Post by ilovegrayshaw on Jul 23, 2009 12:31:05 GMT -5
Reviews of The Wicked Lady and Wicked
The Wicked Lady
Thursday 16th July at 7:30pm
Stalls Row E Seat 21
The New Vic Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
The Wicked Lady is a play written by Bryony Lavery for The New Vic Theatre. What intrigued me about it was that aerial work would be done in the round theatre. I thought this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I asked BBC Radio Stoke if they would be interested ina report on it and they said they would love that. This allowed me to get two free press tickets and access to the best seats in the house. My article has been written and is now available on the homepage of the BBC Stoke website – as the main story. www.bbc.co.uk/stoke. I got to phone director Theresa Heskins and interview her about the show. This was an amazing experience in itself and I told her how much I loved the show. To this day it remains one of the best things I have seen in a theatre. It was such an amazing night. I went with my mum and we both had the most amazing time together.
The story of the Wicked Lady, for those who don’t know it, is this. Lady Barbara Skelton is beautiful, wild and truly wicked. Forced into a respectable marriage with a man she can’t love, she soon becomes bored and embarks on a secret life of gambling, highway robbery and murder. But she’s playing a dangerous game. Shadowed by betrayal, threatened by revenge, can Barbara escape her wicked life? Or will she be abandoned to a terrible fate?
It is a tragedy but also really very funny. Although it is a period play it is written in a contemporary way which makes it effortless to understand. I thought the aerial effects where the Wicked Lady rode on a saddle – representing a horse – were amazing. There was one erotic scene where two cloths made a bed and the performers kept switching positions whilst in mid-air. It was all very erotic and quite dangerous. It was amazing to see such skill.
Yazmine Akram as Pauline was sensational. Every word could be heard and she is such a great actress. She had no aerial work herself but nevertheless made her character stand out. I think the most amazing thing about this play was that the aerial work was not hiding a bad script – as I feared it would have. Both me and mum commented that there was not a dull moment all evening.
Shelley Atkinson as Molly was so sweet. She looked like a really wonderful person. She also became really aggressive when she needed to be and was really comical as an old woman. All the minor performers had several parts to and they were magnificent at switching seamlessly between characters. They all really excelled in this respect. Flawless transitions from everybody. And also… everybody knew all their lines. There was not a single prompt.
Roisin Gallagher as Barbara Skelton – the Wicked Lady – was superb. Every line could be heard. She was the only person who was audible throughout. Her acting was magnificent and flawless. She moved on the aerial equipment with ease. It was just 100% perfect. She is the best performer I have ever seen on a stage. Period.
Michael Hugo as Ned Cotterill: His faces were very very very funny and when he played an old woman he was so hilarious. He put on the most insanely comic voices and did a hilarious funny laugh. He was also able to switch from comedy to horror. His face when he played the Ghost was just perfect. His eyes seemed to be popping out of his skull. He really looked stone dead. My only problem was his diction. He was inaudible 90% of the time he was on stage. He needed a microphone.
Stephen Finegold as Hogarth: This guy was alright. He didn’t shine like the rest of the cast but played a very convincing death scene. He was quite a good actor and perfectly audible.
Marcello Walton as Jerry: Marcello was great too. He was just stunning. He really played the role well. He was very menacing and able to command the stage. He had some of the hardest aerial tricks to do. He had to pull up on one of the ropes that made up the bed, whilst dangling below it. If he’d have let go he would have fallen head first onto the stage. He also had a hanging scene where he flipped his entire body over and fell head first just inches away from the stage. Nerves of steel from this man.
Wicked
Wednesday 22nd July at 2:30pm
Circle Row A Seat 30
The Apollo Victoria Theatre, London
This is my second time seeing Wicked and I only saw one performer that I had seen on April 1st. I was extremely lucky in this respect.
Alexia Khadime as Elphaba: I went in thinking I wouldn’t like her. Usually this means you come out feeling the same way. I didn’t. It took me a while to get used to her Elphie. She can’t make as big of an entrance as Kerry did. Kerry’s fall to the front was perfect. I thought Alexia’s The Wizard and I lacked some of the power of other versions but was still really good. She was very easy on the ears and had a wonderful voice. Her What is this feeling? Was one of her best moments in the show. Her evil laugh and menace were just incredible. Far better than Kerry’s. I thought she was really good at the end of this song. She made me laugh. Her Something Bad was great because she has a voice that really suited the music. I think I preferred Kerry’s dance in Dancing Through Life but Alexia still did a great job. I’m not that girl was another very strong song for Alexia. She sang it beautifully. Surpassing Kerry’s in my eyes. Defying Gravity lacked some of the evilness it needs from Elphaba. Surprising because Alexia was really evil in What is this feeling?. I think the first half could have ended a bit more dramatically. In As Long As You’re Mine she was a real powerhouse and very easy on the ears. No Good Deed was rather dull and lacked the magic that Kerry gave it. For Good was one of the best renditions I have ever heard. Just fantastic.
Dianne Pilkington as Glinda: I had wanted to see Dianne as Glinda for a long time because O have heard nothing but praise for her. Sarah Earnshaw, who I saw in April, was my favourite performer ever and I have to admit that, walking to Euston after the show, I started reminiscing back to when I saw her. Dianne’s entrance in Dear Old Shiz was nowhere near as grand as Sarah’s and that really shocked me. Dianne looked half asleep on the trolley and lacked the power Sarah had. Her “toss toss” also lacked something. The most stricking area where Sarah was 15 hundred times better than Dianne was when she says “Gaalinda with a Gaa”. I don’t think anyone can say it with so much silliness and hyperness than Sarah. Sarah is such a cutie pie when she says it. Dianne excelled when she was delivering the lines about turning Elphie’s dress into a ballgown. Her No-one Mourns the Wicked was the best I have heard it. Her Finale was so awkward to listen to. Really strained and just so bizarre. Don’t know quite what was going on there. Her Popular was the best ever. About 15 hundred times better than Sarah’s. I was nearly falling asleep when Sarah sang it. I love the squeaks and the funny dancing Dianne adds to it. It makes the scene so much more unique and interesting. Total love. Thanks Goodness dragged on and on (mum agrees too) but I think that’s more a fault of the show than Dianne. Dianne was amazing when she sang I’m not that girl (reprise). I thought she sang it so maturely and beautifully. She really made the transition between naïve crazy Glinda to vulnerable mature Glinda look effortless. Her For Good was so beautiful I nearly started to cry. She has one great voice. I would love to see her again.
Oliver Tompsett as Fiyero: I had also wanted Oliver to be on – again due to all the praise he gets from fans. I thought he was OK but was a little disappointed really. He was constantly out of breath during Dancing Through Life. His movement is not really excellent. He has outsung by Alexia during As Long As You’re Mine and his diction is off in places too. He does have the looks for the role but I think that maybe his time as Fiyero is coming to an end. They need someone fresh in the role. I bought Oliver’s CD from the Wicked souvenir desk. I really though Oliver was brilliant on it. I was really surprised. His duet with Elphaba standby Ashleigh Gray is really really beautiful. I think he should concentrate on solo work after Wicked.
Aileen Donohue as Madam Morrible: I didn’t want an understudy for Madam Morrible. It meant that I had three understudies on for one performance. I thought Aileen did a great job though. Most of the time she was really quiet but still perfectly audible and in character. But there were moments where she just blew my mind. Her “Wicked Witch” in Defying Gravity was really really really mega loud and so dramatic that it blew me out of my seat. I couldn’t stop laughing at how amazing it was. She put a huge smile on my face. I still can’t stop telling people about it. Another place where she excelled was when she said “a change in the weather”. One thing about Wicked which really irritates me is that there is no thunder effect after that line. It just goes in to the slow intro music for I’m not that girl (reprise). I think it really should have some kind of sound effect because both Morrible’s I have seen (both excellent understudies) delivered that line so dramatically. It feels odd to suddenly switch to sweet music and makes the Morrible’s look a bit foolish. I think people should go and see Aileen. She was probably the best performer in this matinee. Truly sensational. Really great. She was audible all the way through and very easy on the ears. Perfect Morrible. A must see.
Alex Jessop as Boq: I don’t know what it is about Boq but I never like people in the role. I think it must be a really part to play. I thought Alex was excellent at playing the love struck student but it’s his tin man where he failed to impress. I think he needed to be a bit more in character there. It’s just something about his verse in March of the Witch Hunters that put me off a bit.
David Stoller as Doctor Dillamond: 20000000 times better than Andy Mace. A true legend in this role. Perfect for it. He was really realistic as a goat professor and I found his bleeting really loud and fanastic. He was totally in character and really awesome. One of the best performers.
Desmond Barritt as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Desmond returns to play the Wizard because Sam Kelly is ill. He is the only performer I have seen twice in Wicked. I really like him. He was ill and so he wasn’t as utterly mind blowing as last time I saw him. He was still very professorly which is what I love about him. It’s how I have always imagined the role – from the MGM film too. His voice as The Wizard Head is really dramatic and powerful. I love it. Most of the words that come from it are inaudible but I’m not really fussed about that.
Stevie Tate-Bauer as Nessarose: I had wanted to see this second cover because I thought she would be great. She was. Truly magnificent. She could have been a bit more menacing and a bit better at acting the role. I thought she sang the line “The Wicked Witch of the East” brilliantly. Her last note was really long and powerful. I was blown away.
The Wicked Lady
Thursday 16th July at 7:30pm
Stalls Row E Seat 21
The New Vic Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
The Wicked Lady is a play written by Bryony Lavery for The New Vic Theatre. What intrigued me about it was that aerial work would be done in the round theatre. I thought this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I asked BBC Radio Stoke if they would be interested ina report on it and they said they would love that. This allowed me to get two free press tickets and access to the best seats in the house. My article has been written and is now available on the homepage of the BBC Stoke website – as the main story. www.bbc.co.uk/stoke. I got to phone director Theresa Heskins and interview her about the show. This was an amazing experience in itself and I told her how much I loved the show. To this day it remains one of the best things I have seen in a theatre. It was such an amazing night. I went with my mum and we both had the most amazing time together.
The story of the Wicked Lady, for those who don’t know it, is this. Lady Barbara Skelton is beautiful, wild and truly wicked. Forced into a respectable marriage with a man she can’t love, she soon becomes bored and embarks on a secret life of gambling, highway robbery and murder. But she’s playing a dangerous game. Shadowed by betrayal, threatened by revenge, can Barbara escape her wicked life? Or will she be abandoned to a terrible fate?
It is a tragedy but also really very funny. Although it is a period play it is written in a contemporary way which makes it effortless to understand. I thought the aerial effects where the Wicked Lady rode on a saddle – representing a horse – were amazing. There was one erotic scene where two cloths made a bed and the performers kept switching positions whilst in mid-air. It was all very erotic and quite dangerous. It was amazing to see such skill.
Yazmine Akram as Pauline was sensational. Every word could be heard and she is such a great actress. She had no aerial work herself but nevertheless made her character stand out. I think the most amazing thing about this play was that the aerial work was not hiding a bad script – as I feared it would have. Both me and mum commented that there was not a dull moment all evening.
Shelley Atkinson as Molly was so sweet. She looked like a really wonderful person. She also became really aggressive when she needed to be and was really comical as an old woman. All the minor performers had several parts to and they were magnificent at switching seamlessly between characters. They all really excelled in this respect. Flawless transitions from everybody. And also… everybody knew all their lines. There was not a single prompt.
Roisin Gallagher as Barbara Skelton – the Wicked Lady – was superb. Every line could be heard. She was the only person who was audible throughout. Her acting was magnificent and flawless. She moved on the aerial equipment with ease. It was just 100% perfect. She is the best performer I have ever seen on a stage. Period.
Michael Hugo as Ned Cotterill: His faces were very very very funny and when he played an old woman he was so hilarious. He put on the most insanely comic voices and did a hilarious funny laugh. He was also able to switch from comedy to horror. His face when he played the Ghost was just perfect. His eyes seemed to be popping out of his skull. He really looked stone dead. My only problem was his diction. He was inaudible 90% of the time he was on stage. He needed a microphone.
Stephen Finegold as Hogarth: This guy was alright. He didn’t shine like the rest of the cast but played a very convincing death scene. He was quite a good actor and perfectly audible.
Marcello Walton as Jerry: Marcello was great too. He was just stunning. He really played the role well. He was very menacing and able to command the stage. He had some of the hardest aerial tricks to do. He had to pull up on one of the ropes that made up the bed, whilst dangling below it. If he’d have let go he would have fallen head first onto the stage. He also had a hanging scene where he flipped his entire body over and fell head first just inches away from the stage. Nerves of steel from this man.
Wicked
Wednesday 22nd July at 2:30pm
Circle Row A Seat 30
The Apollo Victoria Theatre, London
This is my second time seeing Wicked and I only saw one performer that I had seen on April 1st. I was extremely lucky in this respect.
Alexia Khadime as Elphaba: I went in thinking I wouldn’t like her. Usually this means you come out feeling the same way. I didn’t. It took me a while to get used to her Elphie. She can’t make as big of an entrance as Kerry did. Kerry’s fall to the front was perfect. I thought Alexia’s The Wizard and I lacked some of the power of other versions but was still really good. She was very easy on the ears and had a wonderful voice. Her What is this feeling? Was one of her best moments in the show. Her evil laugh and menace were just incredible. Far better than Kerry’s. I thought she was really good at the end of this song. She made me laugh. Her Something Bad was great because she has a voice that really suited the music. I think I preferred Kerry’s dance in Dancing Through Life but Alexia still did a great job. I’m not that girl was another very strong song for Alexia. She sang it beautifully. Surpassing Kerry’s in my eyes. Defying Gravity lacked some of the evilness it needs from Elphaba. Surprising because Alexia was really evil in What is this feeling?. I think the first half could have ended a bit more dramatically. In As Long As You’re Mine she was a real powerhouse and very easy on the ears. No Good Deed was rather dull and lacked the magic that Kerry gave it. For Good was one of the best renditions I have ever heard. Just fantastic.
Dianne Pilkington as Glinda: I had wanted to see Dianne as Glinda for a long time because O have heard nothing but praise for her. Sarah Earnshaw, who I saw in April, was my favourite performer ever and I have to admit that, walking to Euston after the show, I started reminiscing back to when I saw her. Dianne’s entrance in Dear Old Shiz was nowhere near as grand as Sarah’s and that really shocked me. Dianne looked half asleep on the trolley and lacked the power Sarah had. Her “toss toss” also lacked something. The most stricking area where Sarah was 15 hundred times better than Dianne was when she says “Gaalinda with a Gaa”. I don’t think anyone can say it with so much silliness and hyperness than Sarah. Sarah is such a cutie pie when she says it. Dianne excelled when she was delivering the lines about turning Elphie’s dress into a ballgown. Her No-one Mourns the Wicked was the best I have heard it. Her Finale was so awkward to listen to. Really strained and just so bizarre. Don’t know quite what was going on there. Her Popular was the best ever. About 15 hundred times better than Sarah’s. I was nearly falling asleep when Sarah sang it. I love the squeaks and the funny dancing Dianne adds to it. It makes the scene so much more unique and interesting. Total love. Thanks Goodness dragged on and on (mum agrees too) but I think that’s more a fault of the show than Dianne. Dianne was amazing when she sang I’m not that girl (reprise). I thought she sang it so maturely and beautifully. She really made the transition between naïve crazy Glinda to vulnerable mature Glinda look effortless. Her For Good was so beautiful I nearly started to cry. She has one great voice. I would love to see her again.
Oliver Tompsett as Fiyero: I had also wanted Oliver to be on – again due to all the praise he gets from fans. I thought he was OK but was a little disappointed really. He was constantly out of breath during Dancing Through Life. His movement is not really excellent. He has outsung by Alexia during As Long As You’re Mine and his diction is off in places too. He does have the looks for the role but I think that maybe his time as Fiyero is coming to an end. They need someone fresh in the role. I bought Oliver’s CD from the Wicked souvenir desk. I really though Oliver was brilliant on it. I was really surprised. His duet with Elphaba standby Ashleigh Gray is really really beautiful. I think he should concentrate on solo work after Wicked.
Aileen Donohue as Madam Morrible: I didn’t want an understudy for Madam Morrible. It meant that I had three understudies on for one performance. I thought Aileen did a great job though. Most of the time she was really quiet but still perfectly audible and in character. But there were moments where she just blew my mind. Her “Wicked Witch” in Defying Gravity was really really really mega loud and so dramatic that it blew me out of my seat. I couldn’t stop laughing at how amazing it was. She put a huge smile on my face. I still can’t stop telling people about it. Another place where she excelled was when she said “a change in the weather”. One thing about Wicked which really irritates me is that there is no thunder effect after that line. It just goes in to the slow intro music for I’m not that girl (reprise). I think it really should have some kind of sound effect because both Morrible’s I have seen (both excellent understudies) delivered that line so dramatically. It feels odd to suddenly switch to sweet music and makes the Morrible’s look a bit foolish. I think people should go and see Aileen. She was probably the best performer in this matinee. Truly sensational. Really great. She was audible all the way through and very easy on the ears. Perfect Morrible. A must see.
Alex Jessop as Boq: I don’t know what it is about Boq but I never like people in the role. I think it must be a really part to play. I thought Alex was excellent at playing the love struck student but it’s his tin man where he failed to impress. I think he needed to be a bit more in character there. It’s just something about his verse in March of the Witch Hunters that put me off a bit.
David Stoller as Doctor Dillamond: 20000000 times better than Andy Mace. A true legend in this role. Perfect for it. He was really realistic as a goat professor and I found his bleeting really loud and fanastic. He was totally in character and really awesome. One of the best performers.
Desmond Barritt as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Desmond returns to play the Wizard because Sam Kelly is ill. He is the only performer I have seen twice in Wicked. I really like him. He was ill and so he wasn’t as utterly mind blowing as last time I saw him. He was still very professorly which is what I love about him. It’s how I have always imagined the role – from the MGM film too. His voice as The Wizard Head is really dramatic and powerful. I love it. Most of the words that come from it are inaudible but I’m not really fussed about that.
Stevie Tate-Bauer as Nessarose: I had wanted to see this second cover because I thought she would be great. She was. Truly magnificent. She could have been a bit more menacing and a bit better at acting the role. I thought she sang the line “The Wicked Witch of the East” brilliantly. Her last note was really long and powerful. I was blown away.
