ncounty

You can share wicked thoughts as well but I was wondering what you thought of this show....I saw it last night and thought it was great but my weird thought was that it seemed like a great fun Broadway musical version of a "chick flick". Being a chick, I liked it but would men appreciate it as much? Anyone else think it appeals more to feminine sensibilities?

Oh, fun detail to share....I had a seat 3 rows from the stage to the far left so I had a view of the orchestra conductor. He was so cute!....he was singing along to almost every song. Talk about loving your work.

Keith

This middle aged man found it thoroughly enjoyable. So much that I saw the show a second time when the touring company came to my town this spring.

Keirh

ncounty

good to know, Keith. I described it to SO with the chick flick description and although he hates chick flicks, he thinks he would enjoy Wicked. It seemed to him to transcend "girlfriend" issues.

maj

DH really liked it -- enough to see it again when it came back here about two years later. He isn't a regular theater goer and I did make him listen to the album before hand.

Judyrem

My DH liked it. His favorite musical so far has been Jersey Boys. He did like Les Miz too. That is a fun detail BTW ;-).

ncounty

thanks judyrem....he was so cute!

volcanogirl

My husband usually hates musicals, but he loved this one. He has never seen the Wizard of Oz, so I had to give him the whole back story in the car on the drive over.

claire_bluesky

DH liked it a lot. We saw Jersey Boys recently and he enjoyed that more, so maybe your "chick flick" theory is true. DD and I liked Wicked better, even though it's been awhile. So, I think that all would enjoy it regardless of age or gender, but maybe it would not be a favorite to men in particular.

jlaughs

Hmmm...hadn't considered that men, in general, might not be as appreciative of the show as women. My SO has no interest in seeing it, so I'm taking my daughter to see it again tomorrow night (oops, tonight now!). We're excited to see the show, but we also got free tickets to the "Behind the Emerald Curtain" tour beforehand, so we're REALLY excited to be going backstage. My daughter can't wait to see all the costumes close up!

Keith

I think that 12 year old boys would be less likely to admit to liking it, than 12 year old girls.

But I'm not sure that they would actually like it less.

Keith

SusanM

My husband and I usually love musicals, but neither one of us cared for this one. I sometimes feel like we're the only ones who didn't! I can't really put my finger on why, other than to say I just couldn't get invested in the story. I was never a big Oz fan either, so maybe that's it . . .

gmoney

Just one man's opinion. I went with my wife and daugter (10). They both loved it, I thought it was pretty good. I got a little board about halfway through the first act, but thought the second act was much better. Overall I would say that I enjoyed it but probably would not see it again.

ncounty

I enjoyed it thoroughly but I can't say I was swept away by it. I have to think it was primarily the music. The story was interesting, the performances were compelling, and it was visually grand. The music did not arrest me. There were two great songs for me.

JJ5

Just a side note on this thread- do you posters know that I got really horsewhipped verbally and called a provincial and put down as "you must be a person who doesn't go to shows" etc.- in the early 2000's here when I was one of the first ones to go see Wicked, and said how I liked it so much? Really- it is true. They also noted that the music was awful and you couldn't leave the theater humming any of the tunes too.

ncounty, yes it probably is female centered, but also quite honestly lots and lots of the males of college age here at university have loved it and told me so too.

Those are two different things. Sometimes males like "stuff" but don't advertise the fact.

Judyrem

JJ5, say it ain't so! Wow, why was that? You liked it, they did not...the end! BTW, I have to admit that if people did not leave Jersey Boys singing the songs, they must be aliens .

volcanogirl

My husband might be embarrassed to admit he liked it, but he liked it! We went to see Dream Girls, and he thought there was too much singing - lol. I can't get "Popular" out of my head once I hear it.

NeoPatrick

"Sometimes males like "stuff" but don't advertise the fact."

Amen. Especially when the "stuff" is Broadway musical theatre -- (GASP)!

ncounty

Judyrem- I can't wait to see the Jersey Boys next! Did they sing "Can't take my eyes off of you?"....one of my favorite songs.

Jersey Boys was even closer to my hotel and available but I figured Wicked was the harder ticket to get on my only available night. I love musicals!

JJ5

Jersey Boys was good, but to me, just not as imaginative (good in my book) as Wicked. Chicago's cast of Jersey Boys is FABULOUS. Yes, they sing that and every other 4 Seasons song. The language is heavy- not for little kids, IMHO.

I just saw "Dirty Dancing" and really don't understand the reviews it got, especially in the category of the Australian actor's lead male role. Maybe he got better? This production in Chicago also had at least 3 of the best voices I have ever heard in a musical production anywhere. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't "Les Miz" but for its time era, and considering the focus is on the dancing, the voices were tops.

And "Dirty Dancing" also had the most imaginative special visual effects- tech-wise, something I had no idea would be used in this kind of few stage prop type production. Loved, loved that as much as the dancing. It was a tad bit too long, but otherwise- a good choice if you like music and especially if you have memories before 1970 at family resorts. I couldn't think of anything but Sunnybrook Farm for about a day afterwards (my Kellerman's). LOL!

ncounty

Ahhh, Les Miz....you HAD to mention that one, JJ5. It had so much hype before I saw it in the late 80s that I thought it couldn't possibly live up to it. "Swept away", "musical sensation"...yea right. Well, I was truly swept away by it.

I thought the music and lyrics were magnificent and linger with me to this day. The set design and effects were spectacular, especially for that period in time. The voices...I think I've seen it three times, well, I think it is just Olympian. These performers (actually in all these shows) are the Olympic athletes of the vocal cords.

The story and themes are so profound and resonate deeply with me. I know not everyone loves this show....my first awareness of this was an older surgeon I knew who went to see it and then said to me "what's the big deal? I mean, what's it about anyway?" Stunned, I think I must have fumbled over my words....pursuit of justice, fighting oppression, selfless sacrifice for a higher cause, true love (romantic and parental). etc. He said "oh, yea, I guess."