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Friday, October 10, 2008
THEATER REVIEW: ‘Wicked’ at the Fox Theatre
"Wicked." Grade: B +. Through Nov. 2. $31-$70. Presented by Broadway Across America-Atlanta and the Atlanta Broadway Series. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Midtown. 404-817-8700, ticketmaster.com. Bottom line: We couldn't be happier.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My fellow Ozians: These are times when the world could use an infusion of green. These are times when our spirits are gravity-laden. These are times when the soul needs escapism. These are times for Broadway’s “Wicked.”
Ding-dong, Glinda and Elphaba are back.
Back at the Fox Theatre with their gossamer gowns and bubbles, their flying monkeys and love troubles, their witchy wars and munchkin struggles. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, this tale of a green-skinned boarding school outcast and her not-so-wonderful wizard has always struck me as a Harry Potter for girls and a Disney entertainment for grown-ups, and I mean this as a compliment.
Adapted by “Godspell” composer Stephen Schwartz, directed by Joe Mantello and featuring an eye-popping overload of grandiose design and nifty technical tricks, the 2003 Broadway musical made stars of Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda) and Idina Menzel (Elphaba) — reaffirming the sheer giddy pleasure of razzle-dazzle entertainment and outsize spectacle.
Broadway loves big, and “Wicked” delivered.
Yet when it first appeared, many critics (including yours truly) were so busy nit-picking the music and naysaying the glitz that we forgot to sit back and let the magic wash over us. After five years and several viewings, I’m delighted to say that “Wicked” has won me over.
I never fail to see new things in the story. The score may be a tad overwrought and the book sugared with cheap one-liners and easy laughs. But the education of Elphaba and Glinda — who redefine notions of beauty while remaining true to themselves — is an emotionally transporting experience.
And not just for girls.
In this Broadway Across America-Atlanta/Atlanta Broadway Series production (which continues through Nov. 2, so no excuses), Carmen Cusack is simply the best Elphaba I’ve ever seen. It’s too easy to play Elphaba as hot-headed and shrill, but Cusack summons her character’s stealthy powers from a sense of calm resolve. (She’s a glorious singer to boot.)
On the other side of the rainbow, Katie Rose Clarke’s Glinda is all bright colors and excess. She could stand to take the comedic mannerisms down just a hair, but her shimmering soprano voice is exquisite, and her character’s journey is genuine and moving. Being “Popular” isn’t always enough, and happiness comes at a cost. Glinda loses Fiyero (Cliffton Hall), but in the end, she forgives.
In the big dance scene (check out Susan Hilferty’s fabulous black-and-white ball costumes), Hall moves like a slick disco dandy in tights and doesn’t seem quite right for the part. But without relying on some preconceived, cookie-cutter approach, he transforms himself form a “silly rich boy” into a credible love interest, and that’s due as much to the rich grainy texture of his voice as his physicality.
Lenny Wolpe brings years of experience to bear on his Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Like Myra Lucretia Taylor (Madame Morrible), he’s a pro. And considering that she spends most of her time in a wheelchair, Deedee Magno Hall (as Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose) gives a nice performance, too.
Overall, it’s almost impossible not to see this show through a prism of history and politics. Creatures are rounded up and shunted away for being different. A man is changed into a scarecrow and strung up in a field in image that recalls Matthew Shephard and Jesus Christ. A powerless old geezer seeks out the aid of a strong young woman with long black hair and glasses in a desperate attempt at victory (nudge, nudge).
Working on numerous levels at once, “Wicked” is dark and delicious meditation on the nature of love, jealousy, revenge, power and beauty. It refutes the claim that “No One Mourns the Wicked.” We don’t just mourn Elphaba, we desperately want her to succeed.
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Any recommendations for economic self-help books?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just looked on Amazon’s best-seller list, and was a little surprised there were hardly any books there that might help people — or even purport to help them — with the current economic crisis.
The only thing I found was “Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse” by Peter D. Schiff and John Downes, which was of course written before this collapse, but seems pretty nuts and bolts advice-driven.
There were a couple of books I think folks may be buying because of general anxiety, including “The Snowball,” a biography of Warren Buffett, and “The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression” by Amity Shlaes, but I don’t think those are going to be of any real assistance.
I’m thinking maybe books are not our best resource for figuring out what, if anything, to do as we watch our 401(k)s crater, but maybe I’m wrong. Can anyone recommend a good book that helps readers with this mess?
Here’s additional information on coping with the financial crisis
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