I made it to Florida in one piece and I'll start writing about that later, but I wanted to answer some questions that a couple of readers have asked me through the comments sections. If anyone has any questions for me in future, please feel free to ask away.
Seth Christenfeld and someone named Ed (no idea if this is one of the Ed Joneses or someone else) wanted to know what DVD Ginger Carlucci, my errant former sublet, left in my DVD player.
It was David Gilmour In Concert. I have no idea who David Gilmour is, nor have I looked at the DVD. A google search reveals that Gilmour is a singer in a band called Pink Floyd. I vaguely recall hearing of this band (I think) when I was in high school. Anyone have any thoughts?
And, no, I have not heard from her since the last communication.
A reader in Los Angeles called AC wanted to know what specifically I hated so much about Wicked, the musical currently packing them in at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway and soon to be seen in a city near you. Perhaps some of my other readers can chime in here with their own thoughts. This means YOU Jess, MAK, and Famous Author Rob Brynes.
Okay, AC...I assume you read my original review published here.
Since I have not revisted the show, something I do intend to do at some point, if only to catch the performance of Jennifer Laura Thompson as Glinda, I don't have much more to add.
It has stuck me since that Wicked is less an adaptation of Gregory Maguire's novel than a retread of the Elton John/Tim Rice Aida, another bad musical that, regardless of its utter lack of redeeming qualities, nonetheless had its partisans. You see in both shows we have a golden boy who first falls for a golden girl before discovering a deeper kind of love with the golden girl's friend, the social outcast. Golden boy and social outcast attempt to hide their love from golden girl, but she finds out anyway and there's hell to pay. And a more serious golden girl is left alone at the end to pick up the pieces and go forth wiser than before.
Aida, at least, has an honest ending, albeit with a tacked on Disney coda. Wicked tries the exact same thing, but the way that its tacked on ending is incorporated into the story rings more and more false every time I think about it.
Incidentally, both shows feature(d) (nearly identical) choreography courtesy of Wayne Cilento.
I advise anyone who's seen Wicked on Broadway to check out Gregory Maguire's novel. While I realize that no adaptation of any book, for stage or film, is going to be as fleshed out or take every characterization and subplot into consideration, the creators of Wicked seem to have bought the title and the idea, but made up their own story.
Now, if you're looking for a primer on adapting a cumbersome novel for the stage, I'd advise looking no further than the popular Les Miserables, a terrific boiling down of a bloated masterpiece. All the high points are hit, the various storylines included in the show make sense, but nothing really deviates from Hugo's novel in any important way.
Okay, here concludes today's rant on Wicked.
By the way, I know this show has its defenders who feel passionately that it's, at the very least, competent. While I do not feel that competency is something that the creators were burdened with here, if someone would like to defend the musical by buying me a ticket and taking me to dinner, I'd be happy to argue the point in person.
I'm just sayin'.
Funny, I just posted a link to my own Wicked review in today's blog entry, during which I rip apart...I mean critique...La Cage aux Folles. Solidarity!
Posted by: mak at February 4, 2005 12:43 AM"a band called Pink Floyd. I vaguely recall hearing of this band (I think) when I was in high school"
Oh, please tell me you're kidding ... I'm not that much older than you & even I know Pink Floyd ...
Posted by: Steve at February 4, 2005 09:21 AMThanks Jere! I just wanted a little more of your viewpoint. I did see "Aida" and didn't care for it. (Except I loved "The Gods Love Nubia" number) I did read the novel "Wicked," but I guess enough time had passed that I don't remember all the details. Anyway, thanks for indulging me. I often discover that my taste leans toward trash, but it is always nice to have a better understanding of what makes it trash.
This comment was emailed to me by Jess who was having a little trouble posting it on his own.
"You already said a good amount about the faults of Wicked. I simply found it to be a treacly pile of nonsense. I found it boring, none of the songs were all that good (I wasn't humming anything as I left), and I felt like I'd have been better served by going to the movies. It sure would have been a lot cheaper!
Now, as for that last part of your post, Jere, I might be interested in doing that, but it would just get me in trouble. If I took you to dinner and a show, I'd just feel some sense of entitlement to those long legs of yours, and then Marc would be really mad at me. ;)"
But, AC, if YOU like the show then it isn't trash to you. I've been trying to stress that here lately. If you like it, embrace it. Not a thing wrong with that.
Posted by: Jere at February 4, 2005 10:53 PMSteve, while I recognize the name "Pink Floyd" and vaguely remember an album called "The Wall," I wouldn't recognize the band or any of their music if I heard it.
Posted by: Jere at February 4, 2005 11:28 PM