Internet, I've gone to a couple of musicals recently. The first was the Guthrie's production of The Scottsboro Boys (which is headed to Broadway next). The second was Wicked, a nationally-touring production (of a Broadway musical).
As I sat through Wicked, the second of the two, I kept thinking, "If I had to choose between one of these two musicals, which would I rather see?"
The answer to that, Internet? The Scottsboro Boys, and for many reasons. Let me tell you about my reasons.
The Scottsboro Boys is uncomfortable. The entire premise of the piece is that a group of minstrels comes to town and performs a show about the Scottsboro Boys from the 1930s - this time, the way things really went down. And the way things really went down? A group of nine young black men were falsely accused by two white women of rape on a train passing through Scottsboro, Alabama, in 1931. They were convicted, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court ended up hearing their case.
Watching this piece is not pleasant. Oh, don't get me wrong: there's excellent dancing and singing and joking around and I laughed throughout along with everyone else: but enjoying it just feels wrong, and all the laughter in that theater is uneasy.
(Side bar: to read an opinion from a local paper with which I completely DISAGREE, read here; For an opinion from a local paper with which I completely AGREE, read here.)
I learned more about a piece of our country's history that is appalling and went against everything that is "God created all men equal" and justice being the American way. But the production itself is amazing. I cannot say enough good things about the cast - each actor played his character perfectly. These guys can act, sing, dance, joke and do impressions supremely well. Joshua Henry, Sean Bradford, Forrest McClendon, Colman Domingo, Christian Dante White, all of them: brilliant. The music is good, the storyline is fairly tight. But throughout the whole thing, you feel bad for liking it. Who wants to enjoy a disturbing story about racism and injustice? Um, pretty sure the answer to that one is "no one." But Kander & Ebb, Thompson & Stroman rise above that to bring to light a painful subject in an interesting and enlightening way, and throughout, they put minstrelsy on end - nothing is at it seems, and they successfully lampoon that racist medium while telling us a piece of American history.
It's thought-provoking and I like that. (Kind of like a good church sermon: it should be thought provoking and should make you uncomfortable.) I can be entertained by mindless things, or even by familiar plot lines, but something that will make me think and feel and react weeks after I saw it (truly - I saw it on August 28th, and I'm still processing my opinions on it today, and will probably keep thinking about it weeks down the road) impresses me more and sticks with me longer than the same trite drivel that Hollywood and Broadway are pumping out and airing for the masses these days.
Which brings me to Wicked.
I went earlier this week with cousin R, and we had a good time. I was drawn in to the story - it had an entertaining concept (basically, the Wizard of Oz told from a completely different perspective - that of the witches, along with pre- and post-Wizard of Oz storyline). There was some good singing (though not all) of some good songs (though not all), coupled together with some trite been-there-done-that Embrace-Your-Individuality-and-Love-Yourself-for-Who-You-Are dreck. The storyline wasn't as tight as it could have been, and most of it was terribly predictable for me (and I don't really think that's what they were going for?).
(Side bar: can you tell I am getting kind of tired of the whole Boost-Your-Self-Esteem-via-entertainment thing? I just can't do it any more. Not when it's so self serving - see, the Me Generation, anyone? Don't get me wrong - it's not like this is the only aspect of Wicked...but apparently even tones of this idea are getting to me.)
My favorite actor from Wicked was the woman playing Glinda, Natalie Daradich. She scored well in my book - almost all the time in her singing, and always in her acting. Understudy Christine Dwyer played Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, and though she has a powerful voice, she just didn't do it for me - it felt extremely unrefined when compared to the others in the production. Chris Peluso did a nice job as Fiyero. Otherwise? A lot of it was forgettable, and just wasn't as good as other major Broadway tours I've seen.
So. Moral of the story? Go see the cheaper, more thought-provoking Scottsboro Boys while it's still in town. I kept thinking, if only I saw Wicked before Scottsboro Boys...then I probably wouldn't have been sitting there comparing the two incessantly.
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