I'm slowly working on getting new pix into the albums (I think I have Boq through Fiyero so far; I'm stuck on Glinda cuz there's just... so... many...), but in the Stephen Schwartz newsletter there was some information on a new non-replicated production of Wicked opening in Finland.
"...By "non-replicated" I mean that this will be the first production that is not based on the Broadway staging and design. ...It has been fascinating after all these years of knowing only the (excellent) Broadway production to see a different take on the show. There are some very interesting ideas in the Finnish production - a deeper relationship between Elphaba and Chistery (the flying monkey), who plays a larger, albeit non-speaking, role in the proceedings, a re-imagining of the "Wizomania" sequence in "One Short Day" as taking place in a kind of subversive underground Animal club in the middle of Emerald City, and many political allusions to the historical relationship between Finland and Russia. The set is basically composed of four large abstractly-designed tower units that rotate into different configurations, which characters can clamber over or stand on and in. It was too early in the process to evaluate how well this all will work, but the cast sings, dances, and (as far as I could tell in Finnish) acts with a high degree of talent and skill, and as I say, I found the whole experience fascinating. I am very much looking forward to seeing the finished Finnish product in August.
I looked up the website of the theatre, and I found some pictures! What do you guys think? (more pix here)
1 comment:
Wicked was such a great production. I brought my family to NYC to see it a couple of years ago, and my kids are still taking about. The really should license the Wicked Witch as a costume, because I think it be very popular.
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