OMG OMG OMG ISN'T IT AWESOME WE LISTENED IN THE CAR TODAY AND SANG AND I WAS JUST THINKING HOW I NEEEEED TO SEE THIS SHOW AGAIN.
Okay. Whew.
The clock thing is actually a carryover from the book, which has several references to the Clock of the Time Dragon, suggesting somewhat that the events of Oz are pre-ordained and whatnot. It's a theme. Mostly I think they put it in the play to look cool. (I've never seen the whole movie either. The monkeys aren't that bad, but Judy Garland is like nails on a chalkboard to me.)
Yes and yes on Tin Man and Lion. The books get deeper into this; John hates that the translations between the musical, the Wicked books, and the original books make Dorothy and co. into bloodthirsty headhunters. I think it's perfectly valid to expect two (or three, counting the musical) viewpoints to be somewhat contradictory. The book also goes farther into detail about Elphaba's allergy to water, which I love.
I've seen the show twice with two casts, and Galinda is ALWAYS dialed up to 11 in the first act. I think it's so the audience finds her as annoying as Elphaba does at first, and so we get a contrast after "Defying Gravity" when she's Glinda and realizes that actions have consequences. The squealing and fluttering are just part of the character.
I think the kneeling and singing with Elphaba and Fiyero is meant to be both a mood thing and an energy thing - they're being furtive and daring, so dancing isn't appropriate, and also they're really belting it out, so it's nice for the actors to focus on the music and take a break from moving around for a song. I had the album before I saw the show, and there's a performance photo of Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz kneeling, so I expected the lack of movement. In performance, it's a bit long to go with nothing visual, but the singers are so amazing that it doesn't matter much.
I highly and strongly recommend Wicked the book, but be warned that it has different political overtones and overall themes than the musical. I heart both versions and can easily love them for their differences, but some people (John) have trouble. I know lots of people say "BEST BOOK EVAR" - I'm not one of those people - so trust me to say it's worth a read. John thinks it's overrated, YMMV.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-09-07 06:02 am (UTC)Okay. Whew.
The clock thing is actually a carryover from the book, which has several references to the Clock of the Time Dragon, suggesting somewhat that the events of Oz are pre-ordained and whatnot. It's a theme. Mostly I think they put it in the play to look cool. (I've never seen the whole movie either. The monkeys aren't that bad, but Judy Garland is like nails on a chalkboard to me.)
Yes and yes on Tin Man and Lion. The books get deeper into this; John hates that the translations between the musical, the Wicked books, and the original books make Dorothy and co. into bloodthirsty headhunters. I think it's perfectly valid to expect two (or three, counting the musical) viewpoints to be somewhat contradictory. The book also goes farther into detail about Elphaba's allergy to water, which I love.
I've seen the show twice with two casts, and Galinda is ALWAYS dialed up to 11 in the first act. I think it's so the audience finds her as annoying as Elphaba does at first, and so we get a contrast after "Defying Gravity" when she's Glinda and realizes that actions have consequences. The squealing and fluttering are just part of the character.
I think the kneeling and singing with Elphaba and Fiyero is meant to be both a mood thing and an energy thing - they're being furtive and daring, so dancing isn't appropriate, and also they're really belting it out, so it's nice for the actors to focus on the music and take a break from moving around for a song. I had the album before I saw the show, and there's a performance photo of Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz kneeling, so I expected the lack of movement. In performance, it's a bit long to go with nothing visual, but the singers are so amazing that it doesn't matter much.
I highly and strongly recommend Wicked the book, but be warned that it has different political overtones and overall themes than the musical. I heart both versions and can easily love them for their differences, but some people (John) have trouble. I know lots of people say "BEST BOOK EVAR" - I'm not one of those people - so trust me to say it's worth a read. John thinks it's overrated, YMMV.