Me and Charlie are off to see the Wizard again today!!! It's very early (6:10am) and we are about to leave and get the train for London to see today's Matinee of Wicked. We'll be back to tell you about our lastest Oz advernture soon though!!!!
A very excited Lillian!
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Thursday, 10 September 2009
What is this feeling?
In February 2006, our year at school was offered the chance to go on two different school trips. One was to Belgium, this was to visit battlefields and other various war-affiliated places, the other was to London. On this London trip the price of £120 included one night in a hotel, a visit to Hampton Court Palace, where Henry VIII lived, a guided tour of London with access to the Tower of London and a visit to a West End musical. It was called ‘Wicked.’
Being a fan of musicals, I had heard of all of the “oldies” such as ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘The Sound of Music,’ but not ‘Wicked.’ The day we received the letter I immediately “googled it” on the internet to find out it was about Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North’s uncanny friendship. I can’t remember my exact emotion at that moment but I am sure it was just like Stephen Schwartz’s at that time.
“I was on a fishing trip with my friend, a folk-singer called Holly Near and she said to me ‘I’m reading this really interesting book. It’s called ‘Wicked’ and it’s the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s point of view.’ At that point my jaw just dropped” He said in an interview when asked about when he first heard of ‘Wicked.’
His jaw dropped when he first heard of it. So did mine. I thought it was one of the best ideas that has ever happened.
I found out it was a musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. My birthday was in May. For my birthday I received a book token worth £10. I immediately spent the token on the novel that inspired Schwartz’s musical.
I realised that if the musical is anything like the novel then the school would never allow a trip to go and see ‘Wicked’ again. It wasn’t.
We had to be at school for 7:15 am to catch the coach for London. Before we checked into our hotel, we went to Hampton Court Palace. It was where Henry VIII lived along with other various members of his ancestors. Although it was a beautiful building, it was not quite the Emerald City.
Once we had eaten our meals we walked around the corner to the theatre.
On 20 October 2006 I walked into, for the first time, the Apollo Victoria Theatre. It was like time Emerald City from the 1939 film of ‘Oz.’ It was very busy. People were rushing about to get memorabilia and get to their seats via the numerous amounts of entrances to the auditorium. I opened the program and read the cast to find out that the Original Elphaba was our main cast member.
When the music for the opening of ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ I knew instantly, there is going to be something different about this. It is not quite the same musical as ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
By the time Idina had finished a fantastic rendition of ‘The Wizard and I.’ I knew I was right. ‘Wicked’ is different to other musicals. It expresses itself in a way that no other musical does. Through not only the songs, but also design aspects of the show. The dancing during Dancing through life was somewhat magically non-naturalistic. It was in a way bringing the whole theatre from it's seats onto the stage and dancing with the cast. 'One Short Day' showed a fantastic mixture of set, costume and lighting all working together to create an element that causes every member of the audience's jaw to drop. The head of the Great-and-Powerful Oz is another extra-ordinary part of the play. It caputures the imaginations of the audience and they imagine they are in the room with Glinda and Elphaba meeting the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The finale of Act I requires extra help for description. The sudden contrast between the 'I hope you're Happy' section and the first verse of 'Defying Gravity.' These two parts show the anger of Glinda and Elphaba after she ran away from the Wizard. Then Elphaba tells Glinda her emotions about how she wants to get away by 'Defying Gravity,' just like the way she caused the monkeys to. For the final duet 'I hope you're happy' Glinda is not longer angry with Elphaba and just wants her to be happy. The pianissimo effect builds up to the crescendo of the final verse of 'Defying Gravity' when Idina is belting out and the crowd are watching her at 30ft in the air before the final note, orchestra hit and lights down. Unfortunately, I was sitting in Row U of the Dress Circle and with the Apollo Victoria seating 2,208; I was literally with the Gods.
However, with what I could see I knew it was brilliant and by the time the Act I climax with ‘Defying Gravity’ I was brought to tears as I realised that there is a bit of Elphaba in me. There is a bit of Elphaba in everybody and I try to think of things from other peoples points of view and judge them not by who they are but their feelings for how they respect themselves, others and the environment around them.
Act II opens with the introduction to the music of Defying Gravity. However, it then reverts to a minor key. It signifies the worry of the Ozians as the 'Wicked Witch' is flying throughout the sky. The next song stole the show for me that night. Helen Dallimore did a fantastic job her dynamics and texture during the song made knowing her ideas, emotions, thoughts and feelings. In this segment of the musical Glinda has to be the public figure. She has to guide the Ozians through their frightful time by celebrating. She has to show them that beyond the Wicked Witc hthere is a world full of love, happiness and joy. She has to bring out the heart, soul and spirit from them. By the end of the song she brings the life and colour back to them whilst hitting a top C. During the next song, Wicked Witch of the East, Nessarose and Elphaba team together to try and save Boq in a fantastic Sondhiem-esque duet of chanting and lyrics. No Good Deed shows Elphaba expressing her powerful emotions in a race against time to save her beloved Fiyero.
Another one of the most heart-rending songs of the show is ‘For Good.’ This song means an awful lot to me. If you read on into part two, you will find out why it means so much to me.
When Act II was over I knew that I had been changed for good. I knew that I would look back at ‘Wicked’ not only as a spellbinding musical but also as a lesson, a lesson which has been taught for years. Don’t judge a book by its cover. In this case, if you go right into the storyline it is filled with darkness, racism. Overall, Elphaba is ‘Wicked’ because of the colour of her skin. What did she do wrong? When was she ‘Wicked?’
Elphaba is misunderstood for doing things right. All she ever wanted to do was to make things right. When she tried to make a stand people started to blame her for the situation. However, Glinda, who was her friend, could have made a stand when she was an encouraging public figure to look at Elphaba as not a ‘Wicked’ witch but as a friend who has tried to help making everything go terribly wrong.
I would then start to be an avid ‘Wicked’ fan.
I would return not only once, but four times. Including a fantastic trip to New York and seeing Kerry Ellis on Broadway.
Being a fan of musicals, I had heard of all of the “oldies” such as ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘The Sound of Music,’ but not ‘Wicked.’ The day we received the letter I immediately “googled it” on the internet to find out it was about Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North’s uncanny friendship. I can’t remember my exact emotion at that moment but I am sure it was just like Stephen Schwartz’s at that time.
“I was on a fishing trip with my friend, a folk-singer called Holly Near and she said to me ‘I’m reading this really interesting book. It’s called ‘Wicked’ and it’s the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s point of view.’ At that point my jaw just dropped” He said in an interview when asked about when he first heard of ‘Wicked.’
His jaw dropped when he first heard of it. So did mine. I thought it was one of the best ideas that has ever happened.
I found out it was a musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. My birthday was in May. For my birthday I received a book token worth £10. I immediately spent the token on the novel that inspired Schwartz’s musical.
I realised that if the musical is anything like the novel then the school would never allow a trip to go and see ‘Wicked’ again. It wasn’t.
We had to be at school for 7:15 am to catch the coach for London. Before we checked into our hotel, we went to Hampton Court Palace. It was where Henry VIII lived along with other various members of his ancestors. Although it was a beautiful building, it was not quite the Emerald City.
Once we had eaten our meals we walked around the corner to the theatre.
On 20 October 2006 I walked into, for the first time, the Apollo Victoria Theatre. It was like time Emerald City from the 1939 film of ‘Oz.’ It was very busy. People were rushing about to get memorabilia and get to their seats via the numerous amounts of entrances to the auditorium. I opened the program and read the cast to find out that the Original Elphaba was our main cast member.
When the music for the opening of ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ I knew instantly, there is going to be something different about this. It is not quite the same musical as ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
By the time Idina had finished a fantastic rendition of ‘The Wizard and I.’ I knew I was right. ‘Wicked’ is different to other musicals. It expresses itself in a way that no other musical does. Through not only the songs, but also design aspects of the show. The dancing during Dancing through life was somewhat magically non-naturalistic. It was in a way bringing the whole theatre from it's seats onto the stage and dancing with the cast. 'One Short Day' showed a fantastic mixture of set, costume and lighting all working together to create an element that causes every member of the audience's jaw to drop. The head of the Great-and-Powerful Oz is another extra-ordinary part of the play. It caputures the imaginations of the audience and they imagine they are in the room with Glinda and Elphaba meeting the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The finale of Act I requires extra help for description. The sudden contrast between the 'I hope you're Happy' section and the first verse of 'Defying Gravity.' These two parts show the anger of Glinda and Elphaba after she ran away from the Wizard. Then Elphaba tells Glinda her emotions about how she wants to get away by 'Defying Gravity,' just like the way she caused the monkeys to. For the final duet 'I hope you're happy' Glinda is not longer angry with Elphaba and just wants her to be happy. The pianissimo effect builds up to the crescendo of the final verse of 'Defying Gravity' when Idina is belting out and the crowd are watching her at 30ft in the air before the final note, orchestra hit and lights down. Unfortunately, I was sitting in Row U of the Dress Circle and with the Apollo Victoria seating 2,208; I was literally with the Gods.
However, with what I could see I knew it was brilliant and by the time the Act I climax with ‘Defying Gravity’ I was brought to tears as I realised that there is a bit of Elphaba in me. There is a bit of Elphaba in everybody and I try to think of things from other peoples points of view and judge them not by who they are but their feelings for how they respect themselves, others and the environment around them.
Act II opens with the introduction to the music of Defying Gravity. However, it then reverts to a minor key. It signifies the worry of the Ozians as the 'Wicked Witch' is flying throughout the sky. The next song stole the show for me that night. Helen Dallimore did a fantastic job her dynamics and texture during the song made knowing her ideas, emotions, thoughts and feelings. In this segment of the musical Glinda has to be the public figure. She has to guide the Ozians through their frightful time by celebrating. She has to show them that beyond the Wicked Witc hthere is a world full of love, happiness and joy. She has to bring out the heart, soul and spirit from them. By the end of the song she brings the life and colour back to them whilst hitting a top C. During the next song, Wicked Witch of the East, Nessarose and Elphaba team together to try and save Boq in a fantastic Sondhiem-esque duet of chanting and lyrics. No Good Deed shows Elphaba expressing her powerful emotions in a race against time to save her beloved Fiyero.
Another one of the most heart-rending songs of the show is ‘For Good.’ This song means an awful lot to me. If you read on into part two, you will find out why it means so much to me.
When Act II was over I knew that I had been changed for good. I knew that I would look back at ‘Wicked’ not only as a spellbinding musical but also as a lesson, a lesson which has been taught for years. Don’t judge a book by its cover. In this case, if you go right into the storyline it is filled with darkness, racism. Overall, Elphaba is ‘Wicked’ because of the colour of her skin. What did she do wrong? When was she ‘Wicked?’
Elphaba is misunderstood for doing things right. All she ever wanted to do was to make things right. When she tried to make a stand people started to blame her for the situation. However, Glinda, who was her friend, could have made a stand when she was an encouraging public figure to look at Elphaba as not a ‘Wicked’ witch but as a friend who has tried to help making everything go terribly wrong.
I would then start to be an avid ‘Wicked’ fan.
I would return not only once, but four times. Including a fantastic trip to New York and seeing Kerry Ellis on Broadway.
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