Why is Wicked that popular?- Page 3

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 7:09pm

A familiar backstory. A live story. Popular music. I am glad it got my kids hooked on theatre

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 7:12pm

[A random question: were villain backstory properties really popular before WICKED, and might it have contributed to their current popularity? ]

Frank Wildhorn's Dracula (2001 opened regionally, opened on Broadway in 2004) gave a romantic angle to Dracula with a view to making him more sympathetic, but Wicked seems to be the first one to do a backstory and make the villain a heroic protagonist and opposed to a villain-protagonist. I'm not sure about Jekyll and Hyde who's both a villain-protagonist and a heroic protagonist, but that was kind of built into the story, not really a revamp of the original story. If there are earlier examples I'd love to know about them.

There was a French Canadian Dracula musical where Dracula was given a backstory and was a villain-protagonist but even more sympathetic, which was in 2006. It doesn't seem to have much influence from Wicked though.
Team Starkid in Chicago made a parody of Aladdin which was an homage to Wicked.
And we have the new Maleficent movie coming out which may have her be a protagonist, whether heroic or not or to what extent remains to be seen.

So Wicked seems to be the pioneer, and probably has contributed to popularizing villains being transformed into heroes or anti-heroes.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 7:15pm

Haterobics, the set does indeed do things throughout the course of the production. The moving lights you're referring to are the eyes on the mechanical dragon that sits on top of the stage, which lights up and moves around a few times in the show.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 7:17pm

"It's been a long time since I saw the show, but doesn't the set come to life during to the overture, and the eyes light up and look around... and then it never does anything again during the show?"

So are you suggesting that the requirement of a good set design be that every piece of the set is used multiple times? There are a lot of shows that have had major set pieces we only saw once, Wicked is no exception.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 7:27pm

But it does seem kind of bizarre. It's often thrilling when things like that do even more as the show goes on. But that stuff just sits there.

[Pauly3]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 7:31pm

Shows like Wicked, having ridiculous long-term success at the box office, happen pretty infrequently. While I like a lot of other “touristy” shows, I didn’t particularly like Wicked. For me, Phantom of the Opera is what I got dragged to that kick-started my interest in theatre. I was awe-struck by what could be performed live on a stage, night after night, and how much the music impacted me. From there, my interest grew relatively slowly but ultimately grew to such interest I joined a Broadway user forum. I have since taken interest in a great many shows, albeit mostly “non-sophisticated” shows. But I have also sought out others and have gained appreciation for many I thought stood no chance of being remotely appealing – at least so I thought in my younger days. So I say good for Wicked. That show found a huge audience, and I’m sure like me other newbies became fans of all sorts of theatre – both regionally and on Broadway.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 11:21pm

"So are you suggesting that the requirement of a good set design be that every piece of the set is used multiple times?"

No, my point was it seemingly had nothing to do with the story/show, as I recall it.

I guess I always thought the dragon at the beginning was some sort of foreshadowing like when they raise the chandelier at the beginning of Phantom, like it will come into play later, but then it's just like... look, it's a dragon, and then I can't remember it playing any major role beyond that.

I don't think the set having something to do with the show is a big ask.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 4/30/14 at 11:46pm

The dragon is pretty much irrelevant. It's a reference to a slightly more significant clock from the book, which I think they name drop once in the show, but they cut the part with the clock of the time dragon out of the musical. I honestly cannot even remember much about what it did in the book, except for a bizarre puppet show. I don't think that portion would have fit in with the revamp of the story, but I guess they liked the idea of a clock and a dragon, so it became imbedded in the designs rather than the story.

Updated On: 5/1/14 at 11:46 PM

[Karen Cartwright]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 12:01am

I take a yearly trip to New York with the same group of girlfriends - and every year, the same five girls (of the nine) always have to see "Wicked", regardless of how many times they've seen it touring through our state.

The only time I've convinced them otherwise was "Newsies".

I appreciate "Wicked" for what it is - a spectacle that will be an immensely enjoyable experience for a novice theater-goer. I have no ill-will towards long-running, money-making shows like "Wicked", "Lion King", "Jersey Boys" and "Book of Mormon". Most of the time, I feel like I get a better theater experience at a new show surrounded by real theater lovers than what you get when something has mass popularity like "Wicked".

[avyrocks]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 12:05am

"Most of the time, I feel like I get a better theater experience at a new show surrounded by real theater lovers than what you get when something has mass popularity like "Wicked"."

Same here!

[Karen Cartwright]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 12:12am

A little bit more - and I think it's mostly because for the average theater-goer, this season is "lackluster". The gals and I usually travel together in the summer (they're educators, so it's the easiest) - but there was nothing that the collective wanted to see, so we're postponing until holiday season.

Me? I'm lucky enough to visit multiple times a year, so I try to see as many of the Tony nominees as I can. I have tickets to "All the Way", "Lady Day", "Of Mice and Men", "If/Then" and "Aladdin" and holes in my trip to fit in at least three more (currently slotted for "Gentleman's", "After Midnight" and either "Bullets" or "Beautiful").

The ONLY shows I could slightly convince the girls on were "Aladdin" and "Lady Day", and only "Lady Day" because they adore Audra from her time on 'Private Practice'.

[Pasdechat]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 1:26am

Mr Nowack, that thing with the dragon was exactly what bothered me: why put it there if it doesn't do anything for the story? Even the clock itself didn't do anything after the ouverture, as far as I recall, but I might be wrong on that. overall the set just seemed a bit like a circus extravaganza to me for the solid parts that did not connect with the show, while the different scene settings were, well, rather blunt (think the school blackboard scene vs the same in Matilda). But tastes are different and the set was just one point in my list...

But to all the Wicked lovers: I think it's great for any show to have a great fan base that will keep the theatre scene going with fresh audience. So that's 10 points for Wicked. I see the show's merits, but think some strong points applied to it are not solely made by the show as it is itself - e.g. the plot, which central elements you've described as understandably likable, to me isn't as strongly conveyed through the show as it is even in your posts. It's propably like that in the original novel (which I don't know), but the show's story seems very straightforward.

But: nothing bad in having commercial successes and enthusiastic fans, though. Everybody has a guilty pleasure show. I have, too, and I'd fight it tooth and nails, though over time I saw its (obvious) flaws and got to enjoy and appreciate "better" shows with gusto. i would still see "my" show at every new chance and would always enjoy it one way or the other. but discovering there was more to theatre was great, too!

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 1:33am

"The ONLY shows I could slightly convince the girls on were "Aladdin" and "Lady Day", and only "Lady Day" because they adore Audra from her time on 'Private Practice'."

How many shows do you all see when you come? If it's a small number, there should always be something worthwhile, not to mention Here Lies Love and other fun stuff not on Broadway.

[DSamuels90]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 2:09am

Regarding the comments about the set/dragon clock: I always assumed the concept was that the entire show was one of the clock's puppet shows, with us its audience looking in to see Elphaba's story. Hence the presence of the dragon on the proscenium (the books frequently point out the dragon figure perched atop the clock's stage) and the cogs/gears which make up various set pieces. Obviously nobody watching the musical who hasn't read the book would get this (unless the one mention of the clock in the script happened to sink in), but as a fan of the novel I appreciated (what I assume) the designers were going for.

[binau]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 2:44am

The Wizard and I, Defying Gravity and No Good Deed

[broadwayfever]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 3:01am

Wicked is probably the single greatest thing that has happened to Broadway and for the advancement of musical theater across the world. Because of Wicked, Millions and Millions of people that otherwise would've never gone to see a musical have done so.

I myself would've never taken a trip to NYC to see Wicked, if not for my daughter who fell in love with Elphaba from watching Wicked videos on Youtube. She begged me and my wife for over a year to take her to see Wicked in NY, so I finally did. While in NYC, I decided to go see some other shows since we were already there. We ended up watching 5 shows...4 of which we really liked. We enjoyed the whole Broadway experience that we return to NYC every summer to see new shows...and of course Wicked. We've now seen Wicked 5 times in NY and twice in tour cities. My daughter and wife still love the show and the music. I never thought that I would watch a musical in my life but now I've seen at least over 30 shows and I'm now a Broadway and musical enthusiast...completely opposite of the way I used to be.

So why is it popular? For the very same reason Frozen is so popular. A great story about the empowerment of girls/women with catchy songs is sure to be popular with the younger generations. My daughter is crossing her fingers that it becomes a musical on Broadway. However, as much as my daughter loves Elsa, she tells me that Elphaba will always be her favorite.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 6:08am

Wicked bashing is so passe.

** Y A W N **
Updated On: 5/1/14 at 06:08 AM

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 7:20am

Could the popularity be due to the subliminal messages in Wicked (as exposed on South Park)

[South Florida]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 8:29am

Thanks for reminding me about Broadway Bro Down ggersten. But if you recall all the shows were guilty, Les Mis especially.

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 8:36am

Well all of the shows - except apparently Jason Robert Brown shows which don't last on Broadway. And Wicked was the show that was initially emphasized:

Nelson: I'm telling you Randy, put your time in with the musical, and the rewards afterwards are awesome.
Randy: Must be... a pretty hot and steamy show. What's it called?
Nelson: Wicked.
Randy: [interested] Oh. Wicked.
***
Sharon: Oho that was so much fun! All the costumes and the sets were amazing! I really love the songs. That Stephen Schwartz is a genius! I've got them all stuck in my head. **** Hey, that was such a treat. How would you like a little treat? ****
Randy: [softly] Whoa, no way!
Bro Down Script

[veronicamae]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 8:38am

Because there are other opinions and interests than your own...?

I agree w/ broadwayfever. I wouldn't have become the theatre fan that I am had Wicked not caught my interest. Loved Wizard of Oz, read the novel, loved that, got interested in the musical, the rest is history.

Also, the show is a spectacle. If I'm going to NYC and am curious about Broadway and have never seen a show, I'm going to naturally be drawn to something familiar, and basically nothing is more familiar than The Wizard of Oz. It's a self-promoting machine.

[South Florida]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 10:19am

"I'm about to get drunk and loud, gonna have me a rowdy good time.
All I need is my girl and my truck and some Rodgers and Hammerstein!"

[Fan123]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 10:43am

I actually liked the dragon on top of the set. To me it seemed a way of adding a little touch of ominous/menacing atmosphere to the show that was deliberately never explained. Kind of the, er, elephant in the room that the Ozians never notice (or want to notice?), much like the Wizard's true nature and the direction that Oz is going under his rule etc. (Or something. I can't remember the set that well TBH.)

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 10:46am

My mother has seen Wicked 9 times. She's in her early 50s. She's seen it on Broadway and on tour in Philadelphia where she lives. She finds it completely inspiring. I don't really understand it but she keeps going back and bringing friends. It's people like her that have made it a hit.

Updated On: 5/1/14 at 10:46 AM

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/1/14 at 11:26am

The show bringing a lot of people into the world of musical theater AND the show having flaws and not being everyone's thing can co-exist rather easily. The former doesn't disprove the latter.