Costuming in Wicked

[auld argonian]

Got taken to "Wicked" a couple of nights ago...my mom bought tickets for everyone and insisted that we all go.

Had to notice that one of the male students in the parts of the musical that take place at the university in OZ had a kilt as part of his costume...now that's some industrious costume designer!

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argonian

[jjoseph]

I'm green with jealousy that you're getting to go to the musical. Book rocked. Great treatment of 'what is it to be evil' vs. what is it to be perceived as such. No hard line. No easy answers. Good stuff. Hope the musical treats the material so well.

A lot of the book is set in a pseudo-british Victorian/Edwardian kind of culture with feudal and tribal fringes. A kilt would go well for some of the male characters at Elphaba's school I think.

[auld argonian]

I'm green with jealousy that you're getting to go to the musical. Book rocked. Great treatment of 'what is it to be evil' vs. what is it to be perceived as such. No hard line. No easy answers. Good stuff. Hope the musical treats the material so well.

A lot of the book is set in a pseudo-british Victorian/Edwardian kind of culture with feudal and tribal fringes. A kilt would go well for some of the male characters at Elphaba's school I think.

Yah...well...I bought the book (I actually have a first edition!) for my wife since I thought that the idea of looking at the story from the witches point of view would be worthwhile. I've seen a lot of folks who have been categorized as, let's say, less-than-good and have found that many of them are more honest and upright than a lot of the goody-goody types that I've met. Let's face it; to the Dragon, St. George was a home invader. The "other-side-of-the-story" device has been used quite a bit lately; "Wicked" may be one of the best examples of it.

There is a BIG difference between the book and the play, apparently...I haven't had the time to read the book myself but, when my wife finished it, she mentioned that there were some very "unsavory" aspects to the story and particularly to the Wizard's personality. I read a "blog" recently wherein the writer really slammed the musical for being a real "Disney-fied" version of the book. Since the theatres are packed with high school girls who "identify strenuously" with the Glinda and Elphaba characters, you gotta figure that the story has been "sanitized for your protection". What is there is really pretty good, though...the folks in the performance that I saw didn't seem to be able to get the real tragedy and triumph across...they just didn't build much sympathy for the characters...it was there in the script but they just couldn't seem to make the characters human enough. The show depends A LOT on special effects...more of the "Disney" aspect...and a "soundtrack" that's really heavy on driving synthesizer parts (bloody annoying at times). I hope that someday there's a more laid back production of it (with less synthesizer!) where they an concentrate more on the characters and less on the Gee-Whiz of the whole thing...it's a very worthwhile story.

Be thus forewarned it you get a chance to go see it...last time I looked, it was playing in about twelve cities in North America! Do you know how to say "franchise"? Ca-ching!

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argonian

[jjoseph]

Let's face it; to the Dragon, St. George was a home invader.
.
.
Be thus forewarned ...last time I looked...Ca-ching!

Yup, context and perspective can make all the difference. Good people can often believe bold faced lies if something does not lift them above a situation so they can see a larger picture. Unfortunately money, its abundance or its lack can often get in the way of that.

On a happier note, Hallmark video, believe it or not, has taken several faerie tales and retold them from alternative perspectives with varying degrees of success. Their production of "Jack" is a wonderful treatment of Jack and the Beanstalk. Vanessa Redgrave's monologues as the family matriarch sometimes narrator are essays on the nature of truth and myth.

Bringing it back on topic, are there any heroes (Paul Bunyan figures) whose kilts played a role it the story? I mean we have lots of myth figures whose attire defines them in some way.

[auld argonian]

Dredging this thread up because I went back to see Wicked again yesterday...we have an exchange student here with us and we figured that we'd treat her.

And my eyes were not deceiving me...there was a kilted young man in the early segment of the show that deals with Glinda and Elphaba's time at school...the character showd up in the "Dancing Through Life" number as well.

Now kilted is a relative term here...not tartan but sort of a witch's guards sort of look...vaguely cossack-like but certainly a belted kilt-type garment.

We noticed that the costuming has changed here and there since the first time we saw the show...either the designers are enjoying the luxury of haveing a successful show to experiment in or the wear and tear on the costumes have made it necessary to cut and paste bits and pieces together to create new costumes as the chorus members come and go...interesting.

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AA

[GMan]

That's funny, when Wicked was here I did not notice a Kilt, yet that may not mean anything, as I was trying to see how the dialog went with the book. (Pretty right on if you ask me)