REVIEW:
A VERY WICKED HALLOWEEN
Review - A Very Wicked Halloween
Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the story follows Elphaba, a green-skinned girl, and Glinda, a blonde sorority-type, and their journey’s in becoming The Wicked Witch and Glinda the Good. The novel was adapted into a musical by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman.
Following performances in San Francisco, Wicked opened on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003. Fifteen years later and over 6000 Broadway performances later, the show continues to play on Broadway, and has been staged around the world including the UK, Australia, Japan, and across Europe. It has been translated into multiple languages including Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Dutch.
The Broadway production won three Tony Awards, including Best Actress in a Musical (Idina Menzel), Best Costume Design (Susan Hilferty) and Best Scenic Design (Eugene Lee). It was also nominated for Best Musical, but lost out to underdog winner Avenue Q.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Broadway production, NBC staged a one-night-only television special filmed live at the Marquis Theatre, re-named the Oz Dust Ballroom, and broadcast it on television a week later on October 29.
Hosted by original cast members Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, the concert featured performances of numbers from the show and behind-the-scenes footage. Directed by Glenn Weiss (who served as film director for the New York Philharmonic’s concert of Carousel) the concert feels like glorified ad for the stage show. Ad breaks disrupt the flow of the concert, and the short run time makes the program feel rushed.
Despite the commercial feel, the special succeeds in a being a celebration of a musical that has touched the heart’s of millions around the world.
The concert opened with a montage of Wicked’s wide-ranging influence in pop culture, and awkwardly cut to Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, dressed in “Ozian couture” on a stage surrounded by fans dressed in Wicked-themed costumes.
A capture of musical number “One Short Day,” filmed with an audience at the Gershwin Theatre and featuring the current Broadway cast, was presented on screen.
Original cast member Adam Lambert, and recording artist Ledisi performed a riff-tastic version of “As Long as You’re Mine,” which was promptly followed by an ad break.
Before and after ad breaks, viewers were shown snippets of behind-the-scenes footage, accompanied with facts and figures about the Broadway production such as the amount of dry ice used — 2.5 million pounds in 15 years.
Another screen montage provided insight into Wicked productions around the world, and footage of numbers performed in different languages.
Dressed in a new outfit, Kristin Chenoweth sang “Popular,” encouraging the in-house audience to get out their phones and film her — “I know some of you are already filming and I love it.” Strangely the visuals and audio do not match up during this number, though the problem seemed to resolve itself later on.
A cappella group Pentatonix performed a lovely rendition of “Loathing,” though the number was not sung entirely a cappella. A delightful touch, particularly well-received by the live audience, was tenor Mitch Grassi singing Glinda’s part in falsetto.
Idina Menzel, also in a new outfit, sang a ballad-like version of “Defying Gravity.” While I prefer Kerry Ellis’ rock version as a stand alone version of the anthemic song, the shots of wide-eyed fans looking adoringly at Menzel and singing along lifted the number into a moving statement of the power of Wicked to speak to women around the world.
Pop sensation, and former Broadway performer, Ariana Grande delivered a soulful and vocally strong performance of “The Wizard of I.” Long rumored to be the next Elphaba, no announcements were made of her joining the show.
The special concluded with a teary Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, joined by former Broadway actresses who have played Elphaba and Glinda, singing the touching song “For Good.” It is disappointing that all the women were not named. Full credits are not available in the on-demand NBC stream, and it is difficult to find a comprehensive cast list elsewhere.
For all my reservations about A Very Wicked Halloween being an ad, the special does make me want to see the Broadway production again. It has been 10 years since I saw Wicked on Broadway, and 7 years since I saw it in Sydney. The best part of the night was seeing “One Short Day” filmed at the Gershwin. The production looks gorgeous on screen, and although the Broadway production unlikely to close any time soon, I hope a full capture is not too far in the future.
A Very Wicked Halloween is currently available to watch on demand on NBC.
A Very Wicked Halloween Production Credits
Director: Glenn Weiss
Producer: Marc Platt, Glenn Weiss, Ricky Kirshner
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz
Musical Director: Alex Lacamoire
Cast:
Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Adam Lambert, Letice, Pentatonix, Ariana Grande, Amanda Jane Cooper, Jessica Vosk
Following performances in San Francisco, Wicked opened on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003. Fifteen years later and over 6000 Broadway performances later, the show continues to play on Broadway, and has been staged around the world including the UK, Australia, Japan, and across Europe. It has been translated into multiple languages including Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Dutch.
The Broadway production won three Tony Awards, including Best Actress in a Musical (Idina Menzel), Best Costume Design (Susan Hilferty) and Best Scenic Design (Eugene Lee). It was also nominated for Best Musical, but lost out to underdog winner Avenue Q.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Broadway production, NBC staged a one-night-only television special filmed live at the Marquis Theatre, re-named the Oz Dust Ballroom, and broadcast it on television a week later on October 29.
Hosted by original cast members Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, the concert featured performances of numbers from the show and behind-the-scenes footage. Directed by Glenn Weiss (who served as film director for the New York Philharmonic’s concert of Carousel) the concert feels like glorified ad for the stage show. Ad breaks disrupt the flow of the concert, and the short run time makes the program feel rushed.
Despite the commercial feel, the special succeeds in a being a celebration of a musical that has touched the heart’s of millions around the world.
The concert opened with a montage of Wicked’s wide-ranging influence in pop culture, and awkwardly cut to Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, dressed in “Ozian couture” on a stage surrounded by fans dressed in Wicked-themed costumes.
A capture of musical number “One Short Day,” filmed with an audience at the Gershwin Theatre and featuring the current Broadway cast, was presented on screen.
Original cast member Adam Lambert, and recording artist Ledisi performed a riff-tastic version of “As Long as You’re Mine,” which was promptly followed by an ad break.
Before and after ad breaks, viewers were shown snippets of behind-the-scenes footage, accompanied with facts and figures about the Broadway production such as the amount of dry ice used — 2.5 million pounds in 15 years.
Another screen montage provided insight into Wicked productions around the world, and footage of numbers performed in different languages.
Dressed in a new outfit, Kristin Chenoweth sang “Popular,” encouraging the in-house audience to get out their phones and film her — “I know some of you are already filming and I love it.” Strangely the visuals and audio do not match up during this number, though the problem seemed to resolve itself later on.
A cappella group Pentatonix performed a lovely rendition of “Loathing,” though the number was not sung entirely a cappella. A delightful touch, particularly well-received by the live audience, was tenor Mitch Grassi singing Glinda’s part in falsetto.
Idina Menzel, also in a new outfit, sang a ballad-like version of “Defying Gravity.” While I prefer Kerry Ellis’ rock version as a stand alone version of the anthemic song, the shots of wide-eyed fans looking adoringly at Menzel and singing along lifted the number into a moving statement of the power of Wicked to speak to women around the world.
Pop sensation, and former Broadway performer, Ariana Grande delivered a soulful and vocally strong performance of “The Wizard of I.” Long rumored to be the next Elphaba, no announcements were made of her joining the show.
The special concluded with a teary Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, joined by former Broadway actresses who have played Elphaba and Glinda, singing the touching song “For Good.” It is disappointing that all the women were not named. Full credits are not available in the on-demand NBC stream, and it is difficult to find a comprehensive cast list elsewhere.
For all my reservations about A Very Wicked Halloween being an ad, the special does make me want to see the Broadway production again. It has been 10 years since I saw Wicked on Broadway, and 7 years since I saw it in Sydney. The best part of the night was seeing “One Short Day” filmed at the Gershwin. The production looks gorgeous on screen, and although the Broadway production unlikely to close any time soon, I hope a full capture is not too far in the future.
A Very Wicked Halloween is currently available to watch on demand on NBC.
A Very Wicked Halloween Production Credits
Director: Glenn Weiss
Producer: Marc Platt, Glenn Weiss, Ricky Kirshner
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz
Musical Director: Alex Lacamoire
Cast:
Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Adam Lambert, Letice, Pentatonix, Ariana Grande, Amanda Jane Cooper, Jessica Vosk