute treat; the colour grading/lighting does have the unfortunate modern fantasy film vibe to it, but the sets, practical props/effects, and costumes more than make up for it. That rotating library portico set? Let me live there! The Wizard's invitation?? The choreography was fantastic and every dancing scene was shot so so beautifully. My only complaint really is the CGI; the animals looked really fakey and goofy, particularly poor Dr. Dillamond, to the point that my entire theater was cracking up when his little goat ears wilted at the blackboard scene during my first viewing. Which is...not really the reaction you want to go for with a scene that's supposed to be depicting a hate crime.

The costumes in particular were a standout; Paul Tazewell's work is so stunning (Morrible's gowns, the revised Popular dress, and Elphaba's little pirate academia number when she gets her Emerald City invite) that I feel comfortable saying with the exception of Glinda's Junon-takeoff bubble dress (because it's just so iconic), they vastly outdo the stage version's costumes. He needs an Oscar for this yesterday and I'm not kidding.

The performances!!! Oh my gosh! Everyone sounding great and there being good mixing?? in a musical movie made after 2007??? Who'd've thought!!! My only complaint musically was, unfortunately, during Defying Gravity. In the stage show there's like 2 pauses in the song for plot to happen (Morrible's call-out and making the broom fly), and through that iirc they keep the instrumental going. Today, at my second viewing, I counted like....6-7 pauses where the song just outright stops, including two instances where they play different sad piano music altogether and give Elphaba this big suit-up superhero moment because book cover nod I guess, and healing her inner child, and it was kind of a pain because part of what makes Defying Gravity such a memorable piece is its momentum and when you stop the song to do something else, the momentum really dies. With that said, all eight parts of Defying Gravity were, in each pocket, performed to perfection.

I had high hopes for Cynthia Erivo vocally, but was dubious about an apparently more earnest, innocent Act 1 Elphaba as opposed to the stage version which I'm more used to, where she's a lot more of a Daria type. However, I was so pleased to find that she deepened the aching tragedy of the character with this take, especially opposite a more sinister and insidious Wizard + Morrible, and her takes on these songs, her vocal choices, her runs...heavenly. Ariana Grande pleasantly surprised me as being much cuter and funnier than I expected, and her surprise option ups during Popular were an absolute treat. Jonathan Bailey was as charming and talented as any Fiyero worth his salt (also loved how casually they made him bisexual?), Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard killed me (especially since they played him as simultaneously more of a huckster conman and an Evil Walt Disney, and it worked), but the show-stealer was Michelle Yeoh as Morrible for my money.

From the moment Morrible swoops in to smoothly cover for Elphaba's power explosion, knowing what it would mean to her to be spared social ruin, I was on the edge of my seat with such a different take on what's usually just kind of a comic relief diva character. Michelle Yeoh's effortless grace and elegance command screen presence. But the slow creep of her goading Elphaba into intensifying her powers while playing the sympathetic ear/mother figure/mentor only to make the betrayal hit that much harder (I genuinely choked up during the cut to Elphie's face when she hears her saying that her skin is a manifestation of her twisted nature), to say nothing of dangling her approval over Glinda until becoming the shoulder for her to cry on at the end of Defying Gravity...my god. chills. Forget Gelphie, shoutout to all the teenage sapphics with something deeply, deeply wrong with them who are going to have an awakening over this chillingly manipulative milfy sorceress who presents herself as a twisted maternal figure and intellectual colleague.

On the note of Gelphie -- oh my god??? A homoerotic swordfight during What Is This Feeling - are you KIDDING???? They amped it up from the stage show if anything; the Ozdust sequence brought me to tears, and then ended with them joining hands and running off together and leaving Fiyero behind like???? The amount of times they fell over each other? Glinda's thousand-yard stare during No One Mourns The Wicked, Elphaba's longing/fond glances....the love note, are you kidding me. They were baby's first yuri for me so seeing them on the big screen played with such natural chemistry by Cynthia and Ariana warmed my heart and got me super emotional. Sidenote, okay, not to be the boss baby guy about Carrie, but with the changes/additions, Elphaba is kind of Carrie White now and I'm here for it? From the visions to the explosions to baby Elphie already having her powers in the flashbacks...and then you get to the Ozdust scene, and the extended cruelty towards her plays very much as Elphaba's They're All Gonna Laugh At You Moment...only for Glinda to swoop in and dance with her as the Sue Snell, so yeah, we now have fantasy CarrieSue in Oz. We won so hard.

Last bit, to address your point about the cameos -- I really was worried that I'd be cringing at all the lore tie-ins with the '39 Wizard of Oz or the Broadway cameos or any of the other fanservice, but it all tied in and flowed so smoothly at most I was rolling my eyes affectionately rather than in exasperation (the Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead tie-in to No One Mourns The Wicked was shockingly seamless). Stephen Schwartz being the one to invite them to see the wizard got me properly emotional!! Idina and Kristin were hilarious and 10/10 diva legends as always, and the extended Wiz-O-Mania propaganda play/Grimmerie Lore Dump is both a visual and auditory treat. The original Glinda showing up to tell Ari to shut the fuck up during her song got maybe the biggest laugh of the movie out of me, but then they had Idina doing her end of defying gravity 'aaaaaaah ah ahhhh' Elphaba War cry riff as a heehe gag just like...20ish minutes before Cynthia!Elphaba is going to do it for real. Which had me in stitches because it plays then as either subversion of the wizard's propaganda in finding her voice, or Elphaba's a theatre kid and said yeah that was a sick riff I heard 2 hours ago, I'm going to incorporate it into my political loudmouthing after nearly being assassinated 20 times. Fuck you, Oz man, I'm stealing your propaganda riff!

What an ending. What a movie. Can't wait for part 2.

Thanks for asking! <3 hope you're well.

[ur-typical-nerd]

I just saw Wicked (the movie), here are my thoughts! (Spoilers under the cut!)

It was actually really good! I didn’t think I’d like it (mostly because I still believe there should be an animated adaption), but I was pleasantly surprised! The movie stayed accurate to the story of the musical, and actors did a good job in their roles. Overall, it was beautiful looking, beautiful sounding movie musical.

(Also for everyone complaining about the 2 and a half hour runtime and the fact that it only covered the first half of the musical, trust me when I say the filmmakers needed that time to stay accurate to the musical while expanding on the world. Every single minute of that time was used well, and I can’t wait to see what they do with part 2. While I do admit they could’ve done more to make this split more obvious in the marketing, I’m not surprised because a) they want more money and b) the team for this movie put the name of a porn site on the packaging for their dolls. No offense, but I do not expect that much from the marketing team/whoever is in charge of that sort of thing after that fiasco)

Alright, here are my more spoiler-y thoughts:

-Me when I saw the musical as a child: The other students are so mean to Elphaba just because she’s different! They’re such jerks for no reason at all!

Me watching the movie as an adult: This is just existing as a disabled/neurodivergent person. Everyone in this play is just ableist.

-Seriously though, I could rant about how Elphaba’s skin is an allegory/metaphor for disability/neurodivegence and how other people’s reactions are just ableism.

-Like I was CRINGING when Glinda said she could “cure” Elphaba of her green skin. Like girlie no-

-Props to Elphaba for clapping back though!

-“Well, at least they aren’t ableist towards Nessa!” (literally five minutes later) “nEvErMiNd ThEn-“

-(For anyone worried about that statement, it’s nothing overtly abusive; someone just pushes around her wheelchair without her permission. Yes, that’s ableist; well-meaning ableism is still ableism)

-Gosh I relate to Elphaba a bit too much-

-Cynthia and Ariana do a really good job playing the characters!

-Tumblr, I am proud to announce that Elphaba and Glinda still have more romantic chemistry with one another than they do with Fiyero (no hate to Fiyero-)

-“What is This Feeling” is just as campy and gay as I expected it to be and I love it. My only complaint is that Cynthia and Ariana go for similar vocal ranges during some parts, and it made it hard for me to distinguish their voices; like, I know Cynthia can go low, she does so in multiple songs

-I love Elphaba and Dr. Dillamond’s extra scenes together, it really makes them feel like friends and allies against a world that won’t accept them for who they are. Also Glinda pleas chill, he physically CANNOT pronounce your name properly-

-Also the change of Dr. Dillamond singing his song to other animals makes the song so much better, y’all-

-I love Glinda’s friends that follow her around at school. They share exactly one braincell between them and I adore that about them.

-Fiyero is absolutely the kind of guy that has makes both men and women attracted to him, kudos to the filmmakers for acknowledging that.

-While the spinning library is a cool idea, it seems pretty inconvenient solely based off of the fact that I would absolutely injure myself trying to use it.

-Also, while I love the choreography for “Dancing Through Life”, I’d be SO MAD if I was looking for a book and some random guy turned it on while I was inside

-Whoever they picked for Boq sounds so much like the Boq from the musical when he’s singing. Does anyone know who plays him?

-I know she’s objectively a terrible person, but Madam Morrible is so sassy? Like, she absolutely ROASTED Glinda when she was giving her the wand-

-THE! ENTIRE! DANCE! SCENE! BETWEEN! ELPHABA! AND! GLINDA!

-“Popular” is so goofy and gay and I love it. Also, Glinda was definitely a bit tipsy during that song

-Dr. Dillamond’s scene is way more disturbing nowadays considering….well, everything-

-There are many love triangles that could be easily solved by turning them into throuples; Elphaba/Glinda/Fiyero is one of them. In this essay I will-

-Glinda looking at the balloon from the wizard with a look of concern as it flies off my beloved-

-Glinda telling Elphaba that she hopes she gets her heart’s desire? Elphaba asking her to come to the Emerald City with her immediately afterwards??? The way the two fall on the floor afterwards??????? They’re girlfriends your honor-

-They were totally on a date in the Emerald City you guys-

-Me: I’m not sure if I like the new addition to “One Short Day”; it feels a bit unnecessary. Was the book even in the original musical?

Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth: *appear and begin singing*

Me: Nevermind, totally on board with this-

-Seriously though, their cameo was so fun and kind of touching! Like Idina and Kristin were passing on the torch to Cynthia and Ariana

-Also was the book in the original musical? I genuinely can’t remember.

-The loving looks Elphaba and Glinda gave each other? The constant touching??? They’re girlfriends your honor!

-I don’t know if this will end up being a controversial take, but Jeff Goldblum…kind of works as the Wizard? I’m not sure if I entirely like his singing voice, though; I think I need to hear him sing “Wonderful” to really decide.

-Ah yes, your average lesbian date: having a cute day in the city before denouncing the local political leader and being chased by palace guards.

-“The green one has done this to you.” ONLY BECAUSE YOU BASICALLY PRESSURED HER TO-

-That scene with the flying monkeys in the hallway came straight out of a horror film, what the heck

-THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING!…wait no, the girls are fighting! 

-Cynthia rocked “Defying Gravity”; while I still prefer the original, that’s solely because of nostalgia, and the new version is just as good.

-The bridge/middle part of “Defying Gravity” where Elphaba and Glinda are looking at each other like that??? THEY’RE GIRLFRIENDS YOUR HONOR-

-That moment where Elphaba was falling…if ya know ya know

-Finally, I love how we saw glimpses of the other characters (Nessa, Fiyero, etc.) near the end to set up their roles/arcs in the next part.

[alinaandalion]

went to see the wicked movie. thoughts and spoilers:

cynthia and ariana knock it out of the park. i was legit almost crying during "no one mourns the wicked."

also worth noting - "no one mourns the wicked" is very intense compared to the stage show and it was really disturbing when they rolled out that effigy and set it on fire

i loved michelle yeoh's take on madame morrible. it's very different from the stage show and tbh is way more chilling. i am really looking forward to how she interacts with glinda in part 2

jonathan bailey said bi fiyero and went for it. everything he did in "dancing through life" was really hot. loved it

the ozdust duet dance scene did make me cry. cynthia's performance while she's dancing alone as elphaba and then her reaction to glinda joining her was deeply moving and it really sells them becoming friends

idina and kristin cameo in "one short day"! it's very delightful and i cannot believe they kept that under wraps until the soundtrack released

one thing is that there are a few scenes where i think the lighting was too dark for elphaba. it was an older theater so i'll see if i feel the same way when i see it again in a few days. probably bothered me the most during "i'm not that girl." could have been a choice to reflect how elphaba feels overlooked as even a possibility as a romantic love interest but idk

it did not feel as long as the runtime is. which was impressive given that part 1 is as long as the entire stage musical. i am looking forward to seeing how this works for part 2 since I think that's the part of the show that really needs more room to breathe

overall, i was really impressed and i'm looking forward to seeing it again

[melop-sia]

HELLO @elphabaoftheopera ! i hope youre doing well! ive arrived with more lfay thoughts and some analysis!!!!!!!! 🥳

READING THOUGHTS:

im so, so glad i rereading lfay, it is honestly such an awesome fic and the writing so amazing! personally, since this was kind of my first time reading through the entire thing without multiple day breaks, i was definitely able to pick up on less obvious details (which are compiled below!) that made everything so much better!!! i genuinely felt like i was experiencing the story again for the first time, which made me able to appreciate and become engaged with the more emotional scenes and chapters! some of my favourites of these include chapter 23 (i was evidently moved enough to leave a comment mid read 😅😅), chapter 28 and chapter 34.

for sister sunrise, the description of elphaba reflecting over her room for the last time really got me :') the paragraph was written super beautifully and after going through most of the story i reallyy felt the nostalgic and sentimental aspect.!!!! dorothy and the dark was already a pretty emotional last chapter, but in particular fiyeraba saying goodbye to glinda and elphaba reflecting on her relationship with fiyero to get through the dark were some i really appreciated and loved!

aside from that, i loved being able to notice how elphaba went from following the rules to playing by her own since it was written with a pretty clear distinction! despite it, you managed to still write her so in character and i applaud you for it! 😁

i was wondering, was it difficult for you to write each character through all of these emotions and emotional scenes? im super in awe of how well characterised they are, i can't lie my mind started mixing some of the musical and this fic together because of it how accurate it all is!!! 👏

EDIT: i was also wondering, which parallel in lfay is your favourite / was the most fun to write in?

PARALLELS:

i pride myself soo much in picking up on these! i planned to have screenshots of all of them, but unfortunatly because of the image limit ill just have to describe some 😔 nevertheless, i hope you like reading through this segment and id like to thank @mystic-oni for his much appreciated help in finding some of these!

i loved how this parallel really developed from the beginning of their relationship, with the bickering turning cute banter :) 💕

i HAD to include this one, it is so so sweet and the parallels were all incorporated so well and warmed my heart ❤️❤️

along with these, there was also nessa making the same "you look dreadful" comment to elphaba at shiz and at kiamo ko, each in very different tones that made the second time very heartfelt :')

EXTRAS:

as well as parallels, i noted some a few references related to the book 🥳 i also noticed a few things that sounded similar but i wasn't sure were exactly parallels 🧐 but still wanted to include anyway... so here they are 😁!!! some captioned, some not but i hope you enjoy all!

i was super surprised at myself for initally not finding the lyrics snuck into the poem, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless!! also picked up on the mention of sarima from the book during chapter 14!

ANOTHER EDIT: another reference i got after watching wicked again was elphaba's book "discord and discontent" was mentioned by dr dillamond (can't recall in what way though 🥲)!

i noticed elphie celebrating in a similar way at going to shiz and getting into the sorcery seminar, she makes me so :))) SHE IS SO HOPEFUL AND DESERVES EVERYTHING!!!! i absolutely adore how you wrote her so excited and youthful during the act 1 chapters 🥺💕💕

fiyero having the same reaction to elphaba's temper from two different "lives" 💞 i can't help but love this little detail! i also picked up on how fiyero jokes about seeing the present in chapter 20 in comparison to him being sincere about it in the epilogue! super super subtle but one of my favourites !! there was also when elphaba sarcastically suggested enjoying the ocean in ev to considering in the last chapter, i laughed when i first read it and i still do when i think about it :)))

EXTRAS

nearing the last few chapters, i maaayyyy have impulsively made a LFaY chapter naming quiz 😇 it is linked below, i hope you have fun with it!

FINAL REGARDS

overall, im so glad i took the time to read over this outstanding fic, i don't think i could ever get tired of your writing!! ❤️❤️ i look forward to seeing more of your work, and im very excited to hear that there may be new works coming!!!!! however long that takes, i can't wait to be here yet again in support! :)))

[red1ight]

more of my silly little opinions under cut bc i don't want to spoil also it's unreasonably long

well simply i loved it 🥹 and was it perfect? well no, but the vast majority of 'issues' (if you could even call them that) i had with it were so minute and nit-picky that it really only comes down to preference and the fact that it did not come directly from my head so therefore it is not my completely perfect version of wicked fkjskls BUT i was coming at it as a skeptic, and i thought overall it was lovely

and you know what, the 2 parts, i GET it now. yes, it still may be a blatant cash grab BUT it really feels like a wicked movie for the stans.. the movie is a fully faithful adaptation of act 1 but they just let it breathe. like, you kind of forget the show is so fast-paced it's an absolute marathon. i feel like this movie was for me in the sense that it's for the the ppl that see wicked and then think, wait i want to live in these moments a little longer. so. i approve! lol

and so, cynthia erivo. LOVED her interpretation of elphaba. for her iteration she really played strongly into her innocence and faith in the wizard, as opposed to a more skeptical brutish and angry elphie (which i also really enjoy) which made for a very satisfying betrayal scene at the end (well, of act 1) because you can really see the gears turn in her head and her worldview change. i found her elphaba to be a bit reserved? which was interesting

ariana grande did a good job she really delivered with the operatics, esp. for no one mourns the wicked. and she went for the opt up of course! really loved no one mourns the wicked, that one made me feel the most emotional, probably. i CANNOT wait for her thank goodness it's gonna be devastating

cynthia erivo's the wizard and i. and that's all. INCREDIBLE. show stopping to me. i felt compelled to applaud in the movie theater for a second there because oh my god. head in hands.

what is this feeling was fun i thought the choreo with being able to hear the percussion of the footwork was SO fun and satisfying

i was pleasantly surprised by jeff goldblum! thought he was great as the wizard

cynthia erivo's i'm not that girl was also so stunning.. and that one's not usually a stand-out song for me but. loved that

the dancing through life scene at the oz dust ballroom where glinda joins elphaba🥹wow🥹 when she touched her face😭

popular was good, once again i say good job ariana grande

as for the things i disliked:

main thing being the lighting. my god what was going on. now, it wasn't bad throughout the whole movie, thankfully, but it was actually distracting during the first half of dancing through life when they were in the library. it was so backlit 😩

there were also some camera angle choices that were puzzling to me. why so many shots of their backs when they're singing

lots of cgi but oh well what can you do, especially with the Animals

i like michelle yeoh and i liked her acting as morrible, but unfortunately she is simply not a singer. i hope it's not rude to say, but i reallllly would have like to see sheryl lee ralph do it

wasn't feeling the vocals for nessarose either unfortunately

wasn't really into the new orchestration to dancing through life, didn't really like the percussion/dance beat thing they had going on in the background, though i liked the new dance break arrangement

as i mentioned, while i enjoyed the movie giving certain scenes and numbers room to breathe, there were 2 moments where i thought there was maybe too much space/too many breaks in the music - one of those scenes being dancing through life, and the other being the very end of defying gravity aghh i liked the scene where she was falling and seeing her younger self, but i think once she gets levitating on that broom don't break up the music! why do we hear madame morrible's speech again? i really liked seeing everyone's reaction, but i wished they had shown that earlier on. i felt like the song lost some momentum, though i feel like it was attempting to do the opposite

also all the flying effects and the giant ass cgi cape was all a bit much and i think it could have been toned down a tad. but that's enough of my snobby opinions lol

OH wait another thing. One short day! the new song/cameo was nuts dkjs idk if the ppl know but i am famously not an idina enjoyer SLFDK so idk. i though the idina/cheno cameo was fun for the first few seconds and then.. they just kept singing 😭 i've always thought they sounded excellent together but the part where idina does the defying gravity riff i really did not like. it just came off as gimmicky and i'm not a fan of breaking the fourth wall unnecessarily. also i kind of feel like it stole a bit of cynthia erivo's thunder ! sorry for being a hater🙏🏻

even though i wrote all this i feel there are many things i am forgetting somehow sdjflsk anyway if u read all of this thank u also i'm sorry<3

i am SEATED for wicked. presently. I will be having opinions!!

[l1s1a]

“Pink looks good with green“

Trailer of the show

Hi everyone ! I am going to talk about “musicals“ and particularly the ones that we can watch on Broadway (which is literally all of them).

Musicals can be described as theatrical performances that combine dancing, singing and acting. The aim of a musical is to transmit emotions and feelings throughout the plot. Next to the artistic aspect is the technical one that bears an important part because the combination of the two is what makes the plot evolve. The singing, acting and dancing are important but so are the visuals. (you have to be entertained)

For my first illustration, I will talk about my favorite musical: Wicked.

This musical can be chosen to represent what a good musical is. It was created by Stephen Schwarz in 2003, and is an adaptation of the novel of Gregory Maguire entitled Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is a rewriting of the well-known novel The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum.

This musical is the story of a witch, Elphaba who is smart, lonely, stoic and left out by her family. She is “different“ from the rest of the people of Oz due to her magical skills and her green skin. She is about to start high-school where she will meet her roommate Glinda (pronounced /g/ Linda) who is her total opposite, she is cheerful, naive and popular. The aim of the plot is to have an other version of the initial story told in the Wizard of Oz, with this musical we have the story of the vilain, and a justification for her behavior.

What I like about this musical is, of course the soundtrack, but also the message behind it. Musicals have this ability to do a satire of the society or to have a political message. In Wicked, we have topics such as racism, animal protection, family dramas, corruption and many more.

I also love the redemption of the character. For me it is always interesting to have a clear background of the vilain of a story. (spoiler: by the end of the show you’ll be totally on Elphaba’s side).

Moreover, racism is one main issues that Elphaba has to deal with due to her skin color. The reactions that she receives are always overdone by the people of Oz. Those exaggerated behaviors look totally absurd. The spectators usually laugh or have a rictus during those scenes. This process is interesting because it mimics how racist people act in the real society. And how absurd it is to denigrate someone just because this person is different.

For my conclusion, let’s have a look at the impact of Wicked on broadway. Wicked is the second most popular show on Broadway (the first one being the Lion King). It has made billions of dollars of profit since its opening. Lots of Wicked references can be spotted in songs, movies or TV shows. It is a must-seen if you have the luck to go to New-York. Its success can not be discussed. This show started little as an Off-Broadway to become one of the most iconic musical of all time. It conquered Broadway but also the whole world, lots of representation are made in Europe, opening up the show for a new and larger audience. 

Here some of my favorite songs. 

What is this feeling ?

Popular

Defying Gravity (the best of the best)( best part 4:28):

[thewickedworkingsofyouknowwho]

So I saw Wicked today...

And it was absolutely amazing.

First I want to say that I absolutely loved the ensemble. Their singing? Outstanding. Their dancing? Incredible. So good!!

The orchestra was also just amazing. It sounded like they were a recording, they were that good.

Elphaba (Mariand Torres) was also just incredible. Her voice was so beautiful!!! And so powerful!!! And her acting was some of the best I’ve ever seen. Especially on her funny lines. Her delivery was just so perfect. On her serious lines too. She was just outstanding.

The rest of the cast was awesome too, and I’ll get into specifics with each song.

No One Mourns the Wicked:

Like I said before, the ensemble was just so amazing. Their voices were balanced so well! Part of the credit for that goes to whoever was running sound, but mostly to them. It’s clear they’ve worked hard because they sounded great together. Glinda (Jennafer Newberry) was also amazing. Her voice is so beautiful! Especially on the high notes!!!!! The green doll was wonderfully cursed.

Dear Old Shiz:

Seriously the ensemble is so good. So was the acting in the scene after. Also, people always joke about Glinda being,,, on something during popular. But no. Today it was the whole first act and it was hilarious. I loved it.

The Wizard and I:

This Elphaba is so good though like you don’t understand her voice is amazing.

What is this feeling:

Very well done! The audience was laughing so, so much. The Glinda and Elphaba sounded really nice together. And the harmonies. Omg.

Something bad:

The classroom scene was great, and so was the scene with just Elphaba and Dillamond. Once again, incredible acting. Mariand’s delivery was so funny. Especially on the lines like ‘that’s okay I have no friends’ like just the way she said it. Super funny! But it was also done in a way that was like oh wait that’s kind of sad. The song was good too.

Dancing Through Life:

Fiyero and Glinda were so funny! Also Boq was really funny. All of the acting was great. Fiyero’s voice was kinda high, but it actually really worked. Nessarose had a really pretty voice too. When Elphaba started dancing by herself she was. So cute?? It was like sad but adorable. And then when Glinda started dancing silly. Also so cute. And then when they started dancing together. Beautiful. The ensemble’s dancing was great as well.

Popular:

Very very funny! Glinda sang so well. And in the scene before they both did a really great job. And at one point Glinda did the thing where she hugged Elphaba but also lowkey strangled her. I love when they do that, the Elphaba reactions are perfect.

The scene with the lion cub:

Super cool to watch!

I’m not that girl:

Mariand hit that low note at the end so well.

One short day:

They were so happy,,, so optimistic,,, I love them,,, The lighting was so cool! (All of the effects in this show were just aaaa)

A sentimental man:

The Wizard is a really good singer.

Defying Gravity:

Wow. Just wow. Everything about this was wow. I have no words for how amazing this was. When Elphaba flew she was just beautiful and powerful and amazing. Mariand’s voice. Is so. Good. Just wow.

Thank Goodness:

Glinda did such a good job in this. I especially loved the way the lights changed from bright green to a darker color when she was singing the sad part but then went back to the fluorescent green when she was “happy” again. It added so much to the song! And her voice is really pretty too!

The Wicked Witch of the East:

This Nessarose is really really good. Her vocals were great, and so was her acting. I really liked this!

Wonderful:

Really really great! Or should I say, wonderful? No but really they both did this so well.

I’m Not That Girl Reprise:

Glinda’s voice is really pretty.

As Long As You’re Mine:

Great! One thing I noticed was that the fog kept drifting into the orchestra. I wonder what that was like for them. Like do they notice it? Also we were sitting close enough that in the show we got to see the conductor doing all the cues and stuff. But that fog, though. There was a lot going in there.

No Good Deed:

Aahgjahsdkag!!!!!!! The Fiyero riff!!!! Amazing!!!!! Everything about this!!!!! Amazing!!!!! Elphaba!!!!! Amazing!!!!!

March Of The Witch Hunters:

One lady in this was carrying a noose. Is that really an effective weapon? Especially against someone with magic? You’d have to get so close to her too. Maybe she was planning to throw it like a lasso or something. Or the prop guy was like ‘we can’t afford more spears. Oh hey look a sale on rope!’ And boom there we go.

For Good:

I cried. So perfect. The harmonies. Ahh! They sounded so good together. It was so beautiful. Like seriously so beautiful.

And the scene after. First it was just so sad, but then Glinda was so badass. I love that part. It was done really well. I was still sad though because how could I not have been For Good just happened.

Finale:

Really really good! It sounded great!

To conclude:

-11/10

-great show overall

-best elphaba like ever

-my favorite was defying gravity and no good deed

-I don’t know how common standing ovations actually are but everyone in the theater stood up at the end for all of the bows

-it was that good

[anais-mitchell]

little details from wicked that i loved

(just found this in my drafts, apparently i only did act 1 but i don’t remember specifics from act 2 so enjoy this lol)

-glinda being unable to mask her horror at seeing the vicious, hateful reactions of the ozians to elphie’s death, especially right after the flashback to elphie’s birth

-the students uncomfortably holding the “zzzz” sound at the end of “dear old shiz” while giving elphaba the dirtiest look

-before she even sings a note we already know who emily’s elphie is and it’s so good. you can tell how deeply she cares about nessa, how excited she is to go to school and learn, how she’s never afraid to take a stand for what she believes in, and how her life of being an outcast has led her to rely on herself and her own merits.

-“the wizard and i” is just pure JOY on stage and her vocals were insane

-during both “the wizard and i” and “what is this feeling,” elphie’s reaction to being teased was basically “i’ve been dealing with this shit all my life, you think i give a fuck what you all think of me?” it was clear that emily’s elphie only cared about the opinions of those she respected, which made her heartbreak in different scenes including her father, nessa, fiyero, the wizard, and glinda all the more gut wrenching. (also her reactions during the students’ buttering up of glinda in witf were PRICELESS)

-emily’s indignant/angry lines were delivered with such a fiery growl i loved it. “maybe SOME of us are DIFFERENT!”

-jake boyd in those fiyero pants. that is all.

-gizel jiménez’s nessa actually started out extremely sympathetically, you could tell she loved her sister despite her privilege and was so desperate for boq’s love

-“fiyero and i are going to be married!” *glinda presses her fingers together and makes kissy motions/noises with them*

-gc’s glinda fake sobbing and rubbing her shoe collection for comfort after “that’s not fair I told you a really good one”

-“this is never going to work!” *glinda face plants on the bed as hard as possible*

-the lion cub scene/“i’m not that girl” really made me emo :( not a huge fan of fiyero or fiyeraba but jake has been playing him for so long that he was good at giving him sufficient emotional depth and his connection w elphie was believable. also “i’m not that girl” just hit different live.

-the train scene is definitely one of the funniest moments in the show. *sobbing* “it’s glinda now!”

-nessa’s reaction after being abandoned by boq :(((

-“two best friends” so soft. so tender. so intimate.

-glinda’s character development is so evident in the wizard scene. when she first meets elphie and hears she’s getting into the private seminar, she’s incredibly jealous; when elphie is being lauded by the wizard, glinda just looks proud of her

-i have no words for “defying gravity.” it just has to be experienced. for the first time in the show, elphaba’s confidence isn’t just a façade; she believes in herself and her power, especially after glinda’s affirmations

[maddgarbagemonkey]

I Just Saw the Wicked 2019 Touring Cast and Boy Howdy, am I excited to Rant! (All Good things!)

There's a lot so buckle up your seatbealts!

So, first off, this was my first time seeing the show *cough cough* legally *cough* and I was amazed.

I instantly fell in love with the big metal dragon and nearly screamed when it moved and started blowing smoke out of its nose, as my Grandpa lied and told me, even though he's seen it 4 times, that the dragon was just decoration.

I love that the first solid 5 minutes of the show are just winged monkeys running around on the stage and looking concerned at one another before the opening number starts.

Glinda, played by Erin Mackey, was my WIFE.

During her first speaking part of "No one Mourns the Wicked," she got stuck on her big metal bubble and the ensemble had to crowd around her to help her get off, which, because coming off of the bubble was her cue to continue, led to a really long silence. But it kinda fit and showed that she hesitated to celebrate Elphaba's death so yeah! I just thought it was adorable and I admire how she was able to turn it into a cool window into her character!

When Elphaba, played by Mariand Torres, entered we all screamed for a solid 3 minutes and, after seeing her performance, she deserved a solid 8 more. I loved her so much!

I loved her early performance of Elphaba at Shiz because she played her as an angry little bean that snapped at everyone and everything instead of just shy and quiet and it worked so well, especially with how overprotective she was of Nyssa.

A girl literally faints upon seeing Elphaba and I can relate cause she was SO PRETTY!

Mariand's "Wizard and I" was so powerful and emotional at the same time I just wanted to pick her up and keep her! <3

THE 👏 GLINDA 👏 AND 👏 ELPHABA👏 HEIGHT👏 DIFFERENCE!

Usually you see Elphaba portrayed as tall while Glinda is shorter but, because Mariand was a tiny angel and Erin was a tall goddess who literally towered over Fierro without heels, it was quite the opposite and I l o v e d every second of "What is this Feeling" because of it.

I would die for tiny little ball of angry Elphaba and Tall, regal, princess Glinda holding her back from fighting everyone who dares look at them funny and you can pry them out of my cold dead hands.

Mariand did the thing where she mimicked Glinda for the "Your Voice" line and made it extra squeaky and I died.

She also, whenever Glinda had her back turned, copied her with a stupid little kicking dance and tossed her hair way too frantically and I fell in love.

For the "boo", Elphaba had to look directly up and jump at Glinda because she was so short and I squealed

Oh my God. C U R T. H A N S E N. This man was in Big Time Rush and I can not picture Fierro's entrance without the theme song ever again. (Bruh, Chill)

His choreo also had some "not-so-subtle" scarecrow like poses and taps.

Dude, he played him as such a snotty little twink and I loved it! He almost knocked down the statue in the center like eight times during "Dancing Through Life!"

His mic also made him sound like he was under water for a total of one (1) line and I snorted.

Nyssa, (sorry Mili Diaz, you were incredible and I love you,) Please exit my server.

Glinda made at least 16 Tik Tok references and I know, it's not towards the app because duh, but I'm still very conflicted.

Elphaba was S O mad at the scene with Dr. Dillamond I was so proud and in love!

E L P H A B A ' S D A N C E!

It was so good and pure and when Glinda joined she made it look so graceful!

And Elphaba looked very doubtful at first but then she looked around at everyone doing her dance and back at Glinda and she had the biggest smile on her face and tears in her eyes because she was accepted for something and it was beautiful!

Only Boc's mic was really working at this part so the "Let's DAAAANCE" reverberated deeply into my soul and stayed there for a really long time.

Popular was superb and I literally cried.

Literally.

When Erin got out of breath, she fell on the floor and just layed there for 16 counts breathing really heavily into the mic. Pure Poetry

Glinda suffocated Elphaba with hugs to her throat and swung her around like a rag doll while she just glared angry and helpless.

During "Don't Make me laugh" Glinda pushed her hand into Elphaba's face and gently and slowly set her back on her bed and if that ain't the biggest mood.

So many kicks and giggles I LOVE ERIN MACKEY!

When Glinda fell into Elphaba's arms crying after Fierro ran away at the train scene she took up half of her body and I just needed to write that out.

The egg-like Emerald City suits without arms that extended their necks and twirled them like lassos. Need I say more?

Elphaba's teary smile at "Finally, no one's looking or staring at me!" And then Glinda takes off her glasses and grabs her hand saying that she looked as beautiful as an emerald and... A C K

Upon meeting the scary robo wizard, Glinda got scared and tried to hide her 5'9 body behind little 5'1 Elphie and she looked so protective and ready to throw down I loved it!

Monkeys. Monkeys. Monkeys.

"Let her go! It's not her that you want! Its ME!" She sounded so powerful and angry I would die for her.

The part where Elphaba's begging Glinda to go with her but she's too focused on the fact that she's shaking and ties that spooky cape around her shoulders.

Mariand's "Defying Gravity" was so strong and beautiful with all of her God-tier belts and riffs I could not stop smiling and when she finally flies I yelped because you always hear about how cool it is and looks but then you really S E E it and it's beyond words! I had to do nothing and breathe for a second afterwards to find my bearings!

I loved Erin's "Thank Goodness" a lot. She poured a lot of emotion and beautiful vocals into it and just... god, she's gorgeous!

At the part where Elphaba appeared in the closet in Nyssa's office and the mirror became see through I heard a kid behind me exclaim "Zoo Wee Mama" and I won't be the same.

I don't remember Nyssa being so horrible but... *shrug* She gets it from her Dad I guess.

I love that Boc's reaction to finding out Nyssa can walk is just, "oh, good! Now you can work on this whole walking thing and get tf away from me! This worked out perfectly!" Same, boi.

I loved! LOVED! Nyssa Rose's song with a passion and the way her words get all twisted and angry literally talking about how she's going to rip Boc's heart out for leaving her and it gave me a good amount of spooks.

"Don't say I'm beautiful. You don't need to lie to me." B A B Y

"My Family has a Castle! No one lives there or will see us besides the guards!" "Where do you live, now?" "... The other castle." Oh sweetie.

Glinda, you deserve so much more than scarecrow boy and I would die for you!

Elphaba's voice drops at least 8 octaves during her line in "As long as Your Mine" The "For the first time I feel...

Wicked

I have never been more physically and emotionally attracted to a green lady Other than Princess Fiona

Also, there was so much smoke during that song that I could hear some Orchestra members cough.

During that scene with Elphaba's and Glinda's argument at Nyssa's "Funeral", while preparing to fight Glinda twirls her wand and strikes at Elphie like she came out of the Karate Kid.

Elphaba's witch laugh after Glinda slaps her followed by the most serious "Feel Better?"

Both Fierro and Glinda yell at Elphaba to leave before she gets hurt and I feel things because of that.

While Fierro is fake/real threatening Glinda with a gun, she just tearfully shakes her head in a silent plea and he INSTANTLY drops his gun. I love 'em

The way Glinda's "Fierro" melts into Elphaba's "FIERRROOO!" Love.

"No Good Deed" will always be my favorite song. ITS SO GOOD! Mariand's voice was incredible and her riffs and belts added so much!

During Elphaba's little "let all of OZ be agreed I'm wicked through and through," she makes her voice all scary and raspy, but it melts back into her own voice and beautiful despair at "since I can not succeed, Fierro saving you!"

NO GOOD DEED! 10/10 LOTSA SMOKE

March of the Witch hunters always has and will give me chills. Nothing more to say. Just one good bop.

This is the part where I cry too much.

"For Good" was gorgeous and I cried. A lot. A lot.

Elphaba kisses Glinda's hands and wipes her tears away.

Glinda runs her hands across and straightens Elphaba's hat and OH MY GOD!

It hurts how frantically Elphaba hides Glinda to protect her! Side note, I would also die for Chistery.

At their final moments together, Elphaba blows Glinda a kiss and then proceeds to get "murdered" in a really cool way by Dorthy.

Glinda's "Elphie!?" Is so tragic and panicked I was struggling to make it through, and then she grabbed her hat and cried into it and I was long gone.

Fierro adopts spooky Scarecrow movements at the end which I think is really cool and he also mimics Elphaba's "Don't lie to me!" Line.

Before Elphaba leaves, she becomes entranced by Glinda's beautiful singing, like she's thinking of telling her she's okay, but then she turns around and walks through the door with Fierro.

The last thing we see of Elphaba is her wearing her signature hat and walking into dust with Fierro. The last thing we see of Glinda is her sobbing into Elphaba's book in her bubble.

In conclusion, IM NOT OKAY!

Nah, Fam! But seriously! Mariand and Erin's vocals and performances were to die for! It succeeded my wildest expectations! I had so much fun and would 100% recommend seeing the show if you haven't seen it or want to see it a 19th time. Both are just as valid. :)

[ambitionsource]

S1 Re-watch - Natalia's Take [1.01]

Fav scene: Lucas setting off the sprinklers during the cafeteria performance, first cause I love chaotic bitch Lucas and second, because Farkle’s reaction was such a diva moment… I also really liked how they’re both shown to be super dramatic but in very different ways.

Fav performance: I have to say Changes is my fav from the ep., you guys had me at first song. Not only is it such a lovely song, it really goes with the whole theme of the season, it was the perfect song to open this amazing show.

Fav character: ZAY BABINEAUX BABY!!! His kind personality really shines, and I love the beginning of the zr friendship, Zay shows us why he was voted ‘most popular’, he’s a style icon and clearly the MVP of that school and That’s That On That.

Fav line: I can’t decide between these two: “This bitch knows I claimed rights to all of the songs in the Elphaba song canon. Unbelievable.” “So exciting to see we’ve got another unassuming chorus member.” The first one because we love a diva and the second one because OH BOY did he end up eating his words.

Underrated moment: I can’t believe my brain didn’t register the dumbass energy of Asher and Dave throwing food at Dyl’s mouth, I love my dumb babies 💕

Something I missed: My rl heart was so happy during the performance of “Your Song” cause… he couldn’t stop himself from focusing on her… he’s so completely fixated on her voice and just HER. It literally killed me, thanks!

First impression vs re-read: There's some really clear pieces of important info that just went completely over my head the first time around and it's just lovely to go back and notice the hidden meaning behind everything. I've told you this before but I really just thought this would be a fun ride, I had no idea how deep it was going to get. Even so this ep. is such a fun one to read cause it feels so *new*, you know ? I can feel the same hype building in me as when I first read it.

--

Ugh NAT thank you for your kind words!! I’m so glad that you highlighted that Lucas is just as dramatic as the divas because... yeah he really fucking is FDJSKLGJDLKGD and it’s HILARIOUS. But also Zay... Dasher... Dave... yeah my heart truly uwus for all of them. Legends, scholars,,,

It’s so interesting to look at me trying to write RL so early in the show, because it was truly like... how can I show that Lucas is a feral cat and not interested in anything and yet... is just MAYBE intrigued... and that definitely came through in him paying attention to her even when he maybe rather wouldn’t be (or just in general -- when she firsts walks into the auditorium there’s also a note about him watching her in amusement and it’s supposed to kind of feel like... should we be worried about him??? But as we know... no lmao).

[tarisilmarwen]

What's YOUR definition of "forced"?

Essentially, not given proper narrative setup, not being established well, or not given enough narrative justification.  A ship being canon in and of itself–even if it’s obvious–is not forced.  (Also once a ship is together writers can overfocus on it to the point where audiences feel like it’s being crammed into them but this is usually direct overcompensation for one of the first three things.  Writers who’ve done their setup right are a lot more confident and comfortable and make the couple feel much more natural once they’re together.)

For example!  A while back I read–and ranted about–this YA mermaid book that took a sudden left turn into Bullshit Romance Dramaville.  The story started off with the protagonist already in an established relationship.  And it was cute, and he was pretty sweet, and they got along fine but she just didn’t really feel like she was in love with him.  This plot detail was not relevant until the literal last quarter of the book when right the frick outta left field here comes this asshole who she–of course–falls head over heels in love with and is ready to marry after like three months but has to say goodbye to and never see again because he’s a merman and her cranky mer-grandpa says no because ~reasons~.  (To add insult to injury she breaks up with cute established boyfriend because she’s too heartbroken over her ~true love~.  Gag.)

Or another book I read, Prospero’s Children.  (Which quite frankly the narrative was already a mess but this was just the icing on top of the shitcake.)  This one had slightly more justification since he did kinda rescue her from an Atlantian prison but once again he only turned up in the literal last act of the book, she barely knew him before she slept with him–twice–and she was entirely too torn up about his ass after being his girlfriend for like, two days.  Three if we’re generous.

For some less obscure examples… let’s start with Makorra (Legend of Korra).  Now, this one was set up and established just fine.  But the execution and justification was just… terrible.  The Love Triangle From Hell ate up entirely too much of Mako’s supposed affections for Korra in that after mooning over Asami, dating Asami, denying his feelings for Korra for Asami, comforting and supporting Asami, and being a dick to Korra accusing her of being jealous of Asami, he all of a sudden as soon as Korra gets herself into a little bit of trouble decides “Korra I love yooooooouuuu!” and proceeds to spend the rest of the season obliviously mooning over Korra.  It was jarring, it had not been given proper foreshadowing, and it was just not believable.  (And this is all coming from someone who shipped it, mind you.)

Or take Fiyero/Elphaba from the Wicked musical.  (Musicals in general seem to have this problem a lot.  Replace any actual quality interaction and setup with a dramatic love ballad talking about their feelings and voila!)  She doesn’t think all that much of him, he doesn’t even really notice her until she lets her hair down, but they free a lion cub together, touch hands once and APPARENTLY INSTANTLY like each other enough to be sad they’re not together, immediately cue Elphaba’s despondent “He loves her not me, waah!” song.  This could have been fixed with literally one scene inserted inserted in-between their “Oh wait.” realization and Elphaba’s “I’m Not That Girl”, indicating that some time had passed and the incident is still running through their heads and making them uncertain.

Or take Hook/Emma from Once Upon A Time.  (Sorry Gidge.)  While it had been established–much to my personal displeasure–that Hook was a bit of a flirt and a ladies man and may have had a bit of a fancy for Emma she was completely Do Not Want towards him and he was still kind of majorly hung up over his dead previous love, for whom he swore a two hundred year quest for revenge against her killer.  He also only marginally stopped being a villainous dickbag in the Season Two finale, implied out of guilt for abandoning/selling out said previous love’s son.  Season Three rolls around and all of that is promptly forgotten as Hook goes from a useless ineffective dickbag villain to a useless ineffective lovesick puppy who luuuuuuuurves Emma.  The showrunners then proceeded to make the overexposure mistake by dedicating a disproportionate crapton of publicity to Hook in an effort to sell him as a hot romantic lead.  Like with Prospero’s Children this was not the worst or most grievous mistake but by god was it the one I hated the most.  (I ragequit the show as soon as they first kissed.)

Now, forcing or artificially prolonging the unresolved part of a couple’s Unresolved Romantic Tension is another problem entirely.  Touching base with the characters’ feelings and relationship constantly but never actually putting out and letting them be together (or in the worst cases outright sabotaging them) can be very annoying and frustrating but it is not the same thing as “forcing” the romance.  (If anything it’s forcing the lack of romance.)

With RobStar, since this whole discussion started with them, outside of the specific “filler” episodes dedicated to exploring their relationship (and really the show was like 80% filler, the story arc episodes were the odd ones out) they were still very clearly shown to be mutually affectionate best friends who enjoyed each other’s company and mutually cared about each other a lot.  That it was narratively obvious that they also liked each other doesn’t make their relationship forced it means… that they were narratively obvious and very clearly what the writers were going for.  Like, I’m sorry, but the writers don’t owe you ambiguity and subtlety; if they want to shiptease a particular romance and tell you, “Hey these two are a thing.” their only obligation is to not screw it up.  RobStar had plenty of setup and justification for their feelings.  The only thing that can be considered marginally forced about them was perhaps the fact that they arguably earned the right to get together during the show’s run instead of being hamstrung along season after season because they weren’t allowed to because the writers didn’t want to do it.  But again, that’s really more of an overeagerness to enforce the Status Quo and keep the characters out of an explicit romance rather than forcing them together into a romance when they haven’t earned or justified it, which I remind you is a completely separate issue.

Tl:dr– A forced romance is too much, too quickly, too soon, with not enough effort, supposed to be played seriously.

About the only time it works is when it’s done on purpose for the lolz, with the humor deriving from other characters’ reactions to it.  (I.e. Captain America kissing Sharon, to the approval of Bucky and Sam, or Ant-Man Hank Pym’s WTF reaction to catching Scott make out with his daughter.)

[performingartsmillie]

Theatre Review of the West End production ‘Wicked’

Introduction:

Wednesday 1st February 2017 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, I went to see the production of Wicked.

Wicked has been running in the West End since September 27th 2006, and it is still currently running in 2017. Showing an impressive amount of 4,291 shows in total.

Wicked is based in a fictional place called the Land of Oz, including places such as the City of Emeralds. There isn’t a set time period for this production however, due to the original story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz being based in the 1900’s, it is probably more likely for the production to be set in the 1900’s. As mentioned before, Wicked is based on the famous novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as well as the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Displaying the early story of how the Witch became the Wicked Witch of the West.

 Main body:

Elphaba was the Wicked Witch of the West. Her costumes consisted of dull and dark colours. Throughout the whole performance, as the Witch, Elphaba had to wear a green body suit under all her costumes to ensure that her skin will be green throughout the whole of the production. When she first came onto the stage she had to wear a school uniform, the extras wore the same type of uniform (blue and white stripes), while Elphaba wore a dark green blazer, skirt/dress and hat. As the production goes on I saw the change in Elphaba’s costumes, as she got given a hat as a present, the colours getting darker and eventually wearing a black gown, cape and hat.

Glinda is the Good Witch, her image is a lot more colourful than Elphaba’s and stands out a lot more than the rest of the cast as she is presented in pretty dresses and colours. In the first scene, Glinda is presented in a beautiful, puffy light blue gown. Presenting to the audience that she has quite a high position, compare to others, in munchkinland. It’s clear that Glinda and Elphaba are perfect contrasts of one another.

Elphaba, is the antagonist of the production. Meaning she is in fact the villain of the play. Due to Elphaba looking different she didn’t really have lots of friends and only seemed to have one person to keep her company, which was her sister. However, Elphaba always looked after her sister and spent lots of time with her so, she was the only person that could be her friend. When they both started the school, her sister shared a room with Madame Morrible (the headmistress) leaving Elphaba on her own. That was until Glinda accidently volunteered to share a room with Elphaba (which was clearly something she didn’t want to do). Once Glinda and Elphaba started sharing room, Elphaba started embracing herself a bit more and start being confident, which turned out that she was turning a little more evil. As at the beginning Elphaba could be seen as quite awkward and unsure of herself. While Glinda, being a bubbly, fun, quite high pitched sounding, popular girl that she is, helped Elphaba to come out her shell a bit more. Glinda was seen as, in my eyes, as the complete opposite of Elphaba as she was very outgoing, confident and very social towards everyone. Glinda’s mannerism is very hyper-active, as she uses big gestures while moving around on stage and has a cheesy smile on her face the majority of the time. Comparing that to Elphaba, she is more to herself. Having a stern look on her face towards the other characters and going around stage with more strict movements (meaning she wasn’t as bubbly as Glinda). When it comes to props they used, Glinda had more petite and girly objects that related to beauty, using props consisting of; small handbags, mirrors and not having anything educational. While, Elphaba had more educational props such as books. However, she would use props such as a broom, to prove that she is able to produce spells (hence the scene with Elphaba singing ‘Defying Gravity’).

Before the production started and the intervals, there was a map of the Land of Oz. once the curtain went up we are welcomed with a backdrop of a huge clock with dancer at the front. As the story was mainly set centre stage the only set that changed majorly was the backdrop and any necessary props. The backdrop would represent different times and places. For example, there is a scene when Fiyro (the handsome young man) enters the stage for the first time and, from what I saw, I believe it was after school hours and close to the evening as the backdrop displayed a pink sunset. Above the stage there was a stage laid out that was connected to the wings. The use of levels were used clearly, as there was a bridge brought down and set a bit higher than the main stage. This stage allowed the audience to see everyone’s reactions for example; there was a scene when Elphaba was on the main stage while Glinda and Fiyro were running across the bridge in a jolly way. While seeing them run across the screen I was able to see Elphaba’s reaction to what she saw. During the same scene, there were animations of rain pouring down, this adding more of a sympathetic to Elphaba, as you could say she gets quite jealous about Glinda and Fyro. When the audience first got introduced to Emerald City, the whole stage had the colour of green. With the back drop being green, the lights shining a bright green, while everyone was wearing green, displaying that Elphaba is where she belongs.  

Willemijn Verkaik was playing the role of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Suzie Mathers was playing Glinda, the Good Witch.

I think these two actresses were perfect for these roles because of how powerful their voices are when singing and speaking in general. They would’ve both gone through lots and lots of training before being able to start their careers in musical theatre. Before Willemijn Verkaik was in musical theatre, she was in fact in different pop bands for over 10 years. Her first role in a musical theatre production was a performance in the Dutch production of Elisabeth. She has also been in productions such as; We Will Rock You and The Three Musketeers.

While Suzie Mathers graduated with a degree in music theatre in 2007. Resulting in her being able to perform tours of the famous Mama Mia and of course Wicked. Making both actresses a perfect fit for each given role, as like I have said before, they have such amazing and powerful voices, going through years and years of voice practice.

The influences of this production was a fictional tale, making it non-naturalistic. However, if they have to work from a practitioner, it would have to be Stanislavski. This is due to the idea of the actors using the ‘Seven Step Method’ and the actors going into the character shoes. So they can get a feel of how the character would act and react towards necessary situations. Due to the production being non-naturalistic, it could be argued that it was a bit harder for the actors to be involved in their characters, as it these characters would be doing things out of the ordinary, due to the production being based on magic and other non-naturalistic things.

 Conclusion:

Overall, I thought that this musical was amazing, one key part of the musical that I loved was when Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba) and Suzie Mathers (Glinda) sung ‘Defying Gravity’. This was because it was sung with so much passion and power, that it left me speechless. There were so many long notes Willemijn Verkaik had to hold, it showed that she had amazing breath control and projection. The lights added to the atmosphere, as they were so bright that you couldn’t really forget the image. That is a key moment that has replayed in my head ever since watching this musical.

When it comes to skills and attributes, all actors in the production would need a lot of self-discipline and perfect punctuality and attendance. Making sure they are 100% focused during all rehearsals and during shows. As well as all these, it’s best for every actor to be able to work well with everyone else and be very well communicated between one another so everything can go smoothly.

When it comes to musicals, vocal skills are the most important skill to have. Need to be able to use the diaphragm and know the right timing, pitch and have good breath control. Before every performance I can imagine that each actor goes through a particular amount of vocal and breathing exercises to ensure that their diaphragms are nicely warmed up and their vocals will not strain throughout the performance (as this could harm them). They would have to do a scale to make sure it is fine for them to reach each note without hurting any parts of their vocals.