Wicked (The SOB Revisit) - London
Wicked (The SOB Revisit) - Apollo Victoria Theatre, London, United Kingdom
**1/2 (out of ****)
Paging Joe Mantello.
London calling. Something bad is happening in Oz.
Look, it's Glinda (Helen Dallimore, pictured). She's phoning it in.
Or worse, Wicked's West End spell has been miscast...terribly I might add, in terms of Dallimore's ability to capture the effervescent and ditzy glee of Glinda. You could say that she's single-wandedly threatening your global franchise.
Now, I've always been one of Wicked's most ardent fans. I've fiercely defended your show against its critics and their reviews. In addition to the initial Broadway run with Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, I've seen the Chicago sitdown production as well as the tour. Overall, I've seen your brilliantly staged musical more times than I care to admit. The one thing that has always impressed me has been the ability of each Glinda and Elphaba pairing to punctuate each ironic and iconic line all while blending their voices in a swirl of mesmerizing harmonies.
But not in London. While Kerry Ellis (a perfect doppelgänger for Jane Krakowski) provided a terrific and forceful green witch, Dallimore was flat, not only in delivering lines rife with possibility and humor, but also in her lackluster singing. I'm not sure if she was simply having an off night, but in the performance I saw, she could not hold any of the high notes or my interest.
Remarkably, the rest of the show across the pond holds up pretty well. I liked the minor changes to the projection design (enhanced from the States) as well as to the orchestrations. I even thought the most noticeable change in the book worked by altering the first encounter between Elphaba and Fiero, played with panache by Adam Garcia -- perhaps the sexiest love interest for the two witches yet.
Of course, the audience still mustered a standing "O." However, I couldn't help but think they would have enjoyed the show so much more had Glinda the Good actually lived up to her moniker.
Joe Mantello, are you listening?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Wicked London tickets.
Related Stories:
Theatre For A New Age (April 8, 2007)
Wicked World (March 19, 2007)
Were London Critics Mourning West End Wicked? (September 28, 2006)
West End Wicked Opens Tonight (September 27, 2006)
West End Wicked Opens Tonight (September 27, 2006)
Wicked Witch of the West End Takes Flight Tonight (September 7, 2006)
Five Times More Wicked (July 17, 2006)
Encore: Spotlight Week Ending April 30, 2006 (April 30, 2006)
Labels: Adam Garcia, Broadway, Helen Dallimore, Joe Mantello, Kerry Ellis, London, Musical, The SOB Review, The SOB Revisit, Wicked
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Tuesday, April 17, 2007
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