Ken Mandelbaum reviewed the cast CD of WICKED today. How about someone who's seen the show read the article and discuss where he's right and wrong. I'd love to read some addition opinions about the songs and performances he mentions. Here's the link to the article:
http://www.broadway.com/template_1.asp?CI=32918&CT=8
What a great overview from Mandelbaum. At least he gets what most everyone who has seen the show get and continue to get since many folks return again and again to see the show.
I went twice in San Francisco, and he's correct about the songs -- they stay with you. I will admit I was at a loss to recall a specific song after my first time at the theater, but then it's not a show that keeps throwing its main tune at you again and again. There were 21 songs in the show when I saw it at the Curran. On my second visit, most were like recently made friends who were suddenly becoming familar faces. In the case of "The Wizard and I," the second time was like hearing it for the first time, possibly because I was seeing it from the balcony rather than three feet from the right side of the stage.
I haven't heard the CD so I cannot compare it to the theatrical experience I had. But I can say that it's with eager anticipation that I await its arrival.
I think Mandelbaum has a pretty good take on the musical numbers. I disagree with his dismissal of "I'm Not That Girl" as being nothing more than a ballad thrown in for the pop charts. Many shows have pleasant, soulful numbers that go nowhere outside of the show. Of all the songs in this show, it's "I'm Not That Girl" that has the best chance at becoming a standard, IMO. At least, I think it should become one. In the hands of someone like BK and his arranger, and with the right vocal interpretation, it could be a stunner! In the show, I found it moving, if not a bit rushed.
Truthfully, the second act seemed to have a song every other minute. It felt like they were dropping scenes to accommodate another song. I wondered, "How many songs could Schwartz have written for this show and how many did they drop and why do they think they can keep the ones they're doing now when the show runs 3 hours at a fast clip?" They came at me so quickly that I found it hard to react properly...there was no time to assimilate "the moment" that the songs were commemorating. On the second trip to the show, this was less a problem, but the show was still three hours and I don't know if that has changed or not.
I know the show has its detractors, but they are few. As Mandelbaum rightly points out, the show is a huge success even playing in one of the largest and most viewer-unfriendly theaters on Broadway...it's playing to near-capacity every week.
I don't believe I've ever intimated that I felt the show was perfect. But it IS a magical marriage of a theme with which most of us are familiar, presenting us with information that tickles our fancies, excites our grey cells and rewards us with some pretty good musical numbers and stuns us with the bravado of theatrical technology in its stunning lighting design, elaborate sets and costumes and state-of-the-art sound.
There are many things wrong with the theater nowadays, and many "experts" who consistently expound upon what they are, but this show is not one of them.
This show is a miracle. It entertains, it makes you laugh and it wows you! It deserves a place on Broadway for however long folks are willing to indulge in its pleasures.
I think -- and thought from the beginning -- that it will be for a long time.
