Broadway Tour of "Wicked" at the Orpheum Theatre

No matter how many times I see Wicked (seven and counting), it's always a thrill. Those familiar and iconic moments (Glinda descending in a bubble, Elphaba ascending on her broomstick declaring "You'll never bring me down," the flying monkeys) still have power. At this point, the fourth longest currently running Broadway show (since 2003), that has been touring the world almost as long, is a machine that runs like clockwork. But this incredible touring cast, despite how many times they may have played these roles and sung these songs, find a way to make it feel fresh, exciting, and still surprising. Oz will stay in Minneapolis for a month, and whether you've never seen it (who are you?) or have seen it a dozen times, it's always a great time to experience the spectacle, the thrill, the iconic score, and the heart-warming story of female friendship and standing up for what's right. Click here for info and tickets, including info about student/educator rush tickets.

"Wicked" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

OK people, you don't need me to tell you how incredible Wicked is. The 2004 multiple Tony winner is currently the 9th longest running musical on Broadway (closing in on #8 pretty quickly), and I'm not even going to try to guess how many millions of people have seen it or how many billions of dollars it has grossed. It's a smash hit blockbuster by all accounts, but one that deserves every ounce of its success. No matter how many time I've seen it (six, if you're counting), it never fails to thrill and enchant me with it's larger than life set and costumes, endlessly singable score, and most of all, its beautiful message of friendship and standing up for what's right. So I'm not going to describe the show to you (I've done that twice before, here and here), or tell why you should see it while it's in Minneapolis for a month, I'll just note a few things that struck me about seeing this particular production of the phenomenon known as Wicked at this particular time.

"Wicked" at the Orpheum Theatre

Wicked is not just a musical, it's an international phenomenon. Ten years after it opened on Broadway, it continues to sell out both on Broadway and on tour, and is number 11 (and climbing) on the list of longest running Broadway musicals. It has spectacular sets, fantastical costumes, and a huge moving dragon above the stage. But as many musicals have demonstrated, a big flashy production does not make for a great musical. The truly wonderful thing about Wicked is that in addition to all of the hoopla, it's a really great piece of theater. The Stephen Schwartz score is fantastic, with clever lyrics and endlessly singable tunes, the story is inspirational, and the characters are relatable; it's both showy and satisfying. I've seen it four times now, and listened to the score hundreds of times, and it never fails to move me. Several moments in the show are guaranteed to give me chills and bring tears to my eyes (namely, when Elphaba first takes flight in "Defying Gravity," and when she and Glinda sing about their friendship in "For Good"). Whether it's your first time seeing it or your 100th, Wicked is an unforgettable experience. In short, it's a nearly perfect musical.

The National Tour of Wicked is stopping at the beautiful and historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis for a six-week run through the end of October. In case you've been living under a musical theater rock for the last ten years, here's a brief plot summary. Wicked is based on the book of the same name by Gregory Maguire, which is a re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. In this new mythology, before Dorothy and her house land in Oz, Glinda the good witch and Elphaba the wicked witch are two young women who find themselves roommates at school and become unlikely friends and allies. All is not right in the land of Oz; human-like Animals are seeing their rights and voices taken away. Elphaba discovers that the Wizard is behind all of this, and becomes a fugitive as she works against him to free the Animals. Glinda is seemingly on the Wizard's side, but the two never lose their connection, despite both loving the same man. The romance is compelling but it is refreshingly not the focus of the show; Wicked is really about the friendship between these two very different women and each of them discovering who they are, and helping each other in that discovery ("Because I knew you, I have been changed for good"). Anyone who's ever felt like an outcast in any situation can relate to Elphaba; she's a wonderful inspiration, especially for girls to grow up as strong women ("I'm through accepting limits, 'cause someone says they're so. Some things I cannot change but 'til I try I'll never know"). Wicked explores the ideas of good and wicked ("are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?") and the fact that in real life (and sometimes in musicals) it's never as simple as good and wicked, there's a lot of room in between where most of us live. Like Fiyero, Wicked is much deeper than its beautiful exterior might imply.

Alison Luff and Jenn Gambatese as the
unlikely best friends

The original Broadway cast is a tough act to follow (including Idina Menzel, who won a Tony for playing Elphaba, Kristin Chenowith, Norbert Leo Butz, and Joel Grey), but this cast does a phenomenal job of living up to the standards they set. Alison Luff is the star of the show as Elphaba, with a powerful voice and a believable transition from green misfit to political-activist-slash-wicked-witch. Jenn Gambatese is perfectly Glinda-like, which is delightfully bubbly but with a bit more depth as she discovers that getting your dreams is a little more complicated than it seems. Curt Hansen (from the first national tour of Next to Normal) is an appealing Fiyero who understandably makes all the girls fall for him. A couple of TV stars shine on the stage. Guiding Light's Kim Zimmer is enthusiastically evil as Madame Morrible, and '80s game show host John Davidson (who still has that gorgeous head of hair, now turned white) is a charmer as the Wizard who isn't what he seems, providing much of the biting social commentary ("there are precious few at ease with moral ambiguities, so we act as though they don't exist"). Supporting them is a huge ensemble of talented singer/dancer/actors who embody everyone from the green-clad citizens of Oz to flying monkeys.

As I mentioned, the sets and costumes are incredible. From the school uniforms at dear old Shiz, to the black and white party outfits (men in skirts!), to the circus-like green-hued wardrobe in the Emerald City, the costumes (by Susan Hilferty, who won a Tony for her work) just keep getting better throughout the show. The more spectacular elements of the set (by Eugene Lee, another Tony-winner) include the aforementioned dragon (who doesn't really figure into the plot, but looks cool), a bubble transport device for Glinda, and the huge talking wizard head. A clockwork motif runs through many of the sets, as if you're in the inner workings of some huge machine.

Wicked features over the top sets and costumes, but it has a fantastic score and great story and characters to back it up. The production doesn't overwhelm the content, but enhances it. It's that rare musical in which all of the different artistic pieces come together to form a wholly satisfying theatrical experience. Unfortunately it's the most expensive theater ticket it town, which makes it inaccessible for some people. But if you can afford it, it's worth the money. (Or try your luck for $25 tickets in the daily lottery.) Unlike the first time it came to town seven years ago, it is not completely sold out, although weekend tickets are scarce. Visit Hennepin Theatre Trust's page to find more info about how to get your ticket to this wonderful world of Oz.

March Musical Madness!

Apparently there's some sort of sports tournament this month that's making everyone want to rank things in the form of brackets. I don't really get it, but when I saw this floating around the internet, I couldn't resist. 64 musicals are entered into this bracket, with many many one-on-one comparisons resulting in one musical theater winner. (Click on the bracket above to enlarge it.)

My method for filling this out was not to pick the "better" or "best" musical, because who am I to judge that? And with such diversity, from Oklahoma! to Book of Mormon, many comparisons are like apples to oranges. Instead, I chose the musicals that I enjoy the most, or that have meant the most to me, or that I see as important in musical theater history. I'm sure there are as many different results as there are people who fill this out. If this looks like fun to you, you can get a blank bracket here and fill it out yourself.

A few notes on some of the comparisons:

• Of the 64 musicals listed, there are 12 I have not seen on stage or screen (marked with a question mark). In those cases I chose the musical I have seen. I concede that those are uninformed decisions, and I may change my mind if and when I see those remaining 12.
• Anyone who knows me will not be surprised that RENT ended up as my ultimate winner. I'm not saying that RENT is the best musical ever written, but it's the one that's meant the most to me in my life, and continues to mean the most to me. When I first saw RENT on the Tonys in 1996 (where it won four awards, including best musical, book, and score), and then live on stage in 1997, I was fresh out of college, living on my own for the first time, going to grad school, with no car (literally "riding my bike midday past the three piece suits"), and it really struck a chord with me. I've seen it 13 times total, could sing the entire soundtrack, and will go see it any opportunity I get.
• Sound of Music ranked pretty high for me for mostly sentimental reasons. I've loved the movie since I was a kid, it was one of the two musicals for which I played in the pit orchestra in high school, and I studied abroad in Salzburg for a semester in college. Watching the movie is very nostalgic for me on many levels. But still, it lost out to...
• Wicked, which is one of those rare musicals that is both a huge success (it's been playing on Broadway for nine years and counting) and is actually really good. It's probably my favorite soundtrack to sing along with in my car.
• West Side Story is another of my favorite musical movies, but the reason it went all the way to the final battle is because of its place in musical theater history. Firstly, it's a collaboration of four giants in the music-theater-dance world - Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), Leonard Berstein (music), Jerome Robbins (choreography), and Arthur Laurents (director). The choreography is iconic and the music has become part of our popular culture. That's the reason it took out Book of Mormon (really unfair of Broadway.com to put them head to head in the first round), Next to Normal (which I think is one of the best musicals written in this century), and ...
• Hair. I love Hair, for itself and for its place in musical theater history. It's the first Broadway musical that reflected what was actually happening in the world right outside the theater. It may seem pretty safe today, but they were burning draft cards on stage in 1968, not to mention the drug use, nudity, and interracial relationships (shortly after the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia). And it's another one where the music crossed over from the musical theater world into pop culture.
• For someone who often complains about jukebox musicals, Jersey Boys ranked pretty high on my bracket. Partly it's because of lack of competition, but I also think it's the exception that proves the rule. The clever book tells the story of the real musicians and their rise to and fall from fame, instead of some silly made up story to fit awkwardly into the songs.

I could go on and on, but it's Survivor night, so I'll leave it at that. Please comment below if you agree or disagree about a particular match-up!

2014 Update:
Of the 12 musicals I hadn't seen last year, I have seen one of them since - Phantom of the Opera. And I would still rank Oklahoma above it. Although after seeing a magical production of The Music Man by Ten Thousand Things recently, I would rank it above Oklahoma.

2015 Update:
Of the 11 musicals I hadn't seen last year, I have seen two of them since - Oliver! and Pippin. (And I plan to see two more this year - Damn Yankees at the Ordway and Carousel at Bloomington Civic Theatre.) As much as I loved Pippin, no way I'm ranking it above Hair. Oliver! vs. Billy Elliot is a bit tougher, I might have to say Oliver! because of the many familiar songs. In fact I may have to rethink that whole section in light of BCT's delightful production of Guys and Dolls last year. This bracket might look a little different if I filled it out today.

2016 Update:
Here it is, March again, and my CBS soaps are preempted. Must mean it's time to update this bracket. As I mentioned last year, I have checked off two more of those original unknown twelve, Damn Yankees and Carousel. And even though I enjoyed them both, I've still got to give it to The Full Monty (so fun!) and Company (probably my favorite Sondheim). The bracket is still available (although I wish they'd update it with new entries - hello Hamilton!) if you want to play along!

Idina Menzel with the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall

Idina Menzel has had a finger in three of my favorite musical theater pies - she was in the original casts of my favorite musical RENT and the phenomenon that is Wicked, and she had a recurring role on Glee, aka a musical theater geek's TV dream come true! And she featured all three of them in her concert with the Minnesota Orchestra, led by conductor Sarah Hicks, as well as some classics and original compositions.

Idina captured the audience as soon as she walked onstage in her gorgeously draped purple dress, long loose dark hair, and bare feet (if there's one thing I admire more than a fabulous pair of shoes, it's bare feet!). She said she first performed in bare feet when she threw her back out lifting her 14-month old son Walker Nathaniel Diggs, and realized she could sing better that way. She was continually fidgeting with her dress because there was a pin left in it from the dry cleaners, which is just one example of how real and normal she was up there on stage. There was a sign language interpreter on the side of the stage that she was continually fascinated with. Every time she said an interesting word, like bitch or breast pump (did I mention she was real and relaxed?), she'd look over to see how he translated it. It was a running joke throughout the evening.

In addition to entertaining the audience with stories about her career and growing up on Long Island, she of course sang many familiar songs. Idina won a Tony in 2004 for her fearless portrayal of Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, in Wicked. The first Wicked song she sang was my theme song, "I'm Not that Girl," and later in the evening she sang Elphie's signature song, "Defying Gravity." It was a thrill to her her do it live after hearing it so many many times on the soundtrack. Towards the end of the concert she did her thank yous, and then put her mic down, waiting for silence. I just knew she was going to sing something "unplugged," which is always my favorite moment of any concert. When the words came out of her mouth and filled Orchestra Hall, they brought instant tears to my eyes.

It well may be that we may never meet again
In this lifetime so let me say before we part
So much of me is made from what I learned from you
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine, by being my friends!

It was her personal thank you to the audience, and the second time I teared up that evening; the first was when she sang a gorgeous rendition of "No Day but Today" from RENT. Idina was nominated for her first Tony in 1996 for her portrayal of Maureen. She spoke about how the show changed her life in many ways, not the least of which was dealing with the death of creator Jonathan Larson the night before the show opened. She said that at a time when all the success and acclaim and attention could have gone to their heads, it was really all about communicating Jonathan's music and message to the world, because he no longer could. No day but today. Idina had the audience sing the refrain back to her, which was magical.

There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today.

A few years ago Idina sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" for Barbra Streisand when she was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, and told a funny story about her interaction with Ms. Streisand at the after party. She sang "Funny Girl" for us (which she also did on Glee), followed by "Don't Rain on My Parade." If there really is going to be Funny Girl revival on Broadway, I vote for Idina playing the role of Fanny Brice rather than Lea Michele. I love Lea, but she already has a steady gig and I'd really love to see Idina back on Broadway.

Idina has a couple of solo recording available, in addition to the cast recordings of RENT and Wicked. I just downloaded a 6-song EP that includes live versions of "Defying Gravity" and "No Day but Today," as well the original song "Gorgeous" which she sang at the concert. She also did a song that she wrote for her son with her husband, actor Taye Diggs (who was also in the original cast of RENT and currently appears on ABC's Private Practice). It sounds like they have a lot of fun singing to Walker around the house. Oh to be a fly on that wall!

Idina talked about her role on Glee, and her initial horror at being asked to play the mother of a 24-year-old! But she had just had a baby and was happy to be working again. When she read the script and saw that the reunion song between her character and her daughter was Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," she was a little confused. But someone it all worked! She sang the song for us with full orchestra accompaniment.

Idina's encore song was "Tomorrow" from Annie, which was a song her parents used to ask her to sing when she was a little girl. She sang it for her dad, who was in the audience. And with that, she was back on a plane to Los Angeles. I was so happy to spend 90 minutes with someone who's had such a huge role in many of the musicals I love. I hope to see her again someday, perhaps on a Broadway stage!

"Witches' Night Off," A Cabaret by the Cast of Wicked

Last night I attended a concert called Witches' Night Off, a cabaret performance by the touring cast of Wicked to raise money for the Minnesota AIDS Project. As I mentioned in my Wicked review, this cast is hugely talented, so it was fun to see them all have their chance to shine. I recognized some people from the show, but they look quite different without their crazy fabulous Oz costumes and hair. About a dozen or so cast members took part in the show. None of the principals were there (I'm sure they use their day off to rest their voices), with the exception of Rachel Potter, Glinda's understudy who I saw perform on Sunday. Performances ranged from showtunes (including a duet of "Take Me or Leave Me" from RENT) to pop songs to dance numbers, and what beautiful dancers they are!

The concert was held at the Bolt Underground in Minneapolis - a bar is not my favorite type of venue. It was loud and crowded and seating was limited. In retrospect I wish I had sprung for the $50 VIP seats; it would have been well worth it and the money goes to a good cause. Instead I was standing in the back craning my neck and getting jostled by the crowd. But it thinned out as the show went on and I found a seat. They auctioned off several cool items from the show, including Glinda's purse! Another auction item was the opportunity to be painted green and sing "Defying Gravity" with the cast. If only I had known it included the singing part I might have gone for it! I would have made a prettier Elphaba than the man who won. ;) But I must admit he did a pretty good job with the song. Unfortunately the auction parts dragged on and only made me wish I could fast-forward to the performances!

All in all it was a fun night and a great opportunity to watch this cast strut their stuff in a way they can't as part of the ensemble. I'm tempted to go see Wicked one more time before it leaves town; who knows when it will be back again!

"Wicked" at the Orpheum Theatre

Wicked! It’s one of my all time favorites, even though this is only the third time I’ve seen it. I’ve loved the soundtrack since I saw the show for the first time on tour in 2006, and haven’t been able to stop listening to it (and singing along) since! For those of you who don’t know, Wicked is based on the book of the same name by Gregory Maguire, which is a retelling of the story of the witches in The Wizard of Oz. But that’s really only a starting point; it’s an entirely new creation. Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) and Winnie Holzman (book) took this dark and complicated story and made it lighter and simpler, without losing the weight of the story. Both are truly remarkable transformations, as Maguire’s book has little resemblance to L. Frank Baum’s world of Oz, and the musical took the book and went in an entirely new direction. It’s really one of the most perfect musicals, it has everything!

Seeing Wicked live is an entirely different experience than listening to the soundtrack. It’s a true spectacle (in a good way). The set is amazing, complete with a dragon hanging over the audience, a huge mechanical wizard head, flying monkeys, and lots of moving pieces and gears. The costumes are outrageously gorgeous. From the green and white striped school uniforms of Shiz, to the black and white dance clothes, and my favorite, the amazing green dresses of the Emerald City! And the hair is just crazy. But the reason this entire spectacle works is that there’s great substance behind it. As I mentioned, the music is rich and beautiful and fun. But it’s really the story that holds it all together. Wicked is not just about the good witch and the bad witch; it’s about friendship, finding where you fit in, and standing up for what you believe in, no matter what anyone tells you. And that’s something I think everyone can relate to. I certainly can; Elphaba is close to my heart – I consider “I’m Not That Girl” my theme song. ;)

This touring cast is extremely talented. Both Vicki Noon as Elphaba and Rachel Potter as Glinda (the understudy), have the vocal chops required for these two roles. Vicki stopped the show on several occasions: “The Wizard and I” and especially “Defying Gravity.” TV and movie vet Don Amendolia made for a charming wizard. Behind them was a talented ensemble of dancers and singers. Lucky for me I get to see this cast again tomorrow night! They’re performing in a cabaret called "Witches Night Off" to raise money for the Minnesota AIDS Project.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the show (did I mention the show also features some biting social commentary?):

“The truth has nothing to do with facts and reason. The truth is what people agree on. Where I’m from we believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. We call it history.”