Hey All! So it feels like I am constantly just posting casting updates on here! That is useful, but this is a WICKED fan blog, and I am going to attempt to do more than just post who the next Elphabas and Glindas are from now on! :D I am going to begin posting some things where I just kind of talk about the show itself, and things that Interest me about it. Which is a lot. As most of you know I have seen the show 10 times, with an 11th time hopefully around the corner a bit later this year. I have seen the Broadway company of WICKED 3 times. I have seen the 1st National Tour 6 times. I have seen the Chicago Sit-Down company 1 time. Now i love all the different casts of WICKED quite a bit. They all have something incredibly special about them, even the ones I have not seen! I am just going to take a few minutes to discuss the three companies I have seen. I love the Broadway company for the homeliness it has in the Gershwin Theatre. The Broadway company is also currently a melting pot of previous cast members from many different casts of WICKED, as well as some faces that were never in the show before. I love all of the cast members in the Broadway production. I love seeing people coming to their first Broadway show there, and I love seeing people coming to see it for the 40th time :) Wicked has made such a home in NYC and I love it. I love the 1st National Tour company the most of any other company of WICKED that has ever existed. It is my most seen company, and I have just bonded with the performances on the road. I think they are an extremely tight-knit group, and traveling continues to make the show fresh over and over again, performing in new venues and new cities. I love hearing about cast member's adventures while they are in different cites, and communicating with them. This is not some 3rd Rate Tour, with a downsized set, and a crappy cast. It's the real deal. It is identical to what you would see in NYC. I love the 1st National Tour. Plus, what is not to love about the EXTREMELY kind people that are part of this show? I loved the Chicago company as well. I saw them RIGHT after they opened, at the beginning of an extremely successful 4 year run. I loved that there was a sit-down production of the show that had an equal fan-base (rightfully so) as the Broadway company, and it was directly in the center of the country. It was very accessible, and lots of new talent was "discoverated" there, many of whom have ended up on Broadway, Tour, LA, or San Francisco, and even Down under! There was a strong sense of community pride in Chicago to have such a smash hit musical staying for an indefinite time period. WICKED in Chicago ran longer than the vast majority of shows ON BROADWAY run. That says a lot about the fan-base for this show. My Next "talking" post will be what I believe the show means, symbolically, and literally to me, and to others.
Thanks!
Defy Gravity!