Wicked
Blimey! No Wicked thread yet, eh? Then let me begin (hemhem)... Wicked's a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz. It's not "re-imagined" like The Wiz or Tin Man, nor is it "influenced by" like Zardoz or Dark Side Of The Moon (maybe). It's a proper, honest-to-goodness prequel. Why was The Lion cowardly? How did The Scarecrow come to be? And who made The Tin Man...tin? All the answers are there on stage, every night (bar Sundays, but twice on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so swings and roundabouts ;)) at The Apollo Victoria. Here's the premise... Remember The Wicked Witch Of The West from the original film? All green and scary and horrid and Margaret Hamilton? Right. Fine. Now - suppose she was, in fact, 'The Good Guy'? Suppose she had a very good reason for demanding those Ruby Slippers? Suppose she had a very good reason for setting The Scarecrow on fire? Suppose those terrifying Flying Monkeys had a back-story that would melt your heart? And suppose her arch-enemy - Glinda, The Good Witch Of The North - had been her very best friend until hours before Dorothy Gale got swept into a tornado? After watching this astonishing show, you'll never see the MGM movie the same way. I was lucky enough to get tickets for the show's launch, when Idina Menzel (a huge musicals star who appeared as a main character in the musical film Enchanted BUT NEVER SANG! :sad:) reprised her Broadway role as Elpheba - in London. She's the voice on the official soundtrack. And she rocks my world. Sadly, Kristin Chenoweth (also the OST voice, as Glinda) couldn't make the journey to SW1, what with being in Pushing Daisies and all sorts. A quick search of her name in YouTube should yield some gold, though - how can anyone resist her singing "Night And Day" on The West Wing set? Kristin C also rocks my world. As you can probably tell, I am trying (and have managed) not to give too many major plot points away - so let's settle for a few bullet-points instead... 1) It looks amazing. 2) The songs are fantastic 3) The performances are universally brilliant. 4) It's very 'family-friendly' - in a very good way 5) It receives standing ovations at every performance. Seriously - every performance. Get yourself the soundtrack, because I swear you'll sing "Popular" until you die - and "Defying Gravity" will be your next ring-tone. Then get yourself a ticket. I'd recommend The Stalls. Ideally Row F. A seats numbered 24, 25, or there abouts. That's where we sat. Row F. Seats 24 and 25. Ace, they were. :lol: frankj (Oh, and the name of The Wicked Witch - Elpheba - is taken from the initials of the author of the series. He was called L Frank Baum.)

You have no idea how desperate I am to see this musical Frank. I've always adored The Wizard of Oz and thoroughly enjoyed the Gregory Maguire book that this musical is adapted from. My daughter is also desperate to see it. At the moment it's a simple question of cost. If we're going to go across to London to see that then I'm going to make more of it than just a day trip. I WILL see it though!

My friend organised a coach up to the smoke from Dorset in April when we went to see Wicked. I cant remember where exactly we sat now but it was in the stalls around about e or f, I do remember thinking "wow fab seats".. I loved every second, gave me the goosebumps many a time with the whole atmosphere. It's a must see for anyone we even were gobsmacked at the lobby of The Appollo Victoria theatre which seemed as if it was custom made for Wicked with the beautiful art deco design fashioned in spectacular silver and green. We saw the fabulous Kerry Ellis in the role of Elphaba and the incredibly talented Dianne Pilkinton as Glinda. Was just a joy from start to finish, amazing costumes and set designs am always just in awe at how much work must go into all these shows. Just wonderful see it and let the whole experience sail you along.

I'm supposed to be seeing this sometime this week or next week as a celebration of my sisters exam results. She's seen it before but she loves it. I quite enjoyed the book, I wasn't overwhelmed but it was good, and a lot of people have told me the stage show is better, plus the few songs she's played me were good so I'm looking forward to it. :D

Wicked - The Novel
I thought the novel was terrific, but the stage show's a whole 'nother beast! The creators have taken the basic premise, and (with Gregory Maguire's blessing) created something entirely new. The book's a pretty dark and serious affair, and has been written with an eye towards L Frank Baum's compositions. The show (and soon to be film, apparently) makes no bones about its status as a Wizard Of Oz prequel - MGM style. And the ending - oh, my! If you liked the book, you'll love the show. But if you loved the book, you'll probably be disappointed - the musical is a faaaar more light-hearted affair, with many more links to the movie (and better for it, I think). And I wasn't kidding about those standing ovations - apparently the audience has been on its feet at the end of every London show so far. I certainly was! (Is it okay to post YouTube links on this forum? I forgot to ask The Gatekeepers when I walked in! If so, watch this space!)

Someone else has said something similar to me, that the stage show is better if you liked the book but didn't worship it. I liked it, and I'm prepared to love the show. If my sister ever books it... :P Youtube videos are allowed, at least I presume so because I've seen them around the place.