Seat: Dress Circle, A38/39
Notes: Wicked has always been my favourite show, and it definitely still is! I adore this show, and in a fitting turn, this is our 10th show/concert we've been to since arriving (in less than 6 months, oops!) Our seats for this show were not discounted, but I really enjoyed our spot - we were in the front row of the dress circle, on the far right of the left block. I spent the whole show leaning forwards with my arms on the barrier in front so I could see even better.
In terms of plot and staging, almost everything was exactly as I remembered. Most people in the audience hadn't seen the show before, I guess (lots of tour groups), as some of the great jokes fell flat (lemons and melons and pears, oh my!!!), while others got a bigger laugh than I've heard before.
To the performers. Boq (Idriss Kargbo) was pretty good. I think his acting was better than his singing, honestly. I really liked Doctor Dillamond (Martin Ball), he was very good and convincing in his role. Nessarose (Sarah McNicholas) was fantastic, really really heartfelt. She was able to get all her emotion across in her singing, although it occasionally affected her vocal quality.
Madame Morrible (Sue Kelvin) was great - she did the most singing than any other Morribe I've seen (most usually speak their role instead of actually singing), which I appreciated. At times though, her voice was quite grating and she was slightly overacted, although perhaps that is just part of her character? The Wizard (Mark Curry) I was a bit disappointed in, honestly. He was just not as charismatic as i would like form my Wizard, which is a large part of why he is in charge...
Fiyero (Oliver Savile) was pretty great, I felt that vocally he wasn't quite as good as his leading ladies, but his acting was fantastic. In particular he was very emotional with his acting and resonated really well with his Elphaba. Glinda (Suzie Mathers) is yet another leading actor from Australia, and who I had seen in Australia, not in Wicked, but in the lead in Mamma Mia! with Mum years ago. She was my favourite of all the Glinda's I've seen, with beautiful top notes which she didn't need to slide herself up to. Her voice was so clear and her portrayal of G(a)linda was so honest and raw. I especially loved in the beginning sequence, when in between talking about how great it was that the Wicked Witch was dead, she was trying not to sob. So lovely and reflective of her character.
And then there was Elphaba (Willemihn Verkaik). She was the main reason that I wanted to see the show, before she leaves on Saturday, especially after seeing her perform at West End Live. She was AMAZING. She sang new riffs and notes that other Elphaba's didn't - it was clear how comfortable she is in this role. Her humour was very deadpan, which I think suits the character really well too. Generally, she was more sensuous too than others I've seen, and had amazing chemistry with everyone (but especially Suzie!). It was definitely an amazing relationship showed between the two leading ladies. They blew me away and had me in tears several times. Totally incredible.
We didn't stage door this time - partly due to being not a certain actor we had gone to see, and also because we had to work the next day! But I'm so so so glad we got to go and see this cast before they change (the last show for all major leads is Saturday nights performance), because both Suzie and Willimijn are absolutely amazing.
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