I arrived at the Apollo Victoria, Wicked's theatre, about forty minutes after the box office opened and bought a ticked for row T seat 1 at the price of £15, the cheapest offered.
Since I had a few hours until the matinée at 2:30 PM, I first went back to Westminster Abbey; I had attended Evensong there the day before, but when I decided after services that I'd like to buy a CD of the boys' choir, the store was already closed.
As it turned out, I didn't buy anything. The CD prices were reasonable when read in US dollars - 9.99 to 15, fairly average - except this was pounds and prices were actually more along the lines of 20 to 30 US dollars each, which is far too much for me; I had been hoping before I arrived in London that I'd be able to buy some of the German music I like to listen to cheaper here than in the US because of shipping costs, but CD prices seem more expensive here in general.
After Westminster Abbey, I went back to the Imperial War Museum, a suggestion from our professor on a place to get more information on the Dunkirk evacuation. I had actually seen all of the Dunkirk information - little that there was - during my first visit, but I asked at information just to be sure and took some additional photos. I also went through The Blitz Experience, a ten-minute simulation of a bombing raid during WWII that I hadn't wanted to wait in line for previously.
By 1:40 PM, I was back at the Apollo Victoria and I'm glad I got there early; the theatre was huge. My seat was on the extreme right-hand side and five rows away from the last row of seats - row Y - but it had a surprisingly good view, if a little far away to see facial expressions and the like. An American girl sitting behind me was studying abroad at Oxford University and we talked a little before the show started; she had already seen Wicked twice.
When asked during intermission how I would rank Wicked among all of the musicals I had seen, my response at the time was that it was better than The Phantom of the Opera, but not as good as Les Misérables. After seeing both acts, I decided that Wicked was more on the same level as Phantom; with both musicals, I liked them for one character (Elphaba and Erik/The Phantom, respectively) and one or two major songs ('Defying Gravity', which alone was worth the hype/'The Phantom of the Opera' and 'Music of the Night'). I also think that both musicals have stronger first acts than second acts, though Wicked's first act was much better than its second, which I found to be rather boring, somewhat clichéd, and very disappointing.
Strangely, the thing Wicked reminded me most of was Batman Begins, especially the way that both went back into the main character's past and examined how they came to be what they were, with little moments that introduced something familiar yet new - like the Batmobile or the Joker's calling card in Batman Begins, or the Wicked Witch of the East or the hat and broomstick in Wicked. The major difference is that Wicked also reinterpreted the motives of almost all of the characters along the way, though Batman Begins accomplished its aims more successfully, I think.
The actress who played Elphaba was very good, though neither myself nor the girl behind me liked the actress who played Galinda/Glinda; her singing was lacking, especially by what I'd imagine professional West End theatre standards to be. The girl behind me also said at the end of the performance that it was probably her least favourite of all the Wicked performances she'd seen, which was disappointing; the idea that Broadway/West End performances are better than tours and worth the extra price isn't always true.
Two things I've noticed about London theatre from Blood Brothers and Wicked: first, no one hands out free playbills, which means that you don't even get a list of songs or actors unless you pay for one of the full-colour booklets. And second, ice cream is a popular intermission treat.
After Wicked, I walked down to Buckingham Palace and then walked all the way back to the flats, which was a nice one-hour jaunt.
Tomorrow, I'd like to attend a church service at 11 AM, but I'm not sure where yet. I might also go down to the Thames River Festival for the fireworks, but I'm itching to get into research mode and plan on devoting most of the day to Dunkirk.And I will not start re-reading The Charioteer while doing it.
Since I had a few hours until the matinée at 2:30 PM, I first went back to Westminster Abbey; I had attended Evensong there the day before, but when I decided after services that I'd like to buy a CD of the boys' choir, the store was already closed.
As it turned out, I didn't buy anything. The CD prices were reasonable when read in US dollars - 9.99 to 15, fairly average - except this was pounds and prices were actually more along the lines of 20 to 30 US dollars each, which is far too much for me; I had been hoping before I arrived in London that I'd be able to buy some of the German music I like to listen to cheaper here than in the US because of shipping costs, but CD prices seem more expensive here in general.
After Westminster Abbey, I went back to the Imperial War Museum, a suggestion from our professor on a place to get more information on the Dunkirk evacuation. I had actually seen all of the Dunkirk information - little that there was - during my first visit, but I asked at information just to be sure and took some additional photos. I also went through The Blitz Experience, a ten-minute simulation of a bombing raid during WWII that I hadn't wanted to wait in line for previously.
By 1:40 PM, I was back at the Apollo Victoria and I'm glad I got there early; the theatre was huge. My seat was on the extreme right-hand side and five rows away from the last row of seats - row Y - but it had a surprisingly good view, if a little far away to see facial expressions and the like. An American girl sitting behind me was studying abroad at Oxford University and we talked a little before the show started; she had already seen Wicked twice.
When asked during intermission how I would rank Wicked among all of the musicals I had seen, my response at the time was that it was better than The Phantom of the Opera, but not as good as Les Misérables. After seeing both acts, I decided that Wicked was more on the same level as Phantom; with both musicals, I liked them for one character (Elphaba and Erik/The Phantom, respectively) and one or two major songs ('Defying Gravity', which alone was worth the hype/'The Phantom of the Opera' and 'Music of the Night'). I also think that both musicals have stronger first acts than second acts, though Wicked's first act was much better than its second, which I found to be rather boring, somewhat clichéd, and very disappointing.
Strangely, the thing Wicked reminded me most of was Batman Begins, especially the way that both went back into the main character's past and examined how they came to be what they were, with little moments that introduced something familiar yet new - like the Batmobile or the Joker's calling card in Batman Begins, or the Wicked Witch of the East or the hat and broomstick in Wicked. The major difference is that Wicked also reinterpreted the motives of almost all of the characters along the way, though Batman Begins accomplished its aims more successfully, I think.
The actress who played Elphaba was very good, though neither myself nor the girl behind me liked the actress who played Galinda/Glinda; her singing was lacking, especially by what I'd imagine professional West End theatre standards to be. The girl behind me also said at the end of the performance that it was probably her least favourite of all the Wicked performances she'd seen, which was disappointing; the idea that Broadway/West End performances are better than tours and worth the extra price isn't always true.
Two things I've noticed about London theatre from Blood Brothers and Wicked: first, no one hands out free playbills, which means that you don't even get a list of songs or actors unless you pay for one of the full-colour booklets. And second, ice cream is a popular intermission treat.
After Wicked, I walked down to Buckingham Palace and then walked all the way back to the flats, which was a nice one-hour jaunt.
Tomorrow, I'd like to attend a church service at 11 AM, but I'm not sure where yet. I might also go down to the Thames River Festival for the fireworks, but I'm itching to get into research mode and plan on devoting most of the day to Dunkirk.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}