Impromptu Reviews: Wicked & RENT
Make no mistake about it folks, I like musicals AND I like girls. A cosmic conundrum I'm sure, that makes me some sort of Heterosexual Heathen in some circles. I won't defend it other than say I appreciate music to the extent I appreciate vocalists and count them as much as an instrument as they are a person. Even technically "bad" singers can offer something fascinating like warble of Connor Oberst (Bright Eyes), or the calming monotone of Mason Jennings. But it's always a joy to hear somebody who has pipes that can knock back a nuclear blast. Both touring casts of Wicked and RENT had a few such artists.
Wicked the Musical, an adaptation of an interpretation of the back story to the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Maguire's twist on L.Frank Baum's original Wizard of Oz was an involving dual character study in novel form with dark and sexual overtones. The musical keeps the sexual side of things, but tones it down for a PG-13 show. Musically, Wicked comes on strong, and has humor and bounce. It gets a bit synthy for some, but it's terribly good fun in all regards. It's like your favorite ice cream, you know you shouldn't have a second helping, but you just can't stop. The story in Wicked veers off in a lot of ways, because frankly, the book isn't very kid safe. What's a morbid horror in the book turns into a mild inconvenience in the musical. Our particular performance had one problem. The lead male was atrocious, granted he was the understudy... but the complete opposite was true of the lead female, Elphaba, who was also played by an understudy. Our consensus was that if the understudy was that amazing, how much more amazing could the principle be? Verdict: 8.5 out of 10. Easily could have been a 9, if it weren't for the 1 actor/singer.
RENT, sometimes credited as the first Broadway musical to openly address the following: Transvestites, Homo- and Bi- sexuality, AIDS, and heroin usage. Seems like a totally jam packed humdinger story, which it is, but not to the extent where your distanced from the characters by the hugeness of the situation. Most of the characters are fairly well fleshed out on stage and in song, so you eagerly want to know how each one handles their predicament. Musically it's ... not your mother's musical. There's an onstage band led by the pianist-cum-synth-rocker, and at times they can very nearly overpower the cast, but for the most part it's well balanced. The ballad themes are infectious, and the sadder pieces will leave you near to tears. Given the characters stories, RENT is a righteous celebration of life and the time that people have; either forgiving the past, forsaking the fears of eminent future, or just living in the now. The touring production we saw was incredibly cast with not a single weak performance. My favorite was the gorgeous actress/singer who played Mimi. Either as a drugged up purring seductress or a wailing lover, she moved mountains with her talent. Runner up was the tenor in the character Tom Collins. His fantastic performance on the piece "I'll Cover You"(reprise) will coerce water to well in any human eye. Save the few technical difficulties in the opening act, I give it a 9 out of 10.
Wicked the Musical, an adaptation of an interpretation of the back story to the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Maguire's twist on L.Frank Baum's original Wizard of Oz was an involving dual character study in novel form with dark and sexual overtones. The musical keeps the sexual side of things, but tones it down for a PG-13 show. Musically, Wicked comes on strong, and has humor and bounce. It gets a bit synthy for some, but it's terribly good fun in all regards. It's like your favorite ice cream, you know you shouldn't have a second helping, but you just can't stop. The story in Wicked veers off in a lot of ways, because frankly, the book isn't very kid safe. What's a morbid horror in the book turns into a mild inconvenience in the musical. Our particular performance had one problem. The lead male was atrocious, granted he was the understudy... but the complete opposite was true of the lead female, Elphaba, who was also played by an understudy. Our consensus was that if the understudy was that amazing, how much more amazing could the principle be? Verdict: 8.5 out of 10. Easily could have been a 9, if it weren't for the 1 actor/singer.
RENT, sometimes credited as the first Broadway musical to openly address the following: Transvestites, Homo- and Bi- sexuality, AIDS, and heroin usage. Seems like a totally jam packed humdinger story, which it is, but not to the extent where your distanced from the characters by the hugeness of the situation. Most of the characters are fairly well fleshed out on stage and in song, so you eagerly want to know how each one handles their predicament. Musically it's ... not your mother's musical. There's an onstage band led by the pianist-cum-synth-rocker, and at times they can very nearly overpower the cast, but for the most part it's well balanced. The ballad themes are infectious, and the sadder pieces will leave you near to tears. Given the characters stories, RENT is a righteous celebration of life and the time that people have; either forgiving the past, forsaking the fears of eminent future, or just living in the now. The touring production we saw was incredibly cast with not a single weak performance. My favorite was the gorgeous actress/singer who played Mimi. Either as a drugged up purring seductress or a wailing lover, she moved mountains with her talent. Runner up was the tenor in the character Tom Collins. His fantastic performance on the piece "I'll Cover You"(reprise) will coerce water to well in any human eye. Save the few technical difficulties in the opening act, I give it a 9 out of 10.
posted by Nevkil at
6/05/2006 10:26:00 AM
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