"Wicked" twice over

Well, I guess I've told quite a few friends that my friend and I didn't really enjoy Wicked : The Musical the first time I watched it (in London). Not that it was a bad production as everything was executed perfectly, singing great, etc. But somehow the songs/music didn't stick (I'll get to that later) and well, that time, I felt it very "teenage" or "high school musical" style then, which is in a way true, with the high school popularity phenomenon and meanness as such. I don't know, because I expected to like it then especially since I liked the story of Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland version).

On a side note, I was educated by my brother long ago that Wizard of Oz was actually a reference to the American dream - Dorothy represented the American dream, the Tin Man the industrious man, the Scarecrow the farmers, and the Lion, I can't remember. The Wizard also was representative of something (also can't remember), probably the government or something.

Anyway, with the coming of Wicked to Singapore, under peer influence (it's always fun to go in a group), I decided to give it another go to somehow "redeem" it since quite a few people did enjoy it. I thought, maybe I was jet-lagged then as I caught the show the first day I arrived in London and our seats weren't great. Or maybe my expectations were too high. I can't really pinpoint why.

So how was this?

Of course, I can't help but want to compare with the London show even though I could barely remember that. I found myself able to 'feel' a little more about the story and relationships; being able to feel some anger about who's the more wicked and also let myself be a little moved by the relationships. And I could see the humour in the show (I don't remember that aspect the first time), even though because it's not my first time watching the show, it felt a bit stating the obvious (it's just me lah). Well, I would say on the whole, it seemed like a better experience than before, although I still felt there's something missing in it for me. Why? What? The first act still seemed a bit long to me though.

As for the cast, Jemma Rix (as Elphaba) was of course the highlight with her unwavering and soaring vocals. The cast here somehow gave me a sense of being more "matured" to me. Haha! don't know why. Maybe it's Suzie Mathers as Glinda. I recall the one in London was more "girly" or "bimbotic" and probably projected the more "full of herself" character of Glinda. But this Glinda was less "girly" in that sense. In addition, I somehow felt London's execution of the choreography moves were more precise. But I could have remembered wrongly.

Now, on to the music. Sitting back on my second viewing, I could pay more attention to the music and songs. Well, the music ain't your usual "sticky" stuff, so it still didn't leave that much of an impression on me, except maybe for snippets or parts of songs. But it did struck me that they weren't easy songs to sing because of that and the lyrics were quite smart.

I guess one of the drawbacks I had of catching the show a second time was that I knew the whole story, so the little references that would "surprise" someone and make you go "oh...so that's..." (if you're familiar with Wizard of Oz) didn't garner the same response from me as the general audience. Which was a pity as I guess it would have made it more fun. Sorry, but I couldn't help but smile when Elphaba supposedly "melted" because I knew she didn't die. Actually, I think I kinda knew that too when I watched it the first time round. I wonder why? Maybe because she could stand in the rain earlier on?  It would have made a difference too even if I knew the story if I had enjoyed it the first time around. Too bad.