Friday 22 March 2013

Completed: Andrew Lloyd Webber's New Production The Wizard of Oz

Rai that cant possibly be the title...
really?




So...
A little back story.

My brother, who is autistic, really loves theater... musical theater specifically but really he just enjoys going out.

When Wicked came to town h badgered us for months to buy tickets.
When Joseph and the Amazing technicolour dreamcoat came to town he asked every day till we caved.
same thing with Cats.

SO when this was announced having the two things he really likes in a play (ALW and Oz) we were surprised that he didn't make a peep.
however one day my mother got an email from the theater and he saw it and he siddenly wanted tickets.

so even though we knew it was probably just a retelling of the film we figured some things would have to be added for Andrew Lloyd Webber to be claiming it at his new production.

So this is my third ALW show... and yeah.... i notice he has a very distinc style...
that.... i'm kinda sorta not a huge fan of.
i don't dislike anything he does.
well... cept Cats..... Cats was terrible and time that was wasted i will never get back.... but i already wrote a review on that...
anyways i don't hate on him cause he's super popular i just don't tend to like his stuff.
Jesus Christ Superstar is pretty much forever my favorite musical.... but other then that they all seem to be lacking something.
This is no different.

Also fun fact this was in the exact same theater that Wicked was in so yeah.... i will be compairing the two and i don't care if it's unfair.

super short Story description because everyone has seen the movie.
Dorothy Gale is a girl who just wants more in life, more attention, more validation and most importantly more colour.
then she gets all that and she suddenly wants to go back to her quiet life in Kansas... well at least she goes back a better person.
oversimplification? hell yes but again... i don't need to tell you the story... you knwo it.

This play is that story with a few more songs and a few lyrics added to old songs. nothing is different.

but thats what you expect i guess.

The good:
The costumes were lovely, my favorite being Glinda's though the wicked witch's second dress was pretty spectacular as well.
The sets had a pretty cool style, they did a good job of sepia Kansas vs super colourful and glittery Oz. also there was neat use of perspective.
The singing was pretty spectacular... apparently there was a TV show to pick who Dorothy would be played by... i can see why she won.
The acting was well done.... for the most part.

The not so good.
ALW's added songs... none of them added to the story except the first one which did work a little.... but as the play goes on his added songs get more and more tedious... the worst one being just before she leaves oz.... i was praying for it to just end so we could get it over with... it was just too much.... him and didn't fit in with the rest of the songs at all.
The modernization is kinda.... random... and i really just mean how lines were dilivered.... like they were so close to the original film but changed ever so slightly to make sure every moron in the place got it... and some scenes really dragged thanks to it.

The Bad:
We tend to get the cheapest seats possible when we go to plays simply because even the cheapest seats can cost around 100 bucks in town... for all four of us to go it can get really expensive. Also my brother tends to have reallybad taste and the things he wants to see the most tend to be the worst so if we are wasting our life... we don't wanna burn a hole in our wallet.

We were in the very back row for this play (which had half the theater curtained off which is just a way to make false Sold out sales) and despite being as far back as we possibly could it still cost 120 per person.
120 to see something that is essentially the play version of a film.
All because ALW name is attached to it?
.... yeah
Hey.... hey theater industry? hey you know how no one goes to see plays anymore? yeah it's cause your tickets are an arm and a leg.
to be fair... like i said before that exact theater the previous year for wicked was cheaper... we were a few rows back still  it was a more decent price.


Which did i like better? Wicked or this?
Wicked, Wicked kicked so much ass. if you have a chance to see it in theater take it. it's funny, it's moving and the songs are just so clever.

This is by no means a bad play.... it's really well done but unless you're a super wizard of oz fan or you maybe want to see the film told in a slightly different don't bother.
unless you can get tickets from 30-80 bucks... then i would say it's probably worth it just for the spectacle.

But seriously it is kinda silly that ALW can simply add a couple of songs and suddenly it's his play? i mean he gives credit to the original song writers but he still claims it as his own.

oh well...
Les Mis is coming to town apparently.... maybe i'll check that out? (probably not cause i am cheap)

but yeah seriously i want Glinda's outfit and i would just wear it all the time... sequence would be everywhere and i wouldn't care...

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