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Popular, It's Gonna Be Popular

I don't know that it'll send anybody over the rainbow, but Wicked is a really fun night out. It's big. It's splashy. It's funny. It'll run for long time to come. Some of the songs are catchy, some notsomuch. I will buy the CD when it comes out ... if only to play Popular over and over (probably until I'm sick of it) and work out some fun drag staging of "What is This Feeling?"

Ms. Chenowith was wonderful, as expected ... taking every Elle Woods turn she can as Glinda. Ms. Menzel takes control right off the broomstick with "The Wizard and I" and then two of them play off each other wonderfully right to the soggy end. And when you go, please report back and let me know if Glinda makes Elphie crack up every night during Popular, or if the girls just got carried away this evening. Those two really do have a great chemistry together.

There were a few moments when I went "huh?" -- e.g,. the big egghead show within a show in Oz, Mr. Cellophane the Wizard (who can be stunt cast for years to come) tossing in a vaudevillian dance, and the Tin Man's forced balcony scene -- but all in all I was sucked right in and enjoyed the ride.

I'd liked to have seen it go a little more to the dark side (I haven't read the book, but understand it's a little twisted?). Then again, dark doesn't draw the crowds. *Sighs and remembers Sideshow*. Actually, the last number sort of reminded me of Daisy and Violet.

(pleeeeaassse don't cast Alice Ripley as the replacement Glinda)

Anyway, I digress. Bottom line for me is it's well worth seeing. They've packaged up a big-time, feel-good cinematic (hmm, I see Universal Pictures is one of the lead producers) show. Get yourself a ticket and go ... before someone makes a movie of it and ruins it drops a house on you.