Review: Wicked

Musical: Wicked

Venue: Apollo Victoria Theatre, London, UK

Date: 30th November 2011 at 14:30

Cast: Rachel Tucker (Elphaba), Chloe Taylor (s/b Glinda), Mark Evans (Fiyero), Julie LeGrand (Madame Morrible), Clive Carter (The Wizard of Oz), Zoe Rainey (Nessarose), Ben Stott (Boq), Julian Forsyth (Doctor Dillamond) and Daniel Jones (Chistery)

Rating: *****

Review: 

I have seen Wicked once in San Francisco back in 2009 and honestly I wasn't too impressed with it and back then I never thought that  I would return to it anytime soon. However, when I found out about the day seat for Wicked in London, I was tempted so I went to join the queue to try my luck. I was at the Apollo Victoria Theatre about 9:45 am and there was already quite some queue there. Luckily, it was a two-day show so I did get myself on a day seat ticket to the matinee show for 27.50 GBP

The Apollo Victoria Theatre was a very beautiful and large theatre. It was that big that they could fit a bar at the back of the stall! To my surprise, the theatre was only half full in the stall at the Wednesday performance I attended. I thought with its popularity and great publicity, it would be nearly sold out for most performances because whenever I went to see The Lion King on Wednesday afternoon, it was always full. I'm not sure if this is a bad sign for Wicked's life in London or not..

Outside the Apollo Victoria Theatre

Before the Show

 I was sitting in A15. The front seat did provide a clear view of the stage with great legroom and a good close look of the actors and the sets and costumes which I personally enjoyed. Though my seat was a bit too much on the far right of the stage, I can see the dragon clearly from where I was. However, there were times that my view was blocked due to stage blocking *SPOILER ALERT* including Elphaba's mother's secret lover in the opening scene (blocked by Glinda),  the leading characters (Glinda, Fiyero and Madame Morrible) on the stand during "Thank Goodness" and at the end where Elphaba popped up from the trapdoor and walked off with Fiyero together. *SPOILER ENDS* Though only a few minutes of it was blocked, I still feel that these are quite important to the plots which may affect first-timers' understanding of the whole storyline. And you do lose out on the big picture of the set being so close but it is definitely worth the price especially if you were there early and got the centre seats. If you had to go for side views, I would recommend far left (higher number).

Overall, I enjoyed the show a lot more than when I saw it in San Francisco. It could be that this cast was a lot stronger and it is a sit-down production where everything just looks grander, compared to a touring production. Rachel Tucker was a great Elphaba. She has a great singing voice and a great stage presence. Her "The Wizard and I" and "No Good Deed" were highlights of the night. She also did well in softer moments like "I'm Not That Girl" and "As Long As You're Mine". However, I feel that she's a bit shouty with her dialogue but she did express them well. 

Rachel Tucker as Elphaba in "No Good Deed"

As Glinda, we got standby Chloe Taylor who was very good in her role but she was so tall that she made Rachel look short. Chloe played and sang the part well and had a beautiful soprano voice, though I feel that she was not as funny as Louise Dearman (current London Glinda) and other Glindas I've seen. But I do prefer her to Kendra Kassebaum whom I saw in San Francisco. I enjoyed the moments when both Chloe and Rachel were together from "What Is This Feeling" to the last "For Good".

Chloe Taylor as Glinda

The Catfight Scene
(Louise Dearman and Rachel Tucker)

 Mark Evans was our Fiyero and I remembered him from Oklahoma! in Manchester last year. I think he did well with the role. I also could spot him in the ensemble during the opening number "No One Mourns the Wicked". Julie Legrand was a good Madame Morrible but a bit weak on the singing side. Clive Carter was an excellent Wizard of Oz. He played the role well and he also sang well. I quite like his "Wonderful", I don't know what but there's just something different to it compared to the other Wizards I've seen and heard.

Mark Evans as Fiyero during "Thank Goodness"

Julie Legrand as the evil Madame Morrible

Clive Carter as The Wizard of Oz
(seen here with Rachel Tucker just before "Wonderful")

Ben Stott and Zoe Rainey also made a great Boq and Nessarose. Zoe's "The Wicked Witch of the East" was great, *SPOILER ALERT* though with the angle from where I was, I could see Ben already in his tinman suit when Elphaba wheeled him out. Not sure if that was a deliberate angle or Rachel just missed the angle. *SPOILER ENDS*

Ben Stott as Boq

Zoe Rainey and Ben Stott as Nessarose and Boq
in the second act just before "The Wicked With of the East"

 Same as when I saw The Lion King, the British accent stood out to me a lot here like in "DAAncing through life" and it's a bit funny (and weird) to listen to "Popular" with a British accent and it made the joke about the word a bit less funny. The production design was very similar to the Broadway (bootleg) and San Francisco versions that I've seen. I didn't remember that the broom just flew out from the wing like that when I saw it in San Francisco. The main difference that I noticed here that I really liked was when Glinda draped the black cloth over Elphaba in "Defying Gravity" just before she flew. Here, Elphaba would crouch and then slowly stood up. It totally changed the tone of the scene and it made that exact moment a lot stronger for Elphaba as she actually turned into The Wicked Witch of the West. 

Mark Evans and Louise Dearman
during "Dancing Through Life"

Overall, I had a great time at Wicked and this London production totally changed my idea of seeing Wicked live on stage. I would recommend this show to everyone but I still stand by my idea that it would be great if you would brush up your Wizard of Oz knowledge a bit so you get most of the jokes in the show as well as learn the synopsis first (especially for non-natives) as the show progresses quite quickly. As I'm typing this review now, I really wouldn't mind going back to see it again especially for the price I paid!

"Good news, she's dead!"

"She's tragically beautiful but I'm beautifully tragic!"

"One short day in the Emerald city"

"We couldn't be happier, thank goodness!"
seen here with Adam Garcia as Fiyero and Helen Dallimore as Glinda
and the original London cast

WICKED DAY SEATS

24 seats in Stalls Row A will be sold for 27.50 GBP (stalls full price is at 65 GBP) on the day of the performance (two-show day on Wednesdays and Saturdays, no show on Sundays). Interested audience must go to the Apollo Victoria Theatre in person (Limited 2 tickets per person). The box office opens at 10 am. On a two-show day, I suggest getting there about 9:30 am. (earlier if you definitely want centre seats) since there would be 48 seats to sell. On a one-show day, it really depends on your luck whether there will be a long queue by that time or not. I have read that some people went to queue since 7 am. I'd say 8 am. to be safe (but I have also read that some people went there at 8 am. and there was already 10+ people waiting) but it's still a 2-hour wait in the cold but if you get it, it's really worth the wait.