Wicked north american national tour is currently performing atState Theatre Cleveland (1501 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, OH 44115) through January 05, 2014.
Wicked is Back Again at State Theatre – Cleveland, to Dazzle You with Big Tunes, Witchy Spells and Major Glitz – Reviewed By Christine Howey, CleveScene.com.
Wicked is about the original Wicked Witch and her counterpart Glinda the Good Witch, not the versions Hamilton and Billie Burke created in the iconic flick. But their indelible performances always seem to hover around and about this show, featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman.
This show has been performed so many times in so many places, it’s as seamless and smooth as a billiard ball. But that’s how the devotees of the play, many of whom tend to be teen and pre-teen girls, want it to be.
This production doesn’t disappoint from that perspective. Indeed, it may even exceed previous touring companies in some respects.
Featuring a story with some fairly complex plot turns that chronologically straddles the arrival of Dorothy in Oz, Wicked is a polished and stunningly designed production that never fails to amaze. Even when some of the set pieces and effects are clearly extraneous, they still have to power to fascinate.
If a house landed on you when you were young and you don’t know the story, suffice to say that the mean green witch (actual name Elphaba) and Glinda (actual name Galinda) met when students at Shiz University. Pursuing their studies in sorcery, they eventually bond, but are clearly flying their brooms in different directions, career-wise.
Glinda is a ditzy Legally Blonde-ish kind of witch, a fave of everyone who meets her. But she has a good heart and shares her crowd-pleasing knowledge with the sharp-edged Elphaba in the catchy song “Popular.”
In that role, Hayley Podschun dutifully mimics the performance markers set down by the original stage Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth. (Hey, this show is a valuable corporate product and like any good corporation, they’re looking for consistency.) But Podschun nails her songs with verve and high spirits, and what more can you ask?
Of course, Elphaba is an entirely different sort of enchantress. This is cemented in the show’s sterling song, the Act 1 closer “Defying Gravity,” in which Elphaba declares her independence in a rush of beautifully scored self-help aphorisms: “Too late for second guessing/Too late to go back to sleep/It’s time to trust my instincts/Close my eyes and leap!”
Wicked north american national tour is in Cleveland, OH through January 05, 2014 and currently performing at State Theatre Cleveland (1501 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, OH 44115).
Wicked returns to PlayhouseSquare with wonderful leading ladies – Reviewed By Brooke Bridenstine, News-Herald.com.
“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” she asks. “No need to respond. That was rhetorical.” Nonetheless, Galinda, it is wonderful to see you.
Here in Northeast Ohio, we’re pretty experienced when it comes to catching the smash musical “Wicked” at PlayhouseSquare. The show is on stage at the State Theatre, marking the fourth time a professional tour of the Broadway show has landed at the downtown Cleveland performing-arts complex, playing to full houses each time.
If we needed a reminder of why we love this show — which takes place before and during the events of Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” — this production will do it. As with previous versions, it’s heartwarming, hilarious and crammed with terrific musical numbers. (If you don’t enjoy the Act I-closing “Defying Gravity,” there’s just something wrong with you.)
The backbone of “Wicked” is the unlikely friendship of popular, pretty girl Galinda (Hayley Podschun), who will become Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and outcast Elphaba (Jennifer DiNola), the future Wicked Witch of the West. The bubbly blonde and the green-skinned brainiac are, at first, rivals, but they grow to be friends when Galinda feels badly for Elphaba at a school dance, when the latter dances by herself.
“I’ll say this for her: She doesn’t give a twig about what anybody else thinks,” says Fiyero (David Nathan Perlow), a dashing gent who hooks up with Galinda but who may just have more in common with Elphaba.
“Of course she does,” Galinda says, seeing her as a person for the first time. “She just pretends she doesn’t.”
The producers of Wicked announced on Dec. 2 that the touring production of the popular musical broke the Broadway in Chicago record for the largest one-week gross.
Wicked took in a record-setting $1,935,432 at the box office for the week ending December 1. The musical held the previous Chicago record, earning $1,764,428 during the week ending Jan. 4, 2009
Wicked north american national tour is in Des Moines, IA through November 10, 2013 and currently performing at Des Moines Civic Center (221 Walnut St., Des Moines, IA 50309).
Wicked Casts Spell Over Des Moines – Reviewed By Brooke Bridenstine, BroadWayWorld.com.
The musical that flew back to Des Moines last week needs no introduction. Wicked, The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz, cast its spell on Des Moines in two prior engagements and this time around new spectators and Wicked veterans alike will be flocking to see the gravity defying musical. Wicked is now a ten year Broadway veteran, and with a timeless story, excellent production value and top talent, Wicked will no doubt continue to thrill audiences for years to come.
Wicked takes the classic fable of The Wizard of Oz and turns it on its head by focusing on the unlikely friendship between Glinda, the Good Witch, and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. When the two meet at school, there is instant hatred between popular Glinda and loner Elphaba. But when the two are forced to interact they learn that perhaps they have more in common than they thought.
Wicked endures because the story it tells is timeless and filled with relatable themes. Set in the fantasy world of Oz, Wicked is not bound by conventional time. Again and again, audiences are transported to the magical, green world of Oz and the story never becomes dated because it is not of our world. Oz is a land where animals talk, there are thirteen hours on the time dragon clock, and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz presides over a seemingly perfect society. Themes such as the importance of friendship, seeking personal identity and the battle of good versus evil are woven throughout the show. And while the themes are familiar, when told against the Ozian setting they are as fresh as ever.
Wicked is the rare show that successfully combines spectacle and heart. Whether you have seen it or not, take a trip to Oz this week. Wicked continues its’ Des Moines run through November 10th. For ticket information visit Des Moines Performing Arts.
‘Wicked’ lures audience again and again – Reviewed By Michael Morain, DesMoinesRegister.com.
“Wicked” returned to Des Moines Wednesday for its third visit and brought with it another horde of ticket-buyers, drawn in like trick-or-treaters for a sugar fix.
Nobody can really explain why the show hit the sweet spot that by now has generated more than $3 billion from 38 million viewers worldwide. It could be that we identify with the two main characters, the allegedly “good” and “wicked” witches, who feel misunderstood in distinct but understandable ways. It could also be that the feel-good takeaway about being yourself and accepting others is a message that bears repeating. It’s certainly the kind of emotional ride that attracts repeat viewers, who might not return for something like “The Book of Mormon,” which loses some of its shock value the second time around.
As Glinda the Good, the Kansas native Hayley Podschun seems to have inherited DNA from both a chipmunk and Barbie. She is a chattering blonde bombshell, whose perky vanity belies a steely spine and sparkling set of pipes. Her giddy acrobatics win laughs in “Popular,” her signature song, but her voice is no less flexible or energetic. Later she brings something deeper to “Thank Goodness,” slapping on a smile to hide her character’s pain.
Jennifer DiNoia plays Elphaba, the green one, and belts out the empowering anthem “Defying Gravity” with apparent ease, adding musical heft even to its final Tarzan yell. She has an impressive range — listen to her sweet low notes in “I’m Not That Girl” — and she clearly believes what she’s singing. Still, it’s her acting that pulls us in, showing us exactly why the witch was never so wicked as we once believed.
“It’s all in which label is able to persist,” the Wizard (Walker Jones) explains, showing off the lyricist’s knack for internal rhyme. “There are precious few at ease / with moral ambiguities / so we act as if they don’t exist.”
Even without the multimillion-dollar sets and costumes, it’s a moving story with beautiful music and relatable characters. It’s embedded in our culture now, as solid as bricks in the yellow brick road.
Wicked musical will be in Des Moines IA for only 2-weeks through November 10, 2013. From here the national touring production moves to Indianapolis, IN where Wicked will be performing at Murat Theatre from November 13 to December 01, 2013.
Wicked the Broadway musical again returns to Des Moines Civic Center in Des Moines (221 Walnut St., Des Moines, IA 50309) Wednesday, October 30, 2013. Wicked will be here for only 2 weeks with 16 performances till November 10, 2013.
Wicked Musical Tour in Des Moines
Back by “Popular” demand. Variety calls Wicked “a cultural phenomenon,” and when it first played Des Moines, it broke box office records and sold out in record time. Winner of 35 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards, Wicked is “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” (The New York Times).
Nearly 100 people worked for 13 trucks full of stage equipment for the musical Wicked. It’s the untold story of the witches of Oz. It took about 30 hours to set up the stage for the Des Moines production. The set includes about 175-thousand pounds of scenery which uses about five miles of cable to automate it.
Wicked at Des Moines Civic Center
“It’s one of the closest replicas to a Broadway show that there is,” says stage manager David O’Brien. “The producers and the creative staff really maintain the show to a point where we’re really seeing a Broadway quality show.”
Jennifer DiNoia, who is defying gravity as the star of Wicked at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium Music Hall, enjoys being green. DiNoia plays Elphaba in the blockbuster musical and has taken on the role in five different companies of the high-flying show.
Wicked behind-the-scenes look by kctv5.com – Watch the Video Below:
Wicked second national tour is currently stop in Kansas City, Missouri and performing through October 27, 2013 at Music Hall Kansas City (301 West 13th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105).
41 Action News Meteorologist Kalee Dionne goes behind the scenes of Wicked the musical and met Kansas City native Hayley Podschun, who plays the lead role of Glinda – watch the Video below:
Podschun attended Blue Valley High School and her parents still reside in Overland Park.
Wicked second national tour is currently performing at Music Hall Kansas City (301 West 13th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105) through October 27, 2013.
Broadway’s meticulous ‘Wicked’ electrifies its Kansas City audience – Reviewed By Robert Trussell, HispanicBusiness.com.
Big Broadway shows that tour for ever and ever are built on templates that guarantee one thing above all else — that the audience gets exactly what it wants. That was certainly the case Thursday night at the Music Hall Kansas City, where the road company of “Wicked” had the audience on its feet before the curtain call.
This touring production of “Wicked” looks and sounds like the first company that played Kansas City a few years ago. The meticulously crafted and inventively designed show works like precision machinery, providing visceral laughs and excretions of sentimentality at specific moments to tug the audience along, no matter where or when you see it. The director, Joe Mantello, has a long, lucrative history of creating hits.
As the show unfolds, it explains the creation of the Tin Woodsman and the Scarecrow, the significance of the ruby slippers and lets us see Nessarose, Elphaba’s younger sister who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East before she meets her demise beneath a falling Kansas farmhouse. We also meet the Wizard, a flimflam man who, it turns out, is stunned to discover his unknown connection to Elphaba. Much of this is inherently amusing and delivered with appreciable wit.
Of chief interest in this production to local audiences is the presence of Hayley Podschun, an experienced Broadway actress who grew up in Overland Park. I’d never seen Podschun in a principal role before and she delivers a superior comic performance, full of spontaneous moments and inventive surprises. She exhibits a sharp instinct for physical humor and possesses a stunning voice.
Her counterpart is Jennifer DiNoia, who handles the role of Elphaba with a strong stage presence and a powerful set of pipes. She makes the character’s inner sorrow and anger palpable, thus anchoring the show with a respectable degree of dramatic weight.
To nitpick is a critic’s prerogative and I still find this show too long, with a score that turns to hyper-melodrama when a memorable melody can’t be found.
That said, “Popular” is a fine musical-comedy number and the blistering “No Good Deed” is a high point of Act 2.
Wicked musical will be in Kansas City MO for only 3-weeks through October 27, 2013. From here the second national touring production will be moving to Des Moines, IA where Wicked will be performing at Des Moines Civic Center from October 30 to November 10, 2013.
Wicked second national touring production all set to open Wednesday, October 09, 2013 at Music Hall Kansas City. Hayley Podschun plays one of the leading role Glinda, the good witch, originally from Kansas is back in town with the touring company. Wicked musical will be in Kansas City, MO for a 3-week run from October 09 to October 27, 2013.
Podschun made her Broadway debut when she was all of 12 years old. As a member of the Von Trapp family in the 1998 revival of “The Sound of Music,” the formidably talented former student at the Miller Marley School of Dance and Voice had made a crucial first step in a musical-theater career.
Podschun graduated from Blue Valley North High School and after only a year of college in Boston she auditioned for the national tour of “Hairspray” and was hired. It was one of those “and I never looked back” moments.
Since then she has racked up some impressive Broadway credits: revivals in 2008 of “Sunday in the Park With George” and “Pal Joey” (directed by Joe Mantello), a 2011 revival of “Anything Goes” and last year, a new original musical, “Chaplin.”
In “Wicked” Podschun plays Glinda, the good witch, opposite Jennifer DiNoia as Elphaba, the misunderstood outsider who becomes the wicked witch. Podschun said the nice thing about this tour, in which she was again directed by Mantello, is that the actors are not seen as more than interchangeable parts.
“Whenever they get a new Glinda or Elphaba, they really want you to bring yourself to the role,” she said. “They don’t want you to do anything you’ve seen before. They want you to bring your own personality. So I get to to use my little weird quirks, my own comedy. I don’t have to be someone else. I get to be the weird self that I am at home with my friends. … Her arc is really fun because she starts so innocent and wide-eyed and then things change and she grows to this lady.” she said.
“Wicked” will be at the Music Hall Kansas City for an extended run of 19 days, which Podschun said will give her a chance to explore what’s new in Kansas City. “This will be the longest I’ve been home since college,” she said.
“My parents come to see me where my show’s at because I get maybe one day off, if that. I’m kind of excited to see the city because I haven’t been back in so long.
