WICKED BEWITCHES BUFFALO! (3 Stars out of 4)- Page 2

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 12:23pm

Thanks, Dancin! Luckily I saw Alma in the role a couple of years ago the first time it came to Boston.

[wicked4l]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 1:57pm

I saw the show on Sunday with understudies for Elphie, Glinda, Fiyero, and Nessa. Donna was phenomenal as Elphie, she completely blew me away. I much prefer her to Carmen. Melissa was good as Glinda too! I still like Katie though. Blake as Fiyero was quite awkward, his voice cracked during DTL and idk, he seemed off. Nessa was good, I'd love to see her in a bigger part. I saw the show on Tuesday. Carmen was back and she sounded much better than she did on Opening. She seemed a little sick, especically at the Stage Door after the show. Same Nessa and Fiyero as on Sunday but I saw a different Glinda, Meggie, she seemed like she was trying to hard, she wasn't bad and was funny but I like Katie and Melissa more.
On the absences(mentioned in previous post):
Katie has been out on vocal rest, but will be returning to the show tonite, but she can no longer do matinées, until further notice.
DeeDee and Clifton are on vacation for the rest of the week, Blake and Kristine will be in the roles.
Going back next week, I'm sure Carmen will be even better than last night!

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 2:05pm

When Kristine Resse (uunderstudy Nessarose) came out of the Stage Door everyone thought she had played Glinda, due to the fact that she has bleach blonde curly hair.

[lcinva]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 2:19pm

i'm glad carmen sounded better, because I've liked her so much and I was disappointed last week when she was sick - she didn't sound that great...now I just have to figure out how to get back up there! I'm glad you got to see her!

[Bobby_child]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 11:45pm

Saw it tonight. Thought it was great!
Carmen was great! I was expecting her to be just ok due to everyone saying she has has been sick and out a lot. She is not one of my favorite Elphahba..but she still give a kick ass performance. loved her riffing in defying gravity. Her No Good Deed was fantastic.

Katie. She has to be one of my favrotie g(a)lindas. She was alittle eh during the begining. It seemed like she was just marking it. But she got better as the show went on. I LOVE HOW SPAZTIC she is during Popular. I have never laughed so hard during popular before. She had to stop do to the audience laughing and applauding her. Just loved her and her voice.

Blake Whyte was on as Fiyero..he was alright. I've never really liked that role..but he did ok. Decent voice.

Kristine Reese was on for Nessa. I didnt like her at first..but when she sang Wicked Witch of the East I loved her. She has a great voice.

It seemed like the show was sold out or close to it. Great audience. They clapped when Carmen came out. They laughed non stop during popular. They cheered when Elphahba flew. Cried during For Good. Gave a standing "O" right away. So glad I got chance to see this great show!

Updated On: 6/26/08 at 11:45 PM

[puppetman2]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 12:13am

One of my students saw the show this week and there were 5 understudies/standbys according to the slips in her program. Somehow it seems Buffalo is getting short changed. Will tell you want happens after I see the Sunday matinee.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 12:16am

Be forewarned: You will have a understudy for Glinda. (Either Melissa Bohon or Meggie Cansler).

[Bobby_child]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 12:22am

I thought I had an understudy for Glinda...because I had a sheet for her and fiyero..but then I saw I had two for fiyero. So I looked at my moms and she only had two slips one for nessa and one for fiyero and so did my friends. So I was happy that I got to see Katie.

[Bdwy24]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 1:15am

Buffalo is not getting short changed. There have never been 5 understudies for any show in Buffalo. Fiyero and Nessarose are on vacation. Other than that all performers are on. Of course, Katie Clarke is being careful (and as far as I know not doing matinees).

Katies mom was there tonight. Katie and her mom did the Lotto. Luckily, her mom won. She gave a great performance tonight!! Carmen is sounding better and better.

Dont go by what is in your program. you may have a recycled program that might not be 100% accurate. Look at the cast board in the lobby and go by that!

[zamedy]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 7:57am

Bdwy24 -- You seem to know a lot about this production. Are you part of the touring cast or crew of WICKED? Just wondering. If so, how is everyone enjoying their stay and the audiences in Buffalo so far?

I saw a few of the cast members out Sunday night at Club Marcella. They all seemed very nice.. and it looked like they were having a great time.

[lcinva]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 8:18am

While I don't necessarily think Buffalo is getting shortchanged, there has been at least once that 4 of the 6 main performers were out. I know Donna has been on quite a bit, so coupled with Katie's vocal issues and Cliffton and Deedee out on vacation, that a lot of understudy time. Bdwy24, do you know anything about whether Carmen is still sick, or why Donna has been on so much?

[Bdwy24]

Posted: 6/26/08 at 2:19pm

I am not in the cast or crew and have no inside information. I do work at the theatre. Audiences have been loving the show and buying tickets to return a second time. I have been hearing comments that it is just as good as Broadway and that Katie Clarke is better than anyone that they may have seen play the role previously.

[puppet]

Posted: 6/27/08 at 6:45pm

Anyone know when the vacations are over - Sunday or Tuesday?

[zepka102]

Posted: 6/28/08 at 10:04am

I hope Katie is on when I see it the 9th... I'm making a special trip home to see Wicked to see her interpretation of Glinda.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 6/30/08 at 2:11pm

I saw it again last night with a large group of family members who had never seen the show before.

All liked it, but a couple found it difficult to hear at times, and I can understand why. At times it seemed the music overpowered the vocals last night. Come on crew - get it together already! (P.S. While you're at it, fix the Wizard's microphone levels too! He sounded very quiet compared to the rest of the cast last night!)

The only understudies on Sunday night (6/29) were for the vacationing Fiyero and Nessa.

I've come to the conclusion that they just can't seem to cast that part of Fiyero properly. After seeing the show in Chicago, Toronto, NYC, and now 3 times here, I don't recall ever once seeing a well-rounded enough actor with enough talent to play that part - and it's hardly a complex one to pull off! Blake was as forgettable in the role (and sometimes just as painful to watch and listen to) as Clifton. UGH!

Well....Enough negative talk.

Katie and Carmen were great, as usual! I must be the only one here who has been lucky enough to see them each of the 3 times I've gone!

Mom, Sis, and two of the nieces were crying during "FOR GOOD", so something is very believable with Katie and Carmen's portrayal!

Now that I'm a huge Alma Cuervo fan, (HAHA!) I'm suggesting that those who see the show do not take an eye off Her while She is on stage! I agree that She may very well be the best actor on the tour! SHE ROCKS!

All else looked good, and we've still got another 2 weeks here!

CHEERS TO THE CAST AND CREW FOR SOME GREAT ENTERTAINMENT!!!
WE LOVE HAVING YOU HERE!

Updated On: 6/30/08 at 02:11 PM

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 6/30/08 at 2:35pm

Carmen, Katie and the vacationing Clifton and DeeDee were all out for the afternoon show yesterday.

But I guess the only person who that is a shock for is Carmen.

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 6/30/08 at 4:20pm

Why wasn't I at Marcella's when the cast was there?!

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 6/30/08 at 5:42pm

Hell, Jake,
You still have two more weeks! HAHA!

Drop by anytime!

[zamedy]

Posted: 6/30/08 at 10:42pm

Did the cast go to Marcy's again on Sunday night? I saw a few of them there the Sunday night before. It looked like they were having a good time.

Hopefully they are enjoying their stay there.

BTW.. I LOVE Alma. She is indeed a joy to watch. I think a lot of the younger actors can learn a lot from her.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 7/5/08 at 6:19pm

Any new thoughts or reviews from the past week?

Now entering the FINAL week here in Buffalo and it certainly accomplished what it was supposed to do!

Filled the theater with excited new audiences and brought lots of dining and other revenue to downtown!

I'll try to get to see it once more before it moves on...

[ohjustjake]

Posted: 7/5/08 at 6:56pm

Haha, well I'll be there on Saturday for the matinee.

[zepka102]

Posted: 7/5/08 at 7:24pm

I'm so excited to be home this week for it. I talked to a few friends who saw it (who have never seen it before) and they loved it. One of them is even going again. So I think that is really cool.

[zepka102]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 11:55pm

Oh look, I was the last one to write here and I'm bumping it...

Just got back from tonight's show. And I'm not very happy.

I don't know what I did for this to happen. Living on the other side of the state, I was excited to come back to see it, mainly for Katie Clarke, since I've seen the show 5 times. Sure enough, after driving 4 and a half hours, Katie was OUT.

However, I thought Melissa Bohon did a GREAT job. She had the quirkiness necessary for the role. She nailed every joke and has a strong voice. Carmen Cusack was also excellent as Elphaba. I was a little let down during "Defying Gravity" because it seemed like she lost some power at one point, even pausing for a moment. She still did a great job. Her "No Good Deed" was definitely the highlight of her performance I think. She did have a very interesting accent to her voice, including a country feel to it. Alma Cuervo was exacly what I expected as Madame Morrible: fierce. The past few times I have seen Wicked on Broadway, I have had understudies, so it was nice to see the real person on. She owns this role and should be on Broadway playing it. Cliffton Hall was an interesting Fiyero. I felt he was great, but there was something in his voice that had me stuck. I couldn't figure out what it was and still can't. He just had a very unique quality to his voice.

I think the one that stood out to me the most was DeeDee Magno Hall as Nessarose. I loved her interpretation of the role. I think she's my favorite Nessa that I have seen. She had the innocence that Nessa should have in Act One and definitely showed it in her voice as well as how she carried herself. Her change during "Wicked Witch of the East" really made it feel as if she was only thinking of herself, like when she passed right over Elphaba when you think she would be thanking her to call for Boq.

Overall, the tour is in great shape. Buffalo really has gotten attached to this show. I have friends who normally don't go to theater who are considering seeing it a second time, which is great!

Updated On: 7/10/08 at 11:55 PM