June 13

[FlyingHigh]

Is anyone scheduled to be out during the 7:30 performance this Sunday? I know Joel is. Anyone else?

[Elphaba]

no one else that ive heard of so far...i hope you get to see everyone else!

[theGAisSIL3NT]

well kristin might not be there becuase she was sick last night. she only did half the show... i was so sad that i didnt even mouth the words to the rest of the show llam

[SugarTherapy]

Trust me, she was sick. She needed to be home. It wasn't a vocal thing, it was something else.

Last night hte absences were:

Joel as the Wizard (Sean went on)
Norbert as Fiyero (Kristoffer went on)
Kristin as G(a)linda (Laura went on)
And for the second act, Idina as Elphaba (Eden went on)


Yep, that's right. For the second act we had Eden, because Idina's voice was shot. She had to lower all her notes at the end of DG because she knew she couldn't hit the others, and intermission was stretched from fifteen/twenty minutes into a half hour so they could get Eden into makeup. She did a GREAT job, as always, and got a great response from the crowd - thank OZ! But at one point, there were four principal characters onstage... and no principal actors -- all understudies! It was very strange. Kind of a taste of what it will be like when everyone has left the show. Very sad


Also - how insane is it (and i believe that was Eden's word for it as well) that two nights in a row - TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW! - they had to switch the lead actress out of her role at intermission. Let it be known that nine performances in a week is TOO MUCH for anyone playing Elphaba.

[gypsy]

That's really wierd. Remember way back when Idina was the only one that never missed performances? Well, good luck to Eden, I'm so glad she's getting her 2 weeks of green-ness.
-gyps

[WicKayed]

SugarTherapy said:

Let it be known that nine performances in a week is TOO MUCH for anyone playing Elphaba.

Nine? I thought it was eight?

(and eep.. I just added something about this to the 'bloopers' thread too... I should really read before posting... it's just so hard to see what news has already gone up and what hasn't. So sorry.)

[Galindaba089]

I think they scheduled an extra performance that week - because last Sunday they canceled it for the Tonys? I don't know if I'm right though lol.

Poor everyone! 9 shows really is very strenuous (not that I would know personally lol but... I can imagine). Especially Idina's role, all that LOUD belting. Poor Dee! Well at least she's on vacation now, she can get her rest and relaxation (ish), even though I want her back at Wicked lol.

[Alana]

SugarTherapy said:

Yep, that's right. For the second act we had Eden, because Idina's voice was shot. She had to lower all her notes at the end of DG because she knew she couldn't hit the others, and intermission was stretched from fifteen/twenty minutes into a half hour so they could get Eden into makeup. She did a GREAT job, as always, and got a great response from the crowd - thank OZ! But at one point, there were four principal characters onstage... and no principal actors -- all understudies! It was very strange. Kind of a taste of what it will be like when everyone has left the show. Very sad .

I was there yesterday (Sun 6/13) for the evening show, and while (obviously) I noticed that Idina lowered the notes in Defying Gravity, I would definitely not go as far to say her voice was shot. I could only hope to sound that good when I'm that sick. And I do say "that sick", because it must've been pretty bad for her to leave in the middle of the show. Yea, I was really surprised, I wouldn't have guessed she wasn't feeling well. And was intermission really a half an hour? I thought it seemed long, but not that long.

Maybe I'm losing my mind.

But OMG! On my way down to the theater, guess who I passed walking down the street? Harvey Fierstein! How cool is THAT!??!

[FlyingHigh]

Yes, last night was quite a unique experience. Idina sounded perfect until Defying Gravity. I was so disappointed when she had to leave, but Eden did an amazing job. So did Laura. Kristoffer was pretty good. I didn't like Sean as the Wizard.

[N0tThatGirL213]

Wow...scariness...I guess it makes sense though. I mean, I know from experience that if one person in a show gets sick, it's pretty much guaranteed that the rest of the cast will get sick...but still...And yes, go Eden!

[dramaqueen25]

Yeah, my cousin was at that performance. He's seen "Wicked" about 5 times. He said that Idina definitely sounded sick and that it was better for her that she left. Though it wasn't better for the show. He said that Laura and Kristoffer were great but Sean was okay (how sad is that? I love Sean!) and Eden wasn't good at all. So he was very disapointed. Now, that's the fifth or sixth person to tell me Eden isn't good in the role. So I'm a bit skeptical...

Anyway, I hope Idina feels better.

[FlyingHigh]

Eden was amazingly good. Her voice blew me away. Of course I'm partial to Idina, but Eden was almost as good.

[Alana]

Wow. I totally disagree with your cousin, dramaqueen. I think Eden was beautiful.

And plus it was so, SO nice to hear someone full voicing "No Good Deed." Obviously, Idina belts it and sounds fabulous every night, but we must remember that she does 8 shows a week and must perserve her voice. Eden rarely goes on (except for recently and soon when she does her 2 week thing) and so she can give it everything she has. Both are spectacular, but I'm still partial to Idina, since she's like... one of my idols.

I thought Sean as the Wizard was too young. I prefer to think of the Wizard as old/experienced/cunning.. and with him I got kind of young/fresh/snappy.

Laura I think was great except when she sometimes slipped into her "I'm a popstar" voice.

And I have to say, I didn't like the Kristoffer person as Fiyero. I mean, he was all right.. just.. eh.

And um, yep. :0)

[dramaqueen25]

Well, my cousin has good judgement, but of course I can't have an opinion. Because I've never seen Eden.

But Alana, I LOOOOVE your icon. Adam Pascal....*Sigh*

[SugarTherapy]

Okay, here's my take on the standbys/understudies.

Laura... not so good. She can sing alright, but her acting is, well, acting. When Kristin is up on that stage, she IS G(a)linda. I don't get the same thing with Laura. I have actually cringed at her performance before. I have nothing against her personally, she's a lovely person, but I hate her interpretation of the character. And she can't sing "Popular."

Sean... love him. LOVE HIM. Joel can be out any time he wants. Can someone cough on him so he has to take sick days? Sean's Wizard is young, yes, but he has a voice that makes you melt, charisma Joel can't even touch, and for the first time makes you watch the Wizard instead of Elphaba during "Wonderful." Plus, he's nice, and remembered that I hadn't been able to see him last time he was on because I was working.

Kristoffer... love him. He's the nicest guy, and so down-to-earth and sweet. His Fiyero is stronger in the second act than Norberts - many of his choices just work better for me. But that may be a matter of opinion.

Eden... what can you say about Eden? Besides "damn, that girl is good!" She nails with ease notes Idina had stuggled to land and sustain for the past few months. She is Elphaba when she's up there, just as Idina is. Many of us don't consider Eden a standby, we consider her "the other Elphaba." We scrambled for tickets when we found out she'd be on these two weeks, and my friends cheered while everyone groaned when they announced on Sunday that Eden was going to be finishing act two.


As for Idina... her voice was shot. She couldn't make many of her final notes in DG, so she lowered them all, and didn't sustain them, and she deserves TONS of respect for making that call and knowing what her voice wasn't capable of. There was no way she could have pulled off "No Good Deed," so she made the decision to leave for Act II and let Eden do her job as a standby. At least that's the impression I got from what I've heard in her performances this week as compared to Sunday night.