Wicked - Cast Recording

First off, I didn't buy it- I only previewed the samples. My first impression, "Man, I'm glad I didn't jump on this when I saw it at Best Buy." I like the book, I've nearly adored my softcover to pieces that I got around 2000. I don't doubt that watching the book come to life on stage would be absolutely charming.

I like plays. I've watched the black and white versions of the Phantom of the Opera and love to sing along to the original cast recording I have when no one else is in my car. Out of all the plays I saw in high school, West Side Story made the best impression on me. I don't think I'd buy the soundtrack to it, but I enjoy it all the same.

But the dark and witty, the gritty and snarky, the inescapable criticism and clever jabs at the various levels of society are simply not supported by the "Bye Bye Birdy"-esqe interludes. Please, no attacks- there are a time and place for musicals and the tone of "Bye Bye Birdy" fits to the papers. Wicked is about youth before we came to know them through the eyes of Dorothy as adults, but by no means should the poppy, petulent, and superficial overtones take control.

I agree with a lot of the reviews that this is indeed a talented cast of singers and they project very well. So well in fact I mourn that the music that accompanies them lacks the depth and voice to support them. There is war, subterfuge, oppression, drama, mystery- and I'm hearing "Popular", "What is This Feeling", and I feel that only "I'm Not That Girl" even comes close to the themes Wicked brings to the table.

That's just how I feel from the previews anyway. I might would give it a listen if someone else I knew had it- but I doubt that would happen.