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Thursday, February 18, 2010
“Wicked” finally casts spell at Schuster
“Wicked,” a little musical about sisterhood and doing good, has officially cast its spell at the the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
The Thursday night, Feb. 18, performance for the third of what will be many more virtually full houses in a long-awaited, satisfying local premiere through March 7, answered the questions that matter.
Is the uplifting and entertaining musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holtzman really that good? Is it still that good seven years after opening on Broadway?
Yes and yes.
Do you need to know the complex and quirky novel by Gregory Maguire to make sense of a story that explains what happened in Oz before (but also a bit after) Dorothy “melts” the Wicked Witch?
No.
Is it worth the ticket price?
Yes. In fact, if you have your ticket, be happy.
There are good and great songs in a two-act production that runs about 2:45, including intermission. A couple of them — “Defying Gravity,” which closes Act 1, and “No Good Deed,” more than midway through Act 2, are passionate expressions.
The other, the iconic and emblematic duet for the two leading ladies, “For Good,” is emotionally satisfying. The two witches who share it underplayed it a bit on opening night, which proved effective for a song that has made so many people cry.
As Elphaba, Broadway veteran Marcie Dodd was a powerhouse as the misunderstood green witch and animal activist we get to know and learn to love. She was the gutsy heart of this production.
Helene Yorke as Glinda gave us a pretty, stuck-up blonde who was truly changed for good, shifting to causes much bigger than her self-centered introduction. It was a nicely developed portrayal, but her opening solo, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” fell a bit flat.
Marilyn Caskey as headmistress Morrible, Kristine Reese as Elphaba’s non-green sister Nessarose, Don Amedolia as the purposely not very wonderful Wizard and Colin Donnell as the romantic male lead Fiyero were other individuals framed and supported by a versatile ensemble, scenic dazzle, evocative costuming and clear story sprinkled with humor (especially for Glinda).
The male characters tend to be two-dimensional and not all that positive in a show as dominated by women as “The Color Purple.” Even Fiyero ends up stuffed with straw, although two women love him and he wins one of them.
“Wicked” forges many connections with the 1939 classic “Wizard of Oz” film and neatly ties up several resulting loose ends. It both plays off and pays homage to the mother lode that inspired Maguire and the musical’s makers.
It has taken its green and blonde time getting here, which turns out not to matter at all.
Tickets for the the Victoria Theatre Association presentation are $46-$125 at (937) 228-3630, toll free at (888) 228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetStudents to sing for Schwartz, ‘Wicked’ cast
The Human Race Theatre Company’s third annual Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Scholarship Competition March 1 will boast tie-ins with the musical “Wicked,” which is now playing at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Schwartz, the show’s composer and lyricist, will serve as one of the judges for the contest, in which seven area university theater majors will vie for scholarship money. The audience will also get to vote.
Stephen Schwartz
Daniel Torres of the “Wicked” cast will serve as emcee. Others with roles in the show will perform on the program, which takes place on their day off.
The students either have hometowns in the Dayton area or attend college here. They include: Rachel Jones of Hamilton, a student at Baldwin-Wallace College; Andrew Koslow of Springboro and the University of Oklahoma; and five musical theater majors at Wright State University — Charity Farrell, Hilary Fingerman, Kelsey Hopkins, Charlie Mann and Alexandra Sunderhaus.
Farrell, a freshman at WSU who grew up singing and acting on Dayton stages, said the chance to meet Schwartz, “Wicked” performers and experience the personal first of singing in the Schuster “will be a thrill.” Going up against the other finalist “will be daunting.”
Jones, a sophomore in musical theater at B-W, was chosen as an alternate for the first competition as a high school senior. “As a finalist, I hope to use what I’m learning at school to bring his song to life and do it justice. I hope to make Mr. Schwartz proud.”
Each student will sing two songs, one of them by Schwartz.
A reception with Schwartz, the students and other performers will follow the competition, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Performing Arts Center. Use the entrance at Second and Ludlow streets.
Tickets are $20 for the show, $50 for show and reception. Call (937) 228-3630 or make reservations at www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetMusica! to perform at Midwest conference
The members of Musica! would be wise to rest their vocal chords this week, because the professional vocal ensemble has a busy schedule ahead.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21, 19 Musica! singers will lift their voices in a concert at David’s United Church of Christ, 170 David Rd. in Kettering. The local performance is a prelude to the group’s major showcase at the 2010 American Choral Directors Association Midwest Conference at Cincinnati’s Hilton Netherlands Hotel at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25.
Musica! is one of more than twenty choirs chosen to sing at the four-day conference.
“The David Church concert is free to the public,” said Robert Jones, artistic director of Musica!. “If people wanted to go to this conference, there’s a huge guest fee; which is why we wanted people to know if they would like to come to hear us before that, this is obviously the way to do it.”
Musica! faced stiff competition from more than fifty vocal ensembles statewide. After an extensive elimination process, Musica! got the nod.
“Basically I put together a portfolio that had information on the group,” Jones explained. “I put together a CD of three different selections. From that we were chosen.”
Musica! is the only adult vocal ensemble on the program.
“The rest are high school and collegiate (choirs),” Jones said. “The group is really proud and I think they should be.”
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