Wicked #34: Wicked in Nowra

This weekend I saw a[nother] community theatre production, this one in Nowra NSW.

This was show 34 for me, but it was also notable because I took 3 friends with me. Two of whom had never seen the show before, and one who came and saw the production in Wagga Wagga with me in November 2017.

Overall, it was a good production. The staging wasn’t too different, so I have very few notes. Which meant I could relax more and enjoy the show, rather than frantically try and remember every difference I deemed notable on a mental loop until I was able to write everything down!

Our Glinda I’ve seen before- in the Wollongong production I saw in August 2017. I loved her performance then and I loved it now! She was truly excellent. Our Elphaba was also wonderful- and only 17.

The rest of the cast was really solid- although Morrible was a little late on every cue in Act 1, which was frustrating. But my friends didn’t notice, so maybe it wasn’t that bad? The transitions between scenes were also extended (to allow time for crew to move on and off set pieces). Again, this was very noticeable to me, but it didn’t seem to bother my friends.

The orchestra was uneven in patches, and my friends did notice this. However, it didn’t distract them too much. They all said how much they enjoyed it on the way home. My friend K, who saw it for the first time, said “I can see why you love this so much” and then was exclaiming over how well it fits with The Wizard of Oz and that she needed to buy the soundtrack.

Here’s a few things I did note, however:

No One Mourns the Wicked: Glinda entered way too early. Like, as soon as the Ozians started singing “Good news!” the bubble was entering the stage. It was just a bubble that she sat on suspended by wires, so there was one time when it moved a little too fast and swung a lot. Elphaba’s birth scene was also done through use of silhouettes behind a curtain, rather than being shown on stage.

Dear Old Shiz: This was where Morrible missing her cue was the most noticeable. The cast were just left to make awkward whispers before she finally arrived.

Dancing Through Life: Fiyero, when talking to Boq at the beginning of the song, put his sunglasses on Boq’s face and ruffled his hair.

One Short Day: During the train station scene, G[a]linda was having sound issues. Ultimately, one of the crew ran on stage and handed her a handheld microphone to use. Glinda was then late to enter during OSD- she didn’t come on until her “The hustle and bustle” line, and her dress was still unzipped.

The actress playing Glinda was a total pro through all this though. She handled it all really well.

Defying Gravity: Like the production I saw last week in the Gold Coast, this was also done through suspending Elphaba in the air by wires.

Thank Goodness: The dais was upstage, and when Glinda and Fiyero moved downstage to talk, Morrible seemed to be telling the crowd scary things- judging by their actions.

As Long As You’re Mine: The only thing noted here was that there was so much dry ice!

And at the curtain call, after final bows, the cast all sang a bit of One Short Day together, which was fun.

So, this was probably the best community theatre production I’ve seen (that didn’t feature professionals- ie Canberra and Gold Coast). Definitely better than the Wollongong production, but also better than the Wagga Wagga production, despite the sound/orchestra issues.

Now I’m back to not knowing when I’ll see Wicked again!