Anyone else not a fan of “Wicked”?

A lot of people, initially. Opening night reviews were fairly negative.

I'm gay but I can't stand musicals except for Grease and the original Hairspray.

Musicals are for the light of mind.

I’ve seen it twice (not my choice) and it was “meh” both times.

I think enjoying the show requires some amount of empathy. I imagine those devoid of empathy would not find it enjoyable.

A good score and/or book would suffice

The novel is TEDIOUSLY LONG to the point of self-indulgence. The musical has lost its luster with age.

It’s a show for teenage girls. Also way too long. I left at intermission. I had sufficient.

It's total shit. How it has been successful as it has is beyond me.

Someone gave an opinion before me, so I'm just going to say what they said so maybe I'll fit in.

I work in the building—above the Gershwin Theater. I see the audience arrivals all the time…Wednesdays are a special treat. Just know that the typical audience for that show is the apotheosis of Floverstan frau-dom. you could fill a thread just by commenting as you stand and watch those folks.

A sight to see, and to make your eyes sore.

The novel is just a jumping-off point. It’s strange and complex and somber.

[quote]The novel is just a jumping-off point.

The novel is just dull as dirt.

My partner and I left at the break. It was just a lot of screeching rather than singing.

I just saw it - with a teenaged girl. The performers are talented, the book is sometimes amusing and the staging is vast and interesting.

The sets and costumes now have a very obviously “late 90s” dated look to them and mist of the songs are completely unmemorable - standard modern Broadway sung exposition rather than actual, you know, songs.

The story takes a few turns that don’t jibe with the 1939 movie or hold up once you think about them, but the 1939 movie took lots of liberties with the original book. The big difference is the movie is a masterpiece and Wicked is just a clunky, middle of the road crowd pleaser with performers who are better than the material they have to perform.

The teen girl LOVED it.

I disliked Wicked, and, for the most part, I enjoy both filmed and stage musicals.

10 years ago I saw “An American in Paris” on Broadway. Once you see the stark difference between a superb production like that like and Wicked, well, simply put, you see the difference between good and bad.

It was better than Wicked—that hardly made it superb.

Defying gravity, embracing mediocrity.

I must be light-minded because I adore most musical theater. But yikes, WICKED is the most vapid, mediocre, screechy show. Just the WORST.

Then again I also hate Dear Evan Hansen. Both shows are like Broadway’s Afterschool Specials.

I also remember when it debuted the reviews were mediocre. I would never have thought we'd still be talking about it all these years later.

[quote] I would never have thought we'd still be talking about it all these years later.

Maybe we’re still talking about it, it’s still playing, a movie version is being made, and a large number of people listen to the songs and know them by heart, because, as r15 states, “the songs are completely unmemorable”, or something.

A large number of people aren’t very interesting or even intelligent, so what’s your point there?

It's emotional chow chow with the right logo, r21.

There are a few very good songs in it: "Popular," "Nobody Mourns the Wicked," "For Good," and "One Short Day." But I hate "Defying Gravity" and "Dancing through Life."

The genius of the show was making a musical all about girls' messy friendships at a time when teenage girls were such a big part of the Broadway audience.

No. I don’t like it “humanized” the witches and took out some of the major fantasy elements that made them cool.

The original story is that Oz was ruled by a monarchy and a witch kidnapped the King and turned his heir into a boy who lived with her and she divided the kingdom among the bad witches and the good witches battled to get some back.

So the whole idea that they were friends or in school and etc I just think it’s dumb.

I just like to think the Wicked Witch of the West and her sister came from a long line of evil and were always mean and powerful.

Dunno I just don’t like the story I think it’s dumb

To be accurate, R21, I did say MOST of the songs are unmemorable, and I stand by that. (Even though I typo-ed it as “mist”).

It’s an ok musical, by no means great or particularly artistically distinguished, but it is incredibly popular with the demographic it was tailor made for - and thus a huge commercial success.

You can backtrack better than that…

I still wouldn’t go, even if the swarthy Dominican ushers gave blowjobs during intermission!

A song doesn't have to be good to be memorable.

Stephen Schwartz tried to suck my cock!

Stephen Schwartz likes to have twinky flavors of the month.

I always loved the Wizard of Oz. Was extremely disappointed by Wicked. I don’t even remember the plot, the whole thing was unmemorable and terribly overrated.

Really , you green with envy!

So much green! Too much green!

Without the last 90 seconds of Defying Gravity the show would've closed in Feb 2004.

Is the success of Wicked somewhat responsible for all these stupid origin stories and pointless remakes?

I like WICKED. I’ve seen it 8 or 9 times. I definitely recommend it because it’s a big full Broadway-sized musical where you get your money’s worth. It’s an interesting story with a lot of tuneful songs.

[quote] I'm gay but I can't stand musicals except for Grease and the original Hairspray.

Was the original Hairspray a musical?

R34- No way. That’s not even the most famous song. “For Good” is the reason the show is a hit.

R37. No it wasn’t. Maybe they meant the original musical because we got another movie and a TV event after that.

[quote] It’s an ok musical, by no means great or particularly artistically distinguished, but it is incredibly popular with the demographic it was tailor made for

Gays?

I very much enjoyed the book.

Gay and girls, dallyn. Emo theatre kids.

R38 Yes way. DG is the falling chandelier of Wicked. Even Popular is bigger than For Good.

[quote] I definitely recommend it because it’s a big full Broadway-sized musical where you get your money’s worth.

That’s the reason I chose it as the first show on Broadway to see. I wanted a big show and was not disappointed. Something like Mamma Mia!, on the other hand, should only be seen with the touring company or at dinner theater.

Defying Gravity is the ubiquitous pop-belting Broadway anthem of the 2000s - I’m not sure if it’s ever really been dethroned.

Had there ever really been a big Broadway show so “about” the nature of female friendship before Wicked? It ended up being a subject that our culture became fascinated about in the aughts (Mean Girls, the Real Housewives).

Had there ever really been a big Broadway show so “about” the nature of female friendship before Wicked?

Applause—been there, done that.

[quote] Had there ever really been a big Broadway show so “about” the nature of female friendship before Wicked? It ended up being a subject that our culture became fascinated about in the aughts (Mean Girls, the Real Housewives).

Positive female relationships were important in the 2010s too with Frozen, as they should be always. As a man, I can still appreciate that not all female relationships are catfights.

Frozen in your delusions…

Never wanted to see it, never had the desire to see it. Wicked is BORING!!

A tad tedious—yes. And the audience hadn’t learned it’s a musical Play, not a rock concert.

I love Wicked. It’s poppy & silly & the songs are catchy. And it’s staged well. All I’m looking for really. Looking forwards to the movie although I’m still not sure how they are going to pull it off. I’m worried it might turn into another Cats disaster 😬

R45 9 to 5, Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Boys on the Side, Thelma & Louise, etc don’t count?

Second highest-grossing musical in Broadway history.

The first glimpse of the Wicked movie is rumored to be coming during the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.

I just can't handle the new types of musicals, where every song sounds "brassy" and "hyper-confident". It just makes for bad song composition.

This is one of those shows, similar to Rent, where it's just annoying as fuck to listen to. More shows need to be like Sondheim.

Wicked has made more money than all of Sondheim's shows combined.

R52, none of those are Broadway musicals - or in the case of 9 to 5, weren’t yet Broadway musicals.

I should have added Sex and the City as another big (the big) female friendship touchstone from that era.

I am howling at the idea of a bunch of girls coming to the city with their Bat Mitzvah money burning a hole in their pockets and forcing their parents to take them to see Lauren Bacall in Applause for the 3rd time - and screaming when she hops up in the swing in the gay bar during But Alive.

But it did happen! ;)

R55 there’s a long list that meets your criterion…🧐

The book was so dull and pretentious that I couldn't finish it. I finally read the Wikipedia entries for it and its sequels and realized I had dodged a bullet of mammoth bullshit.

"Wicked" was sheer torture. I also walked out at intermission with ears aching. The book is a silly bore.

The guy directing the film directed “Jem and the Holograms” and “In the Heights”. Bomb after bomb except “Crazy Rich Asians”. A DEI hire.

I would just like more random polarized opinions about the show with no intelligent justifications behind them, because that's all I or anyone else here cares about...how each of you [italic]feels.[/italic]

I read Wicked back in the late 90s a couple years after it was released.

Back then, it reminded me of Rashomon by telling a well-known story from the other side's point of view, combined with a "reimagined" origin story back before every other movie was an origin story.

It was a somewhat more novel premise back then. The idea has been vastly overused in popular books and movies (how many more Joker movies do any of us really need? Apparently, several more based on the announcements).

Even Gregory Maguire has reused this one winning idea so frequently that it's no longer particularly interesting.

A friend of mine pointed out that the moment at the end of "One Short Day," when the guard flamboyantly exclaims 'The Wizard will see you now!," is probably the gayest moment in any musical ever. That's really saying something.

[quote]A friend of mine pointed out that the moment at the end of "One Short Day," when the guard flamboyantly exclaims 'The Wizard will see you now!," is probably the gayest moment in any musical ever. That's really saying something.

The green emerald city people look like they just left a Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight showing in costume after doing the Time Warp.

It’s better than RENT but not quite as good as STOMP or The Blue Man Group.

[quote]It’s better than RENT

Back in the late 90s, RENT on Broadway was a decent show with a solid cast.

It's a snapshot of a moment in time in NYC back when AIDs was a death sentence and Alphabet City was actually cheap enough for poor young people to live there.

Losers!

[quote] Had there ever really been a big Broadway show so “about” the nature of female friendship before Wicked? Applause—been there, done that.

Well, yeah -- but then you in order to see "Applause," you were forced to watch Bonnie Franklin.

Your friend doesn’t get out much— “probably the gayest moment in any musical ever”. Not even close.

What an amazingly informative response, r70.

Wow!

Thank you— I’m not even your acquaintance, yet my response was more relevant than your friend’s.

R54 I know exactly what you mean. It all sounds like 90’s Disney movie songs now. Every modern musical wants that hit Disney song like “Letting Go” and “Part of Your World”. And so they make it super cheesy and loud.

R63 Agreed.

Villain origin stories have been done to death now.

[quote]Defying Gravity is the ubiquitous pop-belting Broadway anthem of the 2000s - I’m not sure if it’s ever really been dethroned.

Really?

Y'know what's funny about all of these negative posts?

The Wizard of Oz film with Judy Garland actually got a lot of bad reviews - although mainly mixed with some positive ones.

It was a box office failure in that it didn't make a profit.

Some of the comments on here seem very similar. Everyone has their own opinion, but Wicked obviously has a unique appeal.

Now RENT was a piece of garbage. Discuss. I walked out of that twice.

I went recently with a friend who wanted to see it. I hadn't seen it since I was in high school. My biggest takeaway was that the show has major second act problems. The first act is pretty fun, if a little hoary, but the second act is rushed and flimsy. It feels like they ran out time to get to really flesh it out. Of course, that hasn't hurt its success at all. The second act is slightly salvaged by having "For Good" at the end, which is very effective.

The Wizard's songs are as paltry as ever.

R76 don’t confuse a movie song with a Broadway song. This is the wrong thread…

[quote]Defying Gravity is the ubiquitous pop-belting Broadway anthem of the 2000s - I’m not sure if it’s ever really been dethroned.

Come see "Lempicka"—on Broadway this spring!

R77 -- Rent had a unique appeal as well, and was also quite a cultural event / success in its day.

They are both REALLY loved by a particular, somewhat overlapping niche audience. They both made a TON of money, but popular / financial success and artistic merit often don't correlate.

In the scope of Broadway musicals in general they are both objectively mediocre shows -- with several similar problems.

^^ Rent and Wicked are also objectively better shows than Cats -- but that is an extremely low bar.

I walked out of Rent and Wicked…and Fela. Those are the only musicals I bailed on. . Why suffer when life is short.

[quote] It was a box office failure in that it didn't make a profit.

That’s an urban legend. It was very successful at the box office.

[quote]They are both REALLY loved by a particular, somewhat overlapping niche audience.

Totally wrong. Sondheim is for a nice audience, which means small and specialized group. Most of Sondheim's show were flops. Wicked is the definition of a mass appeal show, like Phantom and The Lion King. Niche shows don't go on to become the second highest grossing show in history.

R45, fuck you.

[quote] Sondheim is for a nice audience, which means small and specialized group.

Oh dear lord…

“niche” r85

Either nice or niche works.

You're not good, you're not bad, you're just niche.

I remember seeing Wicked early on in its run. While my partner and I are generally easy-maintenance theater-goers who try to see the good in everything, we both had the same comment about Wicked:

They can fly Peter Pan...

They can fly Mary Poppins...

They can fly Billy Elliot...

They can fly Superman...

They can fly Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...

BUT THEY COULDN'T SPEND THE FUCKING MONEY TO FLY THE ICONIC WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST????

As much as I agree with R91, I do believe it was a stylistic choice by Joe Mantello to have the “cherry picker” effect… who knows if the Gershwin (the Gersh?) was able to even have an effective Elphaba-on- broomstick flying moment that would have an impact since it’s infamously such a barn. What they do apparently has the impact that works for audiences, though it’s certainly no Phantom chandelier.

Joe Mantello has made $100 million from Wicked. That's more than Sondheim was worth when he died.

Earnings and net worth are two entirely different things…the more you know.💫

Joe has not earned nearly that much. Truly. Schwartz, on the other hand…

Who's Schwartz OP?

I remember when I first saw it -- it's entertaining but it's ---- odd.

R96 Yiddish playwright

Frenzied entertainment for ungovernable young females.

Nastiest queen of all time, Arthur Laurents, writes in his final memoir that he was asked to come in and “give notes” on Wicked in its early stages, and, as such, he says that suggested it should be focused on the “friendship of the two girls” and to have the focus of the show be on that above all else. Broken clock…

[quote]he says that suggested it should be focused on the “friendship of the two girls” and to have the focus of the show be on that above all else.

So, follow the books from which the show was adapted?

Gee, how original an idea.