Category Archives: Meeting and Greeting

Oh what a night! Having held so much regret not going to Kerry Ellis’ cast change on May 9th 2009, my hopes were set extremely high for this one. We arrived in good time and met up with a few Wicked London Facebook fans. It was lovely to see them all, catch up on the Muck Up Matinee gossip and generally have Wicked banter! Then, as we were taking our seats, the atmosphere was electric, you could tell that everyone was literally bursting with excitement – including me!!

Before I get into the actual show, firstly let me say that personally, out of this 2009/10 cast, Ashleigh is my Elphie. No amount of Lexi shows, riffs or audios was ever going to change that. Gray Day was my final Ashleigh fix and although I was not overly happy that it wasn’t Ashleigh on, I had grown to accept it. I had never seen Alexia before as I had always booked for Ashleigh shows (Wednesday Matinee) and I am very glad (after seeing CC performance) that I had kept it that way. One thing that Alexia does have over Kerry and Ashleigh is her acting ability. She really shone in that and I can imagine that on a ‘normal’ show night, her acting is better because she’s not so worried about riffing/impressing/not crying!

The house lights dimmed, the screams began! The nice lady announced that no videoing or recording of any sort was allowed. From the state of YouTube this morning it is clear that many ignored this! The overture enhanced the energy in the theatre before Dianne’s grand entrance. She was greeted by 2,208 adoring fans, showing their appreciation for her 3 year stint as G(a)linda. She had to wave us to shut us up! It was official, it was going to be a very loud, extremely special night.

During No One Mourns The Wicked the audience were gradually leaning forward, waiting, in anticipation, for Lexi’s arrival on the scene. And when she did, it was explosive (although, I have to say, deservedly, Dianne got more appreciation). She proved herself during The Wizard And I, almost missing the awesome Kerry riff on ‘things I’ve never felt’ and turned it in to this beautiful bluesy trill.

Now, I get a lot of stick from certain people (you know who you are JR) for my love of the supposedly ‘nasal’ Kerry Ellis. Alexia really took ‘nasal’ to a whole new level at Cast Change. There were moments during some of the songs that I couldn’t even hear the words (luckily I know them!) because they all merged into one sound. This really upset me – Lexi has such a beautifully pure voice, the ‘nasalness’ is definitely not her natural singing voice and it didn’t do anything to the character of Elphaba. I was a bit disappointed with that.

Oli’s entrance was fantastic and I love how Lexi mocked George Ure’s accent – classic! Dancing Through Life, I believe, is one of the most spectacular songs in the show in terms of costumes, set changes, emotions, relationships and the journey of the song. Oli did a beautiful riff at the end of his opening solo in that song. He almost swung the whole way around the statue (rumour has it in the Matinee he was on top of the statue!!). The Elphie/G(a)linda awkward dance moves were, comedically, perfect and the lovely leading ladies lept onto their beds at the end, as if they were looking forward to Popular just as much as we, the audience, were. Dianne added in tonnes of extra grunts, squeals, leaps and laughs – the audience was literally laughing and crying all at the same time. When she announced her name change, the fans cheered and whooped, those new to the show sat there, ignorant of the milestone performance they were attending. What a huge loss Dianne is to this extravagant show.

The moment we had all been waiting for arrived slowly…Defying Gravity. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight of the show. It is possibly the most spectacular moment of any show…ever. Lexi did a good job of it. Of course, the end is when people are clinging to the edge of their seats, waiting for the powerful riffs with Elphaba flying to the top of the stage. Lexi warbled her way through the riffs, having heard the Muck Up Matinee audio, her afternoon rendition was much stronger than the evening one I witnessed. Either way, she got a standing ovation seconds before the lights went out for the interval.

Intervals are always funny moments in shows. Generally, I stay in my seat and eavesdrop! It is so so so funny listening to people’s reactions to the show and their general conversations. A couple of girls near me were talking about how much they loved Kerry, saying how it was a shame she was on TV tonight, she should have been watching the show. Meanwhile I was on the Wicked London Facebook, knowing that Over The Rainbow was prerecorded, discoverating that Kerry was in fact in the stalls. I loudly announced it to my friend and these girls nearly jumped off their seats! There was also an american family behind me, it was not only their first time in the UK and specifiacally London but it was their first time at Wicked. All the way through they were discussing the links with the Wizard of Oz but during the interval, the Dad piped up. “This must be one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most recent creations”!!! So ignorant but so amusing at the same time. I had to withhold my laughter and so couldn’t bare turning round and telling him to read his programme and get his facts right!!

As Kerry took her own seat for the second half, a cheer erupted from the stalls, Wicked fans really are the best. The Thank Goodness introduction began with another bout of screams from the audience, silenced by Dianne’s trademark “Fellow Ozians”. It was as if she were directing it straight at us. She sang it beautifully, no frills but it was perfect just the way it was.

The belter in the second half is As Long As You’re Mine and on the night, it was electrifying! Oli’s riff was out of this world and I almost liked Lexi’s Elphie during the song. They have such good chemistry and I had never heard the song with such raw emotion – it was effortless and yet flawless.

Recently, Oli tweeted:

gutted the end is nearly here! despite some peoples opinions. I have done the best I could & I am dam proud to play fiyero 3 more times X

I simply cannot imagine anyone going alone to a performance of Wicked in London and being disappointed with Oli’s portrayal of Fiyero. He really understands the character so well and with 3 years under his belt, he has moulded the character into his own. He got plenty of cheers last night which I hope have built up his confidence with regards to his performances. It goes to show how humble this cast are, he doesn’t think very highly of himself at all when really, he is amongst the strongest on stage.

Whenever I watch a final performance of For Good I am transported back to the videos of Kristin Chenoweth’s final performance where her voice cracks and she barely gets through her solo – it chokes me up every time. Well this year’s cast change was not like that at all. Lexi and Dianne kept their cool for the song and sobbed afterwards. Their final hug was lengthy and emotional.

The show finished beautifully with a huge standing ovation for the whole cast. Massive cheers erupted as the principals walked (much slower than usual) out for their curtain call. Let the speeches commence. You can find here a full transcription of all the speeches but for now I only have a two things to say.

Firstly, Sarah Earnshaw did the speeches. What a calm and collected lady she is, she was humble and gracious and gave flowing tributes to all the leaving principle cast members. She spoke about Ashleigh first and, for me, this was the most difficult to listen to. I will miss Ashleigh tonnes, but that is nothing compared to Sarah’s emotions. They have spent almost every minute of every show together, laughing, joking and tweeting to the world. Sarah you are a star, Ashleigh, you are the star.

Secondly, Dianne closed the evening with a speech honouring the fans and most importantly, the show’s UK producer, Michael McCabe who, just days ago in a similar speech accepting the show’s Olivier award, referred to Dianne as Dianne Langton. All that is left to say re. speeches is……..McCabbbby, she got your’s right!

“Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun, like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood. Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better but because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

Meeting and Greeting Archive

Oliver! The Musical (and Kerry Ellis)

Wicked London @ Cardinal Place Victoria

A Very Happy Birthday To Miss Kerry Ellis

Wicked London Cast Change 27/03/10 Evening Performance

Meeting and Greeting!

A Wicked 21st BirthDay!

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