Wicked Cast

[ilovemattyfresh2]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 11:01pm

What's up with Kristin and Idina doing their parts in Wicked? I heard that Eden Espinosa and Laura Bell Bundy are filling in a lot. Does anyone know the scoop?

[Kev]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 11:29pm

Eden has never been on, LBB has been on a good number of times...but answers to why can be found all over the board.

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 9:55am

Idina hasn't missed any performances so Eden (and many of us who want to see her go on) just sits in waiting.....

Something tells me we aren't going to see anyone else do that role till AFTER the Tony awards.....

[WestEndBird]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 3:37pm

EEEEKKK !! I hope Kristen is there when I go see the show in about a week!!

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 4:57pm

Maybe you'll even get to see Idina slap Kristen.. fabu!

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 5:55pm

Idina & Kristin better be there when I see the show next week!! =-)

[Elphie]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 7:36pm

Eden Espinosa has only been promoting the show at Broadway functions as has Laura Bell Bundy, but Ms. Bundy has had a few swings at the role at role of Glinda before her week in May while Kristen Chenoweth is out. I would love to see Eden. I just want to hear her sing!

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 7:39pm

eden must be good. I'd like to hear her sing. But honeslty, I'd rather have it at a convention because I love Idina and if she was sick I'd walk out. It's just not the same without her.

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 8:09pm

Agreed with wickedfan...I'm certainly curious to see Eden since I've heard nothing but good things about her, but I would be REALLY disappointed if I went to the show and Idina wasn't there.

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 11:10pm

well listen to seth's chatterbox on b'way radio! Eden sang Defying Gravity this week! It was excellent. It plays once more on Sunday at noon! Check it out:)

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 3/3/04 at 11:21pm

Kristin was out tonight and will be out Thursday night as well. She had to fly out to LA and is suppose to return by the weekend.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 12:38am

I saw Laura as Glinda tonight (Wed.) and she was quite good. Kristin is stronger vocally, but I think I preferred Laura's Glinda. She seemed more human, rather than a walking cartoon, and I was able to connect more with the character. I wish Idina wasn't so lackluster acting-wise; she is strongest in the scenes after Nessa dies and at the castle and seems to wander through the rest of the role waiting until it's time to sing again. Her acting is particularly bad in the first scene when she first arrives at Shiz. She doesn't react at all to Madame Morrible's line "Never apologize for talent," nor to the subsequent ones about the Wizard. I would think the character would be surprised to learn that her habit of causing strange things to happen is actually a talent. She even says it in "The Wizard and I," and yet in the moment she doesn't react to it. Her line readings in the first act are very casual. This is my third time seeing Wicked and I've realized I really don't understand Morrible's decision to go as far as she does in proclaiming that Elphaba is wicked. Couldn't they have just tracked her down and explained things? The Wizard orders the guards to get her back, but Morrible tells everyone she's evil? Why? There are so many inconsistencies in the script and not enough motivation for the characters to act as they do.
Also, on a side note, Glinda's line "Something's wrong. I didn't get my way." was changed to "I guess this makes me a better person." This was HORRIBLE. Who told Laura to say that? God! I cringed! Updated On: 3/4/04 at 12:38 AM

[ozboy]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 5:08pm

"I guess this makes me a better person."

Kristin said that both times I saw the show, so it's not just Laura.

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 5:48pm

I think at the Winterfest interview Kristin said something about having changed the line herself to deepen Galinda's character.

[erikrokks]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 8:41pm

I agree that Idina is amazing! But, I think Eden has a WAAAAYYY better voice and vocal capability than Idina. I saw Eden in Brooklyn-The Musical 7 times while it was in Denver and her voice made me cry every time. She is so talented and I can't wait until she makes it big!

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 11:34pm

Is $60 too much for a script of a cast member? Someone is selling their WICKED script on ebay (can u tell what I've been doing tonight)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3801922818

Updated On: 3/4/04 at 11:34 PM

Posted: 3/5/04 at 8:54am

Just saw the auction...

Uh....Is that ethical? Or even legal?

[Broadwaylilhead]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 9:19am

Yes, its legal. Its no different than selling a book or cd on ebay or even selling it at a garage sell. Ethical? Thats subjective, but it someone doesnt want their script then they have a right to do with it what they please. I also saw this sam person is selling cast member scripts for Mamma Mia, Dance of the Vampies, and Wonderful Town.

I do know some avid collectors out there that would love to own something like this but I just dont know if I'd pay $60 for one.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 9:53am

Shbrt44: Very interesting observations. I think you've nailed some key directorial issues, in terms of the Menzel performance. The word casual -- which I might not have used -- is telling. I wonder if they tried to make her more "likeable" after SF? I agree that she could use some more defining-edge in the early beats. I went back in early February, and found her non-singing beats in act one a bit ... generic. There's a certain texture missing -- that would come from being a (green-skinned) outcast for 20 years. She delivers later, but maybe depends on the songs to do all the character work for her. Your point about her nonchallance being at odds with the aspirations/revelations in "Wizard and I" lyrics is astute.

I bring up direction, because I think, at times, Mantello doesn't reach for high-enough emotional stakes. And he should, because the events are cataclysmic enough to provoke BIG reactions in these characters. I have posted here before on this, because on 2nd viewing, I still feel strongly that the sequence that segues into "Defying Gravity" is rushed -- every startling turn about monkeys is processed instantly by Elphaba, and then, as you point out, Morrible. We don't see any of it sink in. Also, critically, the entire scene prior to "Wonderful" in act 2 is played without a sense of urgency -- Elphaba and the Wizard -- who haven't seen one another since he literally turned all of OZ against this girl -- just ... sort of chat, and turn their backs on one another too readily. Thoughts SA44?

Updated On: 3/5/04 at 09:53 AM

[Al Dente]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 7:53pm

I agree with Shbrt and Auggie but I also feel it's Menzels weak acting "ability" that is the problem. You can't get blood from a stone. I'm still surprised that Menzel was chosen for such a complex acting role. It works but I wonder how the part/show would come across with a more deeply skilled actress playing the part of Elphaba, rather than someone with *just* a big belty singing voice. I believe there are more layers to the role than Menzel is able to give it.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 10:01pm

Very nice observations, guys. Auggie, I totally agree about the lack of urgency. The high stakes are really absent. Idina is decent in later scenes, but I've seen it a few times and she's always played everything the same way, suggesting to me that she's sticking to the things she knows are safe. I would like to see more variety in the performance; more surprise and shock that Glinda is being nice to her, etc...more reactions to things. She doesn't have an edge to her. Wouldn't she be shyer in "Dear Old Shiz" instead of walking right up to people and waving at them? I mean, that could be direction, but it doesn't make sense. Elphaba is used to being rejected, so why would she purposely set herself up for it? I just get the feeling that, as you said, everyone is there to see and hear Idina and her BIG VOICE. No one really talks about her acting in the show; it's more her take on the songs. The book doesn't help her acting, either. It makes no sense to me why she would return and end up DANCING with the Wizard. Oh well. :) I would love to see a different actress in the role. I do love Idina and her big voice, though.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/5/04 at 10:09pm

I hate to jump in in the middle of this, but I do agree that people who know of Idina are generally there to hear her sing, and not to see her act. But, as for Elphaba's shyness (or lack thereof) in the early scenes - if anyone read the book - I think it may stem from that, which would probably make it something related to the direction rather than Idina's acting skills. In the novel, Gregory Maguire makes very obvious statements of Elphaba's personality. While she is eccentric, she is proud of it, and very seldom holds back who she is. She is intelligent and witty, and she knows it. Once people look past her skin color, which is after a relatively short period of time, they see that about her, and for the most part like her for it. It seems like Elphaba's actions in the early parts of the show are probably based on her actions in the early chapters in the novel - and as the show progresses, we better get to know Elphaba's personality. I think they're hinting at that with her entrance in "Dear Old Shiz" and her interactions with the others.

Whew... hopefully that made some sense.