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Wicked The Musical
by Hoggle-DR1749
Recently my partner and i went to London for his birthday to see the amazing play Wicked at it's home of the Apollo Victoria theatre. Having both read the book and owned the soundtrack for quite a few years this was definitely a major treat for both of us. Even though the musical wasn't as much like the book as i'd have liked, and the ... songs were a lot more British than the soundtrack would imply, it was still an absolutely mind blowing experience that i would highly recommend to anyone.
What with it being a subversion of the classic, The Wizard of Oz, anyone who's read my previous reviews will know that this kind of thing would most definitely appeal to me. Especially the musical is a subversion of the subversion, as most musicals are.
Our particular showing started at 7.30pm but we did want to do the touristy stuff as well, so we got off at Euston, took the underground to Victoria station to go book into our hotel, only to find that the Apollo Victoria was right on Victoria station's doorstep. Our hotel was on Hugh Road, named Holly house Hotel. Which was also literally round the corner from the Apollo Victoria. Unfortunately the position and price (£65 for a double room for 1 night) of our hotel was the only real good thing about it, but as we were only staying for the one night it was sufficient enough for our needs.
After booking into the hotel we hopped on the bus and did our touristy bit. One thing i will recommend about London is that if you really want to see London don't bother with the tourist busses. Ordinary busses will do and they make you look like you're a proper Londoner rather than a tourist. Another recommendation is to get a day/ week travel card dependant on how long your stay is, travel cards will allow you to use the underground and busses between certain zones of London as many times as you like and don't half make life easier. For a travel card in zones 1-6 (pretty much the entirety of central London plus some) is £7.90 (at last check), though an interesting discovery is that railcard discounts count for these particular travel cards, thus, what with owning a 16-25 railcard, my travel card only cost £5.90.
So after a busy day wandering around Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Liecester Square, Chinatown and Covent Garden, we went back to the hotel with cheeky bottle of vino and got ready for the show. We arrived at the theatre for about 6.45pm where we sorted out our tickets (which were bought online and cost £90 for two of us). Walking in to the theatre your immediately put in the 'Wicked' mood by being engulfed in green. Green carpets, green lights, green writing on the signs, practically anything that could be green was.
We went up to wait in the bar as they disn't open the doors to the theatre until 7pm. I wouldn't recommend buying a drink there if you're low on funds however, they do these special themed cocktails that are £8 a piece, whixh i suppose is marginally understandable, it being themed and everything, but 175ml of cheap rose wine at a fiver is rather extortionate in my eyes, along with £3 for a 45g tub of Pringles. Needless to say, my partner and i waited until after we had left the theatre to get a drink.
When we were let into the actual theatre, we were in seats P13 and P14, which is the front row of the third tier back from the stage (i can't remember the proper name for it). At first we thought this was brill, but soon found people walking in front of us or even people's heads in the back row of the tier in front blocked outviee of the stage in places. But, it wasn't as bad as say sitting in the rows behind us where you had to have spy glasses to see what was going on. For the price i'd say we got a pretty good deal.
When we had found our seats, we got a proper look at the stage and had our breath taken away. A proper model of the Clock of the Time Dragon hung above the stage and looked absolutely magnificent, and the screen/ curtain at the start was a map of Oz taken from the book with a green beam pounted at the centre to represent the Emerald City. If we weren't in the Wicked mood already we certainly were now.
Of course, i knew the musical was going to be didferent from the book due to the contrast between the soundtrack and the book. However, I wasn't prepared for how much they had changed it, nor how well the subversion would be peesented. We were definitely in the best spot for sound quality, we could hear every voice very clearly and each song i found myself singing along to and being happy i could finally put images in my head to go along with the songs i'd been listening to for years. (much to the annoyance of the chinese couple sitting next to us... I don't think i'll sing along to musicals in the future).
Wicked the musical is based on the story 'Wicked' by Gregory Maguire, which in turn is based on the classic, The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. It follows the story of Elphaba (AKA the Wicked Witch of the West) how she came to be green, her upbringing and family issues. It also follows the story of Galinda (later Glinda, also known as The Good Witch of the North) and how she came to be the good witch of the North.
Contrary to the book, which really makes you feel sympathy towards Elphaba throughout and doesn't really focus as much on Glinda, the musical focusses more so on the friendship of Glinda and Elphaba and twists a few of the other elements of the book, eg, the Fiyero complex, the Boq and Nessa issue etc etc. The result is definitely a story that's more suitable for family viewing and gives a heartwarming feel to it's audience at the end. For the purposes of the musical this works, though for those who have already read the book you can't help but criticise the changes they've made and compare and contrast the various changes to what would have worked better for the play and what would have worked better for the musical.
However, as a musical, on the whole it was fantastic. I especially liked the fact that there wasn't too much going on onstage so the you could gather what was going on from even as far back as we were, but there was always enough going on the keep you entertained. There was also enough context between the songs that definitely allowed depth to the story for both adults and children. Beautifully put together, the musical flowed nicely and was amazing throughout. Defying Gravity, Loathing and No Good Deed always being my favourites from the soundtrack were performed amazingly and really left a mark in my memory.
It was definitely an experience to remember and i would highly recommend it to anyone.
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The Bodyguard at the Adelphi Theatre
by MsTricia
I really like keeping in touch with old friends, even if it is only amounts to once a year, so this Janaury when one of my old secondary school friends messaged me in a group on facebook that she was organising for us all to meet up and go to dinner I was really excited and enthusiastic! The debate was between The Bodyguard and Thriller ... Live (which i have already seen!) and fortunately in the end we all agreed on The Bodyguard. Being a bit terrible at organising all this stuff we all transferred her our monies and the burden was on her to pick a date and get us some really good seats!
- Theatre and Location -
The Bodyguard The Musical is playing at the Adelphi Theatre, The Strand, London WC2R 0NS. It's really easy to get to by bus/train/tube but as we are all Londoners and live not too far south of the river it was really simple for me to get to as numerous buses stop right outside. It's in a great location as it is about a 5 minute walk from London's busy Covent Garden station if you feel like some shopping before hand! We met for dinner 2 hours before the show started at Zizzi's which was literally across the road (seeing as it was a Saturday evening and we knew restaurants would be super busy, which they were they brought our food 20 minutes before we needed to leave so we had to wolf it down!) but there are also other places to grab a bite or a drink before/after the show.
The theatre is very extravagantly highlighted so theres no missing it, and inside there are the usual polite ushers who will show you to your seat. The theatre is one of the bigger theatres I have been to (most recently I have seen Phantom of the Opera and Dora! Live lol) but not so big that even sitting further back your view is restricted in any way.
- The Show -
Evidently this musical is based on the film of the same name with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costoner. Personally I hadn't even seen the film prior to watching the show at the Theatre and in hindsight although when it started I was completely confused as to what was going on I think this made me enjoy the show that much more! It carried out with the similar concept of the film - Heather Headley playing Rachel Marron a famous Diva singer who needs a bodyguard as she has a serious stalker after her and her management company are wary of her safety. Lloyd Owen plays Frank Farmer, the stony but serious Bodyguard who takes a shine to Rachel but things become complicated...
The reason I loved this was the complete blindness to the story as it played out in front of me. I didn't know what was going to happen in each scene or how the story would conclude and this kept me on the edge of my seat and I was annoyed at the interval as I just wanted to know what would happen next! The rest of my friends at the theatre with me however had all seen the film and although they agreed the play was fantastic they were a bit negative, because as per usual the play was not exactly the same scene by scene the same as the film and they made a lot of comparisons as elements were left out.
The cast in this play were fantastic and Heather Headley as the lead was particularly brilliant and did Whitney Houston's memory some serious justice. She has an excellent voice and I loved every moment of singing along, especially with the finale "I will always love you" and I almost had a tear in my eye! As a star in her own right (she is a grammy award winning singer) she sang every song and every note effortlessly and with all the big songs "I wanna dance with somebody" me and all my girlfriends couldn't help but sing a long and have a little boogy! Lloyd Owen is not an actor I am too familiar with, and one thing I would mention was his attempt at an american accent was a little bit annoying as it was blatantly fake, but this was not so bad to detract at all from the quality of the play.
The effects of the play weren't the best I'd ever seen (that crown goes to The Phantom Of The Opera) but the direction, props and scenery were still excellent and I was amazed at how much could be down and how creative the backgrounds and features could be on just one stage! The whole experience of this play was fantastic and I can't fault it at all. The running time was about just over 2 hours with a 15 minute interval. I thought this was a really good length, almost like watching a film but in real life and my interest didn't wain at all.
- Tickets and Prices -
As I mentioned my friend was left in charge of booking the tickets for us, and as some were on a budget we all agreed £35 was the maximum we would spend on tickets. Booking 2 months in advance, and for a more expensive Saturday night showing we got seats in the Dress Circle but these were still really low down (not the seats that are wayyyyy at the back) and I actually think the price we paid was a total bargain.
Tickets can be bought from the website (http://www.thebodyguardmusical.com/tickets/) or on seetickets and there are sometimes deals on which can always be kept an eye out.
- Overall -
I would definitely recommend this show if you want a night out in London and are keen to see something good. I think this show is one of the best I have seen and is suitable for everyone. I have been to the Theatre before and got a bit annoyed as although they are a "musical" sometimes there are just too many songs and it just grinds my gears whereas with this one the balance was perfect. The performances from all the cast were solid, if not outstanding from Heather Headley and by the end I guarantee you will want to get out of your seat and just have a little sing-a-long and dance to some Whitney Houston classics. To sum up, it was a fantastic night out, and I loved it so much I would actually go again!
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Wicked The Musical
by Evie-x-
Wicked is an amazing musical full of wit, sorrow, intrigue and amazing songs. Based at the Apollo theatre in Victoria in London it is easy to access. There are many hotels near by including the Premier Inn. Buses and taxis are of the plenty.
When Dorothy faced the Wicked Witch, we only ever heard one side of the story. ... Wicked tells the story of the friendship between Elphaba ( so called wicked witch) and Glinda the good witch. The love story of Elphaba and the scrummy Boq. This is not a copy of Wizard of Oz it has elements that are seen in the Wizard of Oz for example you find out how the lion became a coward. You don't have Dorothy dancing about although she does play a small very funny part! I really want to tell you more but I don't want to ruin it for you.
Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. With amazing music composed by Stephen Schwartz. The talented singers and musicians of the orchestra are breathtaking. My husband who is not a fan of the theatre was blown away by the musical.
The songs include
No one mourns the wicked,
Popular
Defying Gravity( this was performed on the Royal Variety Show years ago- Elphaba flies!)
The set is stunning from the curtain with the map of Oz on it to the netting that actors dressed as monkeys climb on. Every time I have been I have noticed new things. Above the stage there is a giant dragon which moves during the show. When choosing your seats make sure you are not right at the front as you really want to be further back to see the whole stage.
The apollo theatre has good size seats that are comfy even when I was 8 months pregnant I had space! If disabled it would be best to phone he theatre access line to check for access details and assistance available.Tickets range from £20 to £75. We have bought tickets from a discount booth before which were very good seats but at a cheap price. In the lobby of the theatre you can buy the usual snacks and drinks but they are very expensive. They have some lovely souvenirs I even have a Wicked baby-grow for my little one !
Wicked is going on tour in 2014 visiting
Dublin
Manchester
Milton Keynes
Cardiff
Glasgow
Leeds
Birmingham
I have my fingers crossed that it will come to the South. For now I will just have to stick with my cd.
Wicked won the 2010 Olivier Award for Most Popular Show and has had 5 million visitors so it is not just me who loves it. It will appeal to young, old, male and female. You do not need to be an Oz fan. I would say that this is not a children's show. This is a story bout witches and some dark moments which could cause little ones to have nightmares.
If you are in London you will not regret seeing this Wicked show!
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