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Something ''Wicked'' this way, reviewed

Posted by: WaymanWong 10:46 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: Brantley.... - Delvino 11:31 pm EDT 03/30/14

You're right. Brantley's 2003 review of ''Wicked'' opened with a love letter to Kristin Chenoweth, but it was a huge pan of the show. He said she was ''the essential helium in a bloated production that might otherwise spend close to three hours flapping its wings without taking off. ... 'Wicked' does not, alas, speak hopefully for the future of the American musical.''

Nor was Brantley alone. Newsday's Linda Winer called ''Wicked'' an ''overproduced, overblown, confusingly dark and laboriously ambitious jumble.'' And John Lahr in the New Yorker wrote: ''The show's 22 songs were written by Stephen Schwartz, and not one of them is memorable.'' (Gee, ''Popular'' and ''Defying Gravity'' sound memorable to me.)

Not all critics panned ''Wicked.'' Elysa Gardner in USA Today: ''The most complete, and most satisfying, new musical I've come across in a long time.''

So, ''Wicked'' gets the last laugh, having celebrated its 10th anniversary. If that's not ''Popular,'' what is?


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Previous: re: Brantley.... - Delvino 11:31 pm EDT 03/30/14
Next: Wicked is a bloated production and incredibly long and hyperactive n/m - lowwriter 04:09 pm EDT 03/31/14

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