Product Description: No Description Available No Track Information Available Media Type: CD Artist: WICKED Title: ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING Street Release Date: 12/16/2003 Domestic Genre: CAST RECORDINGS
Amazon.com: One of the most common complaints about musicals is that the books are flimsy pretexts from which to hang numbers. Wicked runs into the opposite problem: it has a great plot, but too often the songs just get in the way. Based on Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name, Wicked tells us what happened between Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, before Dorothy showed up in Oz. And the show is lucky to boast a pair of ace leading women in the main roles. As Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth delivers a sensational star turn, displaying a crystal-pure voice and sharp comic timing; Idina Menzel lends her powerful pipes to the tricky role of Elphaba. Unfortunately, you wish they had better material to work with. Stephen Schwartz's pop score is often dragged down by overly synthetic orchestrations and sentimental lyrics (think Chicken Soup for the Witch). Still, at its best Wicked is a seductive slice of popular entertainment that could well give a younger audience a lasting taste for musical theater. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Los Angeles "Wicked" as good as CD-mostly
I saw "Wicked" at the Pantages in Los Angeles yesterday and it was marvelous. I couldn't help comparing the leads to this CD which I have owned and played relentlessly since I first saw "Wicked" in 2006. The L.A. stars acquitted themselves quite well. And proof that synchronicity lives in The Emerald City, Elphaba the green witch was played brilliantly by a Cali belter by the name of Teal Wicks.
Honorable mentions go to "No Good Deeds" "Defying Gravity" "As Long as You're Mine" and "For Good". My very favorite (this month anyway) "Thank Goodness" got a rather tepid response from the ... Read More
Rating: - Great soundtrack!
If you are a fan of the musical Wicked, this CD is a must have! I bought this copy as a gift for my niece who is also a fan. Great music, great fun!
Rating: - After the Performance
My daughter saw the performance of Wicked this June in Chicago and wanted the CD to enjoy after she returned. Now she has it to enjoy and her two children know all the words. Great tunes from a show that I will see Saturday in Lansing, MI with my wife. I guess I might be ordering a second CD for her!
Rating: - Mostly satisfying souvenier of a supremely entertaining musical
Stephen Schwartz is nothing if not predictable. His Broadway scores follow a formula: a slam-bang opening number, a solo number (sort of an "I want..." type of song) that serves to reveal the hidden fears, hopes and dreams of the show's deceptively complex protagonist, and at least one song that defines the show's message -- almost an anthem of sorts. This formula served Mr. Schwartz well in the 1970's, when he penned the scores of the Broadway hits "Godspell" and "Pippin," before taking a hiatus from stage composing to make a go of the more challenging genre of motion pictures. With "Wicked," ... Read More
Rating: - Amazing songs and perfomances
When me and my family were visiting USA a couple of weeks ago we saw this musical. It was actually my first musical I'd ever seen. It blew me away. The day after the show we went to a CD store and bought this soundtrack to bring home so we all could have something to remember it by. I can't stop listening to it.
First of all, the perfomances (especially the two lead female vocalists together) are amazing. They bring so much emotion to their songs so it's impossible not to sing along. And the songs themselves are incredibly well written and arranged. In my opinion, especially the song "Defying ... Read More
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