By Fausto Fernós on April 16, 2007 | Share & Save | Link | Print |
A common theme of my lovely niece Victoria’s visit to Chicago was the ubiquitous message of “young women empowerment” in the two musicals we saw this weekend: “Wicked- the musical” and “The American Girls Revue.”
Wicked the musical presents a dazzling new take on the classic story of the Wizard of Oz as seen from the Wicked Witch’s point of view. Why was she seen as wicked in the first place? Although we thought the music in the musical to be forgettable, the costumes and the majestic art-deco scene design did not fail to impress.
To contrast, the inexpensive musical revue from the doll-making company American Girl Place presented a collection of somewhat cliche but still adorable stories of what it means to be an American girl and an American Woman.
Am I missing something, or did young women all over America suddenly lose their self-esteem? Although I share many parent’s concerns of their daughters allowing their lives to go in some path, I’m not so sure that a musical is the best way to approach the subject of self-esteem. Honestly, it’s their lives to screw up.
Did Victoria like Wicked? She loved it. The show is really a decadent dazzling display of theatrical technical majesty, the kind ushered in by such visionaries as puppeteer/director Julie Taymor with Disney’s Lion King. If you’re a drag queen, a Wizard of Oz fan, or just a kid at heart you really owe it to yourself to check out this show while it’s still in Chicago. However, try to buy the tickets in advance because getting them the week of the show can run you as high as $310!
But I have to say that despite the lack of any strong musical numbers, Wicked is one musical that has gripped the nation with a candy-electric display of feminist reconstruction. We’re left wondering just WHY middle America is so in love with the concept of questioning authority and villainy. If the Wicked Witch really wasn’t the enemy, then are the enemies we think to be really evil?
Join our little family- my partner Marc, my niece Victoria and me, Fausto, as we talk about musicals, theater and wickedness.
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Wicked the Musical
American Girl Place’s Musical Revue
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Housemonstar says:
April 16, 2007 at 06:20I must go see Wicked!
…haha I have been saying that since it came out. O well. This episode was awsome- Victoria is great! I think it’s cool that people are responding to the podcast, but they shouldn’t be telling Ms. Ronnie what to say!
Buzz says:
April 16, 2007 at 09:26Hey guys (and gal):
Glad you saw “Wicked”.. I had the opportunity to see the original cast in New York when it first opened and enjoyed it immensely!
As the musical has been “dumbed down” and “lightened” from the actual book by Gregory Maguire. I would highly recommend reading it as it goes into far more than the musical could. He’s also done several other “twists” on popular stories: “Mirror, Mirror”- which is the Snow White story, “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister”- A twist to the Cinderella story (which, by the way, was made into a TV Movie by Disney starring Stockard Channing), and “Son of a Witch”- The, yes, sequel to “Wicked”. There is another book by Mr. Maguire, titled “Lost” which is a modern-day ghost story which borrows from the elements of “Peter Pan” and “Scrooge” (this book wasn’t one of my favorites).
The lesson I learned from “Wicked”– Defy Gravity and don’t always conform for the sake of others.
Yours in kink,
Buzz
kilo_hotel says:
April 16, 2007 at 10:08I saw Idina Menzel in the London production and she was fantastic. Miriam Margolyes (who’s been in Harry Potter amongst other things) was Madame Morrible. I thought the story was fantastic and so creative.
Just yesterday I sold my souvenir brochure on eBay which had been signed by the cast!
pfernos says:
April 16, 2007 at 10:58Marc, you asked for my opinion, and here it is! I’ve been thinking about this recently - something very obvious perhaps, but here it is - the more women become assertive, the more ’sensitive’ men will become, because women won’t like assertive / aggressive men, and as my father used to say ‘it’s the women who chose’… IF society gives women any freedom.
The big battle today, politically, is over this very issue - cultures that want to keep control over women vs. those which do not. Fausto has said this many times: homophobia stems from the perception of men that to be [like] a woman is to be weak, and therefore unmanly. In the US, at least , if a man works in as a salesperson in the American Doll store, I would not automatically assume he’s either a pedophile or gay.
First, because doing so is generalizing too broadly, and second, it’s unscientific to do so. Isn’t that what the term ‘metrosexual’ means - people who are in tune with both masculine and feminine sides? I think that’s where we’re headed, but it will take a long time.
PupDon says:
April 16, 2007 at 13:05I find it interesting that Fausto picked up on the political themes in the Wizard of Oz but missed them in Wicked, because the book is much more based on the politics and religious systems in Oz and relates a lot more to our own political system. Maguire’s story paints a picture of Oz as if the Wizard was very much a George W. Bush figure and most of Oz is like the red states. The animals are a lot like gay people in our country where their “voices” are being taken away and they are being treated as second class citizens, being silenced even after many of them have held highly respected positions such as teachers, philosophers, politicians, etc. In the land of Oz, the Wizard’s army are an oppressive force that has a stranglehold on the citizens of Oz, and Elpheba is one of the few who will stand against him and possibly the only one who can do so without being silenced herself.
Sure, the play can be seen as a statement on the empowerment of young women, but I found it very inspiring myself. After having a huge issue with my family on their wanting me to conform to their ways (yes, even in my 30’s this is an issue with them), Elpheba’s song of “Defy Gravity” hit me as a message that it’s okay to be yourself even in the face of losing what you see as love from those around you. If the people who appear to love you can’t accept you as the person you are, is it really love at all? Is that love worth giving up your beliefs for? Or would it be better to head off in a new direction in search of a better place where you might find those who will love and accept you just for you? Wicked speaks to the misfit in all of us, much in the way that Feast of Fools does. 
Nick says:
April 16, 2007 at 16:34PupDon, I really liked your philosophy of “Wicked.”
We need to talk more. 
Marc Felion says:
April 16, 2007 at 17:20I still like the Wizard of Oz better. The music is more memorable, the story more intriguing and I never felt like plot devices were shoehorned into it to move the story along. It’s a simple quest story that teaches you to rely on friends, trust in people’s good nature, home is where your heart is and old ladies like to kill dogs.
RcktMan says:
April 16, 2007 at 18:34I loved Wicked… the musical and the book. And they really are two different ‘animals’ so to speak, because they toned down a lot of the political contexts for the musical. They’re there, but they are not the prominent story.
I do agree with Marc about the Wizard of Oz, though. It is a superior story, and definitely a superior movie. Nothing will touch it– ever.
pepper says:
April 16, 2007 at 20:33Hey Everybody,
I grew up loving the Wizard of Oz; it was my favorite movie for years and years, and it’s still in my top 5. My sweetie Mark took me to see Wicked in NY and loved it as well. It made me look at Wizard differently.
By the way, the silver paint didn’t kill Jack Haley (Tin Man). It did, though, make Buddy Ebsen, originally cast as the movie-version Tin Man, very ill, and forced him to drop out of the movie.
Dave says:
April 16, 2007 at 22:13I must disagree with Marc regarding Wicked not having the show-stopper song. “Defying Gravity” is an amazing song with an amazing climax. ..and let’s not forget the most wondrous “Popular” and the tearjerker “For Good.”
Maybe…. I don’t know, but I think it may be because you guys were not familiar with the music and story before you saw the show. After all, EVERYONE knows the songs from the Wizard Of Oz even if they have not seen the movie.
…..just my thoughts.
By the way, how cute is Victoria?!? I think she’s a darling!
Juan Jaime says:
April 16, 2007 at 22:43How can you say it is not that amazing? Maybe your Elphaba isn’t as good as the original (Idina Menzel).
When the guards find the girls and she flyes and says “It’s meeeeee” is amazing! That’s the main song, and is as good as And I’m Telling You.
Maybe if Elphaba was blue, you would’ve liked it better, uh?
Love you guys!
Juan Jaime says:
April 16, 2007 at 22:46And I couldnt’ hear the whole episode, my iTunes is not downloading correctly and the player here did the same thing. How do I fix that? anyone…
Catherine says:
April 17, 2007 at 12:46I’m surprised no one mentioned the size of the Munchkins yet. See, in the book it is explained that interbreeding had pretty much made all the people in Munchkinland simply short in stature, not little people.
dsrbroadway says:
April 17, 2007 at 23:29As someone who’s seen Wicked about 8 times since the show started (I sell theatre tix for a living, so I’ve never had to pay…) I loved a lot of it right from the beginning…the book, the design, the original leads and some of the subsequent casts, and the overall message…but I found the score and the choreography extremely underwhelming. So even as I told people they had to see this show, I always found the CD the fastest one to listen to…I just play all the Elphaba songs. The rest kinda blow.
Fausto Fernós says:
April 18, 2007 at 00:40So then why were they so short in the movie? The holes in the plot are so big you can fly a starship through them.
JenaFriedman says:
May 2, 2007 at 14:20Hey Guys!
I’m producing a musical parody on American Girl Dolls in Chicago this summer. “The Refugee Girls Revue” is a political satire that raises awareness about refugee issues and pokes fun at American Girl Inc. all at the same time! The show opens at The Apollo Studio Theater in Lincoln Park in June…check out our website for more info
http://www.refugeegirlsrevue.com
Thanks and we hope to see you there! - Jena
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Fausto Fernós created the Feast of Fools in 1998 as wacky artists variety show in Chicago, Illinois.
Along with his partner Marc Felion, he hosts the world's most downloaded talk show for gay people on the internet, Feast of Fools.
Fausto loves pomegranates, waterfalls and 70s retro funk music.
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Nick says:
April 16, 2007 at 04:13Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth (The Original Elphaba and Glinda) were the best people for the part. You can hear them on the Wicked soundtrack. What I hold true from the musical is “No good deed goes unpunished” Yes I am a pesomist.