WICKED today- Page 2

[jcr279]

Posted: 3/15/04 at 6:19pm

First of all, welcome to the boards Sally:) Glad to have you. Secondly, I just LOVE when I'm thinking something and scroll down to find that someone has posted my thoughts! Thank you Auggie, you always make me proud to be a part of these boards whenever I read one of your posts. Finally, to try and clear some of the confusion with Bundy and Chaitt.....Laura Bell Bundy is the "standby" for Galinda. This means that she is not in the show, she is only there to go on for Kristin. Melissa Bell Chaitt is the "understudy" for Galinda which means that she is a member of the ensemble and performs in the show on a regular basis and is able to go on as Galinda if need be. Your friend probably saw Melissa when Kristin had missed early on in the run because Laura Bell Bundy was not the "standby" when the show first opened. I hope that helped a little. Welcome again Sally:)

[SallyEW]

Posted: 3/15/04 at 8:34pm

Thanks for the welcome JCR. And thanks for clarifying the whole STANDBY vs UNDERSTUDY thing for me. Two questions though:

1) If Laura is indeed the STANDBY, then why is she promoting herself as the STAR REPLACEMENT? Or has she already been tapped to "replace the star" (ie; take over when Kristin leaves)

2) How do they decide which one of them (Chait or Bundy) goes on when Kristin is out? From what I saw (and posted about originally) with Laura, and from what my friend said about when she saw Chait, Melissa would be the one that the producers would want going on when Kristin is out.

Oh, and a bonus #3- why is Kristin seeming to miss so much? We really wanted to see her!

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 3/15/04 at 8:57pm

"what do you mean "common"?"

This was by no means meant as a personal attack on you. But Idina's name is CONSTANTLY spelled as "Indina." Just an observation.

[StateOfJade]

Posted: 3/15/04 at 8:57pm

'Don't worry Sally. Some of us don't even like WICKED when all the cast members are present and accounted for.'

Here, here.

[nystateomind04]

Posted: 3/15/04 at 9:29pm

o, sorry i just didnt get what you were saying. didnt mean to spell her name wrong, she's great Updated On: 4/5/04 at 09:29 PM

Posted: 4/5/04 at 2:30pm

I saw the show from the 5th row of the Orchestra, and it is amazing! Kristin Chenoweth plays the role exactly as it is fit. At first, I thought her belting voice grating, although perfect in its technique. The more I listen to the CD, the more I see that that is Glinda. Glinda should irritate you b/c she is an irritating person. When she's not, she's using her operatic voice, which is smooth and flawless. Idina on the other hand: well, it's amazing she doesn't have nodules. I've been teaching voice for years, and belting is one of the most controversial techniques in voice. The problem is that if it's done wrong, it can be dangerous. You can see Idina's veins in her neck as she belts those high F's. Yet, somehow she does it, and it still sounds good. I'd like to see someone else though with better training (although, I heard her Star Replacement, Eden Espinosa on an mp3, and if she sings Elphaba the next time I see the show, I'm demanding my money back)! Even my elementary school students can here the difference in the belting between Kristin and Idina and how much more free sounding Kristin is. Although, they all laugh at how bad the recording of Eden is (one kid said to me, "Where's Simon (from American Idol) when we need him?!"). Laura Bell Bundy is Star Replacement for Kristin (and I had heard that she was the one that had the stroke, but maybe I heard wrong). Melissa Bell Chait is still in the show, and she still is understudy for Glinda. They felt that Laura could better replace Kristin later, and with Kristin's neck injury, they needed another big name to go on since Kristin would need to be out so many times. I had never heard of Star Replacement either, however, if you look, you'll find that it's like a standby (someone they call in to play the role, rather than someone that has a role already--ie an understudy), but it also means that they get first bids when the current star leaves permanently. I really hope Idina stays in there long enough that Eden leaves before ever going on. Her voice is scary!!!!! (Not just flat, but incredibly tight and screamy)

[bially082]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 6:30pm

Kristin doesn't do matinees very often. She is pretty much a six show-a-week performer. Don't expect to see her at afternoon performances.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 6:40pm

i saw wicked last thursday and loved kristen in the role, absolutely loved her, i was lucky enough to shake that playbill and have no standby/understudy sheets fall out...idina was amazing as usual, kristen's operatic then sometimes broadway brass was perfect, her comic timing and delivery of lines are imppecable...idina gave depth and character development to elphaba and made it her own....great show, still listening to the CD, though there are some weak spots in the score(basically the wizard's songs) the large majority is great.
loved the set and the ensemble really stood out as well, each had their own character i noticed...the orchestra was great, the little tidbits of those signature melodies woven throughout...kristen is really the one to see for glinda, i've heard clips and such of her understudy and it just isn't as dead on as kristen...loved the show overall and hope it'll run for a while so i can see it again
i give the show an A, would have been an A+ if it wasnt for the weak spots in the score

[erikrokks]

Posted: 4/5/04 at 7:47pm

Ok, MusicPOS...I'm sorry but if you thought Eden's voice was bad on an mp3, then the quality of the mp3 must be the issue. If you have not heard Eden's golden, rich voice in person then you cannot judge her voice. I've seen her perform several times in a couple of different venues/roles and she has the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard.

And if you had tickets to Wicked and then realized that Eden was filling in as Elphaba and decided not to go because of it, then you would be missing out on a truly remarkable performance. You obviously haven't read any of the posts regarding the performance that she did a few weeks ago in the show. I think it's too bad that Idina hasn't taken more time off so that more people can experience the wonder of Eden!

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I beg you...PLEASE do not judge Eden's talent from one mp3.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 6:09pm

Of course I would give her a chance, but I really hope what you heard was better than on the mp3. I think that I've been teaching long enough to know the difference between a poor performance and a poor recording. My kids laugh at the tension in her voice, and she can't hit the high F on there if her life depended on it. I hope I'm wrong, but somehow I doubt it.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 8:35pm

Elphaba's part is really streching it for Broadway, I love what Idina does but for anyone else it's kinda straining. I personally perfer Kristen's singing and Galinda's part (I'm a soprano so that makes a difference) but I'm wondering what'll happen when someone else goes into the role. It'll sound too rock star and prob. very bad.....something baaaaad....

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 8:38pm

i agree, but you have to call idina's part multi ranged, she belts high F's and goes way down to at least a low E below middle C...we're talking at least two octaves that's soprano/alto

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 9:38pm

Good point for both of you! Idina is far from my favorite singer, and I can't for the life of me figure out how she doesn't have vocal nodules (although, some people genetically can't). However, she's a good actress, and she has a terribly difficult role. Kristin on the other hand switches from belting to singing operatically often within the same song. Few people can do that with good technique on both. The laryngeal manipulation alone makes it so that many need to re-warm-up to switch styles if they can do it at all. If you sit close enough, you can see veins buldging in Idina's throat, which is a clear sign to any voice teacher of tension. The thing is that somehow, she can get that tone thin enough to get the high F. That's not easy! However, even my own students can hear that Kristin is a better singer, even though they may like "Defying Gravity" better than "Popular": they hear the vocal freedom of Kristin, which is just amazing (I work very hard to be sure that I'm not influencing them by the way I word the question). The issue is that Idina can get away with the poor technique and make it sound good (when I say poor, I'm talking poor for Broadway, of course), but it doesn't seem that Eden can in such a difficult role. I just hope that it's nerves that made her sound that bad, and she sounds better on stage (if not, I'll be requesting a refund, although, I hope my parents first time will have Idina playing)...

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 9:44pm

idina has a voice that sounds good, not technically right but she can sing it eight shows a night and sounds fine i sat in the third row center and idina looked strained though she sounded great
kristen is clearly the better singer technically, her contrasting sounds and her flawless transitions are signs of perfect training
i'm in love with them both and they both have pros/cons

[VoiceofReason]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 9:47pm

Here are my two cents:
1) the begining of this post starts with a gulp of haterade aimed towards Ms. Laura Bell Bundy--I've said it in previous posts, and I'll say it again...i saw the show with both Glinda's and although I enjoyed Kristin's more, Laura Bell did a fantastic job in my book, at times (such as Thank Goodness) even surpassing Ms. Chenoweth. I saw her after she had performed the role a few times earlier in the week (this was the string of performances that Ms. C was sick during) and I think that Laura had become much more in tune with the character at that point which probably means a stronger performance than what was originally seen..so please dont put all of your judgement of Ms. Bundy's Galinda into the hands of the first review, because even on Broadway these things take time....
Secondly...
I am a 100% backer of Idina. She is fabulous. However, a friend of mine saw the now infamous Eden performance, and noted that she was "incredible" and "even better than the girl who sings on the cd". I do not think it's fair to judge eden's voice from the single performance of Defying Gravity on Seth's Chatterbox when many have confirmed (and clips of other songs show) what a true talent she is...
thats all for now!
always,
~m~

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 9:49pm

bottom line(s): show not fueled by names, but by talent...and you always have to give a standby/understudy a chance based on their in-theater performance, not some random mp3

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 9:56pm

I remember hearing that Idina warms up before each show, duhh, but even if she's just done a matinee she re-warm up for the evening show. I'm always worried she's gonna hurt herself with night after night of this, she she has it under control though.

The only problem is when I'm singing it I tend to copy her way and I'm not trained in the same way as Idina and I don't want to strain...I feel like I just sent a letter to Dr. Abby.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 4/7/04 at 9:58pm

heck yes she has to warm up!!! any singer on broadway is smart enough to warm up so that was a given with idina...as for singing along, i sing defying gravity in the tenor octave and its great for a guy to belt

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 4/8/04 at 12:02am

Did you just say a guy to belt?! There's no such thing! Belting happens b/c of the huge discrepency between the chest and head voice of a female. To do it right, the larynx tilts forward, sending the sound to a different place in the sinuses. This makes it sound like chest voice, even though it's really a mix. Although, yes, any singer should warm-up before a performance, practice session, lesson or anything (I spend 1/2 hour doing warm-ups with many of my students). Although, you are right, it's right in the middle of the tenor range, but any good baritone should be able to sing it.
To Eponine, the reason that you're having trouble is that her technique cannot be copied without straining. Some people genetically can't get nodules. If you want to try to sing the song, let the tone thin out and expload out of the top of your head. Think that it's coming to a sharp point outside your body, and that will help with the belt. Sometimes, I think of actually narrowing my throat, even though I'm doing the opposite b/c for me it helps to get the focused stream of air. Just for any singers reading this: IF IT HURTS, IT'S WRONG!!!!!!

[erikrokks]

Posted: 4/8/04 at 12:40am

Geez MusicPOS...you're driving me crazy with your dissing on Eden. You haven't even heard her sing a note in person and you keep saying that you doubt her abilities and how "it doesn't seem that Eden can (get away with poor technique) in such a difficult role."
You know nothing about her technique by hearing her on an mp3 that obviously is of poor quality...
Oh, but I forgot that you are the expert. You may be an expert when talking about the physical process of how someone should "belt", but I'm an expert when I hear someone's voice move me to tears in a seemingly effortless manner.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/8/04 at 6:00pm

!! Thanks for the advice! Always looking for technique to improve myself.