When It Comes to Wicked, Riffing is Selfish

Hello again, non-existent audience. I've been having an internal debate with myself lately about Wicked. Yes, Wicked. The Musical. With lyrics, and I quote, like, "Look at her! She's wicked! GET HER!" I chortle every time. It's so basic, yet so powerful.

Anyway, why do you care? Because I think Elphaba's that over-riff the score are selfish. I totally understand the argument that the performer needs to put on an entertaining show, but personally, when it comes to Wicked, I hate it. I'm not naming names, but I can think of at least five previous (and maybe one present) Elphabas that over-riff Mr. Schwartz's brilliant score.

For those of you who don't know what riffing is, here's a video on Youtube that pretty much explains everything:



Thank you, Shoshana Bean, for those riffs. Do you get it now? Also try searching for Eden Espinosa or any other Shoshana Bean videos on Youtube. Back to the topic at hand.

An actor's job, first and foremost, is to believably bring a character to life, no matter what the show is or what part they have. There are no small parts. Acting is acting, and whether or not your Ozian #4 or Galinda herself, you have to act the shit out of it or people get antsy. Well, experienced theatergoers that are categorized as "knowing what they're talking about" get antsy. When you throw singing into the mix, that ups the anty. There's nothing like watching a brilliant actor bring a beautiful song to life through not only their voice, but their emotions.

I bring this up because I was listening to and/or watching some illegal things on Youtube (mostly the aforementioned Wicked) and I happened to notice something: whenever an actress, mostly Elphaba, does a jaw-dropping riff, I get angry. Firstly, my thoughts go to: "WOW, that was incredible!" Then my thoughts are, "Wait, what was she singing about?" Riffing during "No Good Deed" is for the need of the actor only and I think that's selfish.

When I'm listening to and watching that scene, hopefully the actress has done a brilliant job of getting me to feel exactly what she's feeling: hate, anguish, defeat, regret, anger, sadness. I'm an actor as well, so I feel along with the actors I'm watching. When I hear a riff, I'm instantly taken away from that place that I was in and now all I'm thinking about is how many different notes this girl can squeeze into the word "again." The song "No Good Deed" is Elphaba's nervous breakdown! The second you go all Whitney Houston on us, I'm taken out of the show. I don't want to be taken out of the show! That's the reason I WENT to the show in the first place!

Please, for the love of Liza, STOP RIFFING.

-Cathryn

What You Should Have Learned:

1. Wicked is a musical.
2. Shoshana Bean has hair.
3. I hate riffing.

Why I Don't Appreciate @BroadwayGirlNYC

If you love Broadway, if you have a Twitter, if you're basically ALIVE, then you've probably heard of @BroadwayGirlNYC. She has an anonymous twitter account, and all she does is tweet about Broadway. Sounds like a good idea, right? So WHY don't I like her?

First of all, she's about a half-step below @BroadwaySpotted, stalking Broadway stars and tweeting at the same people over and over, practically begging them for a response. Second of all, she's generally biased. Now she has her own blog on www.Broadwayworld.com. I am wtfing.

Cowards Only Have Concequences

Nowadays, I'm being told that anonymity is in! Well, forget that. My name is Cathryn. There, now you know. Pesky introductions aside, this is a blog and I'm going to blog in it. It's going to be about theatre things. I'll say what you all are thinking, like, who gives a shit if you say "cast album" or "soundtrack?" I don't, but I am smart enough to know that it's incorrect to refer to the recording of a musical's songs as a soundtrack, but I won't jump down your throat about it. I don't give a shit.

I also spell theatre the RIGHT way. With an re. Like it's supposed to be spelled.

More about me and why I believe I'm qualified to have a theatre blog:

I live in a suburb of the capital of California. The theatres I frequent most often are the Community Center Theatre and the California Music Circus. Last year (2009) at those theatres, I saw Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening (got to sit onstage for that!), Altar Boyz, and the final three shows of RENT. I also took a vacation to La Jolla and saw Christian Borle in a shiny new play with music called Peter and the Starcatchers. The year before that at those theatres, I saw Evita (with La Murney), Mamma Mia!, Hairspray, Jeckyll and Hyde, and some other shows that I can't remember but I'm sure I saw more than that.

My first live show was either Beauty and the Beast or Into the Woods. I can't really remember which one because, at the time, theatre had no affect on me. I didn't really get into Broadway musicals and plays until I was 16 and I saw RENT for the first time. Yes, it was the movie and fuck you if you think that I'm not a real RENThead because I saw the movie first. Do NOT even get me started with that Stan bullshit. The next musical I got into was Wicked and yes, since then I've recognized the "error" of my ways. It's not Shakespeare and it's not trying to be, but it's fuh-REAKING entertaining and I enjoy a good Murney rendition of "No Good Deed."

The "Murney" I'm referring to is Julia Murney. She is my almighty; my supreme; my omega. She is so beautiful, and she can sing, and she's the most versatile actress I've ever seen. She is perfect, and I adore her. Some of my favorite performers are Julia, the previously mentioned Christian Borle, Susan Blackwell, Andy Karl, Megan Hilty, Laura Bell Bundy, Karen Olivo, Robin De Jesus and a few others. I'm very picky when it comes to my favorites.

Typically, my favorite musicals ARE my favorite musicals because they make me HAPPY. I don't give a shit that you think they suck. I happen to adore Legally Blonde with all my heart. It's fun and it's witty and I love the fact that people judge that musical like people judge Elle in the actual show. It's complete bullshit, and it's hilarious. Technically speaking, Legally Blonde is a perfect musical. If you want to learn how to turn a movie into a musical, refer to Legally Blonde. It's perfect. And I don't care what anyone says, Laura deserved that Tony award for the work she did on that show. She was literally onstage 90% of the time dancing and singing and acting, mostly at the same time. That had "Tony Award-winning performance" written all over it.

Some of my other favorite shows happen to be Passing Strange, Spring Awakening, tick, tick...BOOM!, RENT, [title of show], Bare: A Pop Opera, Wicked, In the Heights, Next to Normal, Hair, Altar Boyz, Bright Lights, Big City; Dreamgirls, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, Spamalot, Prodigal, Elegies: A Song Cycle, Rooms: A Rock Romance, and Lippa's The Wild Party.

The bottom line is that this blog is an escape for me. I've never felt more myself than when I'm pretending to be someone else. I'm going through some shit and theatre is my escape. If you're willing to read along and go on this journey with me, then thank you.

I let my pain fuck my ego and I call the bastard art!

What You Should Have Learned:

1. I don't fuck around.
2. I live in California.
3. I LOVE BROADWAY MUSICALS.
4. I adore Julia Murney.
5. I REALLY don't fuck around when it comes to RENT or Legally Blonde.

Haven't You Heard the Word?

Dear Theatre People,

I won a contest, and won two on-stage tickets to see the Spring Awakening tour on Tuesday, November 5th, 2009 at 2pm. The fangirl inside of me wanted to pee her pants, but the adult side of me quickly restrained her.

Upon entering the theatre, the energy was so intense and thick that you could have cut it with a knife. Upon receiving our Playbills, we learned that Kristina Alabado would be playing the role of "Wendla." Not disappointed, we were led onto the stage.

The show began when the houselights dimmed and the entire cast of Spring Awakening walked onto the stage where I was seated. We sat TWO SEATS away from the amazing Andy Mientus, someone whom I've had a crush on for some time. Swing Kayla Foster, and regular cast members Taylor Trensch, Steffi D, Anthony Lee Medina and Sarah Hunt all sat next to us at one point.

Kristina Alabado's "Mama Who Bore Me" was nice to listen to, but her voice rarely excited me in any way. I found her lack of vibrato and thin voice distracting, but this was only her second time on as the lead character (she was informed on her walk to the theatre for that day's half-hour call), and for someone who lacked the proper amount of time to gather up substantial character development, she otherwise blew me away. The word "understudy" is truly an understatement. She fully embodied the character. She truly shined during her big number, "Whispering," which talks about Wendla's journey up until that point of the show. I was particularly surprized by how well she fit in with the cast as a new character. She is normally a part of the ensemble, but she fit in so well with her other castmates as Wendla. I'd be interested to see her in the role again, if given the chance.

I was less than impressed by Degrassi Alum Jake Epstein, who plays the lead male character Melchior. I watched him on the previously mentioned Canadian television show, enamored with his singing voice and his acting, so I was disappointed when his portrayal of Melchior Gabor came off as "I have to go to work today even though I don't want to" rather than "Wow. I am a working actor playing an amazing part in an incredible show." I found his acting stale and bland, and his singing was below par as well. He seemed to lack chemistry with his cast mates and he seemed generally disconnected. His performance truly took off for a brief moment during the ensemble song "I Believe" where Melchior and Wendla truly discover themselves in the hayloft, but fell flat again until the end of the show during his big final song, "Those You've Known." I wanted to be truly moved by his "Left Behind," but again, he simply sang the song to the best of his abilities. He opened up a bit more during "Totally Fucked," the giant ensemble number where everyone goes crazy, but in all Jake Epstein!Melchior was a bust.

The standout performer by far was Andy Mientus as heroic villan Hanschen, and not because I have a crush on him (hint hint, wink wink, gimme a call). From the moment he walked onto the stage, you knew he had something he needed to prove; you knew he had a mission; you knew there was something about him that a) frightened you and b) made you so desperately want to find out WHY he was so frightening. He nailed every song lyric he was given, his jokes landed a booming laugh from every audience member, and his Desdemona scene was by far the best scene of the entire show.  During act two, his time to truly shine came during the "Word of Your Body: Reprise" when he stood up from his seat and heavily and heatedly sauntered over to adorable cast member Ben Fankhauser, who plays Ernst. He was a man with a mission. Not only did he beautifully sing the song, but he also masterfully succeeded in seducing the young, naive Ernst into his arms. His portrayal of Hanschen had every man and woman in the house wanting him as badly as Ernst did. It was a truly beautiful performance by an incredibly talented actor.

Honorable mentions include Canada native Steffi D., who gave a hilariously charming and heartbreaking performance as Ilse. She has a beautiful voice and wicked comedic timing to boot. Gabrielle Garza was charming as Anna, though she had trouble keeping a straight face during some of the scenes (particularly the Desdemona scene where the female ensemble is seated in front of Hanschen watching him), and Kimiko Glenn was adorably sweet as Thea. Sarah Hunt's rendition of "The Dark I Know Well" as Martha was chilling and haunting all the same. Anthony Lee Medina was a treat as Otto, for he truly shined in the cast, even when limited to the ensemble. Taylor Trensch, who played Mortiz, gave a haunting performance. He had me laughing and crying all the same. I was completely swept away by his performance.

In all, the Spring Awakening tour is a treat. It is not a show, but an experience. The cast is riddled with limitless talent and the show should be at the top of your "DO NOT MISS THIS TOURING SEASON" list.

Check out their website at www.springawakening.com

-Cathryn