Rent and Wicked Reviews...(quite long)

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 5:06am

So I saw Rent in Cleveland on Jan 11th, the last show it was there, and Wicked in Louisville on the 17th, the 2pm show.

Rent.
My friend Sara and I knew that with it being the last night there, that there was no gaurentee that anyone would come out, so we decided to stage door prior to the 2pm show. We "saw" the entire cast, with the exception of Justin Jonston and Lexi Lawson, but we couldn't find an opportunity to say anything. Adam Pascal walked passed us and asked us how we were, but we didn't bother asking for a picture or anything because not only was he holding bags of pots and pans, but also because he was getting in a bit late. All of them were extremly nice though, and smiled and said hello as they walked in. So, we thought we would stage door after the 2pm show. Well, we met Anthony (who seemed really tired, but thoughtful none the less), Lexi (who was extremely nice) and a few others. It's two hours before the show starts, and I was one number off from winning the lotto three times. A girl comes up and asks if i want her extra 2nd row ticket, long story short, we end up with front row mezz rather then our nosebleed last row tickets.

The show itself was great. For me it's not the same feel as the broadway. I like what they did with certain changes, the euligy (sp?) was greatly timed that night. Lexi was great. After seeing Antonique Smith twice, I was a bit Skeptical, but overall, she was the best mimi i've seen. Vocally, she'll grow into her own. Yet again Gwen Stewart stole the show for me. I found myself watching her the most durring La Vie Bohem. Her SoL solo kicked butt as always. Adam and Anthony. It was like they put the OBC recording on. Their voices were so clear, not messed with like they did on the movie, and their performance was great. I had to laugh a bit inside durring "your eyes" though just because of how Adam started it. For some reason, he started singing with a lispe (sp?) which he hadn't done in the entire show up until this point. It made me think he was singing to mark for a good minuet. overall the show was wonderful, and i'll be seeing it again one weekend in chicago.

Wicked.
So it was my 5th time seeing rent last sunday and my 3rd time seeing Wicked. Well, This show blew me away. The other two times (to be honest) are kinda unrememerable (if that's even a word) due to my seats. We sat front row Mezz (the odds) for this one, because i bought the tickets over 6 months ago. We had an understudy for nessa, and I personally love understudy's. I love to see how they portray a character when given the oppertunity. She was great. The entire cast was. I never really noticed the dancing in the show until I saw it saturday, and all I have to say is wow. Katie Rose Clark was hysterical. She has certain "Kristin Chenoweth" moments, but for someone to say she is the new kristin isn't really true. Her second act Glinda made me want to cry. Instead of some normally funny parts (the cat fight) she made them emotional. Donna Vivino has it all. There were a few things (mostly how she said a few lines) that bothered me, but other than that, a Great Elphaba. It was really hard to hear at some points. but when she started flying, it was like the turned on 3 mic's at once. the sound, the power, my jaw hitting the floor, ect. Overall both shows were great. Thanks for reading...

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 5:09am

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/94441/the_importance_of_paragraph_breaks.html

[jerseyboyschick2]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 5:53pm

Thanks for the reviews!
I'm glad you enjoyed both shows:)