Theatre Tweets: Wicked

Showing posts with label Wicked. Show all posts

Monday, 28 April 2014

PREVIEW: Wicked the Musical UK & Ireland Tour

A Preview of Wicked the Musical UK & Ireland Tour

Interview Excerpts with Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba) and Liam Doyle (Fiyero)

24th April 2014

After hearing that Wicked was to tour the UK and Ireland I was very sceptical of how this fantastic show would go on the road without losing any of it's 'Wicked' magic. Ahead of it's two month stay at the Birmingham Hippodrome, members of the press team were invited to Wales Millennium Centre to see the show before it flies into the Midlands on July 9th. Prior to seeing the matinee performance in Cardiff's stunning venue we were treated to interviews with cast members Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba - the green witch) and Coventry's own Liam Doyle (Fiyero).

This was my 14th visit to Wicked and the show is still as vibrant, and as spectacular as ever. I was extremely impressed with the whole feel of the touring production that it was easy to forget you weren't sitting in the Apollo Victoria in the West End. The Wales Millenium Centre is a stunning venue surrounded by the beautiful Cardiff Bay, and it is so fantastic that this production of wicked has toured across the isles and is still true to the original Broadway and West End productions.



No expense had been spared on this touring production and no corner had been cut in bringing this show on the road. There are a few subtle changes from the London production but these do not detract from the show in any shape or form. 
I would highly recommend this show as a highlight of the Hippodrome's programme for this year!



SPOILER: For the wicked 'Superfans' there are minuscule changes in the way in which Elphaba melts and her entrance for 'No Good Deed' due to tour venues not having trap doors. There are only 2 Flatheads in the Wizomania show in the Emerald City and there are no staircases either side of the proscenium as in the Apollo Victoria. The Defying Gravity sequence is pretty much the same and of course any production of Wicked would not be complete without the 'infamous' Bubble. The Time Dragon has also flew out to join the tour!





Interview excerpts(Full Interviews to be published in the near future):

Nikki Davis Jones - Elphaba

Would you say that your portrayal of Elphaba has changed
since your Standby days in the West End? (Nikki was understudy for Elphaba in
the London production for 2 ½ years)

Yeah, definitely! The basics are still there – in terms of
the script, but I understand her a lot more now I’m playing her 8 times a week and
I’ve kind of gone back to basics with it. I’ve really found new things about
her, and we’re changing it up every day (well as much as we’re allowed!)

So what is your favourite Elphaba song to sing in the show?

‘No Good Deed.’

Liam Doyle - Fiyero

Are you looking forward to returning to your roots in the Midlands?

Yes! I’ll be staying
at my mom’s house and I can’t wait – it’s gonna be so much fun! All of my
friends from school who’ve finally stopped asking me “What are you gonna do
when acting finishes?” are gonna come and watch, they’ve never seen me in
anything before!

Have you performed at
the Birmingham Hippodrome before?

I did Hairspray at
the Hippodrome, but I also did summer projects at the Birmingham Alex – ‘Stage Experience’
– and I did two of those. One of which was Tony in Copacabana where I wore an awful sparkly gold suit and I played
Roddy in Boogie Nights. It’s nice to
be returning to Birmingham which holds a place in my heart; it’s kind of like
being at home, well as close as I can to Coventry anyway.

So now you’ve played
Fiyero on the tour do you think you’d go back and do it on the West End if the
offer was there?

I would never say never! Absolutely! Hopefully it’s not the
end of Wicked for me but it’s an amazing role and I’d absolutely go back into
the role in London! (Whispers: “Please”)

Catch Wicked at the Birmingham Hippodrome this Summer! Book your tickets HERE

Monday, 6 May 2013

London Weekend

This weekend I had the pleasure of visiting London's West End for my 21st Birthday and got to see three shows - Billy Elliot, Wicked and Matilda. Having seen all of these shows multiple times, this is just a picture blog of what we got up to and cast comments and seat reviews.

Billy Elliot

Victoria Palace Theatre - 4th May 2013 - 2.30pm

Seats: Stalls B5-6

This was the third time I had seen Billy Elliot and I definitely don't think it will be the last. This show has stood the test of time in London's West End, and this beautiful Theatre now stands alone among the major refurbishment of London Victoria. At this performance we had a full cast and Tade Biesinger excelled in the role of Billy. Tade had also played the role of Billy on Broadway and he really lived and breathed the part and seemed to thoroughly enjoy every minute onstage. Our restricted stalls seats were good value for money and the only downside of sitting so close was being unable to see the fantastic footwork displayed by the cast. Great performances came from Gillian Bevan (Mrs Wilkinson), Deka Walmsley (Dad) and Simon Ray Harvey (Mr Braithwaite) The ensemble choreography is stunning and the ballet girls at this performances had fantastic energy. Billy is well worthy of his recent BBC 2 Audience Award at the Olivier's 2013.

Wicked

Apollo Victoria Theatre - 4th May 2013 - 7.30pm
Seats: Stalls C

Everyone who knows me, knows I am a Wicked fanatic and this was my 12th visit to the Apollo Victoria. On most occasions we sit in the 'Restricted Stalls' seats found on the end of the aisles and in fact they are really no more restricted than the £65 seats next door! I was really hoping that for this performance Louise Dearman would be on as Elphaba as was disappointed that we had gone previously and she was off ill. (Standby Elphie Hayley Gallivan was a superb replacement and the disappointment soon disappeared.) I was thrilled that Louise Dearman was on for this performance and she really excelled in the part and I am still unable to decide whether I prefer her portrayal of Elphie or Glinda the best. Lucy Van Gasse was beautiful as Glinda in the absence of Miss Gina Beck and her characterization of the role was very fresh and 'Blonde.' One thing I really like about the Apollo Victoria is that in the absence of a major principal, standby photograph sheets are included in the programme and I think this is a really nice touch.

The view from our seats

On our return back to our hotel (The Reuben's at the Palace) we were 'thrillified' to find that our room had been turned down with a 'Wicked' Theme and we had been left some 'Oztastic' cupcakes to enjoy after the show! Yummy!

Matilda The Musical
Cambridge Theatre - 5th May 2013 - 3.00pm
Seats: Upper Circle G17-18

After a lovely full english breakfast we set off to Covent Garden for shopping and to see the matinee performance of Matilda the Musical. I have seen this show now three times and have previously blogged about the show (Check it out)....
Again we had a full cast and had the pleasure of seeing Miss Lucy Mae Beacock in her final performance as Matilda - what a talented young lady. Our seats were in the middle of the upper circle and we had plenty of room to stretch our legs. The only difficulty in these seats were that we had to lean forward multiple times in order to see the cast when they positioned themselves at the front of the stage. These tickets weren't listed as restricted although we felt that for the price we payed we shouldn't have had difficulty in seeing the cast. I have however sat front of stalls on a previous visit, but on reflection much preferred sitting higher up in order to take in the amazing choreography. Parents should note that the Cambridge Theatre Upper Circle is very high and the children behind us had difficulty seeing the show and spent most of the First half kicking our chairs! However we had a great afternoon at Matilda and would thoroughly recommend this show to Families and lovers of the film!