My “Wicked” ways

Alan Handelsman has seen the musical Wicked 11 times in seven cities

Guest post
by Alan Handelsman

Yes, “Wicked” is among the best musicals of all time in many categories — music, book, lyrics, plot, characters, staging, sets, dancing. Have I left anything out?

But that is not the main reason I have seen “Wicked” 11 times in seven different cities. (So far. I’ll see it once again when it returns to ASU Gammage.)

I am not bragging when I tell you this. I keep going, and listening to the recording, mainly because I see or learn something new or exciting every time. Maybe it is because I’m slow, but I choose to think there is that much to experience, on many levels.

Those who say “Wicked” is simply about the friendship of two girls are missing a lot of original and sophisticated insights into many aspects of our human experience. Not just friendship, but relationships of all types, as well as politics, psychology, celebrity, history, and the nature of good and evil.

Here are some of the things I’ve seen as I’ve experienced this show again and again. If you see “Wicked” more than once, you will have the time to look for these things. Maybe it will take you fewer than 11 times to enjoy all that “Wicked” has to offer.

A major thing for me is the show’s view of the relationship between good and evil. Notice that the “wicked” witch isn’t all that wicked, and the “good” witch isn’t very good at all, especially at the beginning. Most of the characters are a combination of good and evil. The show’s fantasy world has taught me about real life.

Like many people, I can be very judgmental, and “Wicked” has helped me become more accepting and forgiving. I have learned that – while not always best friends – good and evil seem to be inseparable, we all have some of each, and things aren’t always what they seem.              

I always enjoy seeing Elphaba show Glinda how to be good as their friendship grows strong. Did you notice that when you first saw the show? As I watched “Wicked” for about the fifth time, it suddenly became clear to me that every time Glinda got what she thought she wanted, she felt worse. It took Glinda a whole show to learn to be careful what she asked for, and it took me five times longer.

Each time through, I change my mind as to what is the turning point of the show. Maybe there are several.

I always enjoy how the political statements are presented with subtlety and humor, which makes them very effective. (An example of a more heavy-handed approach would be “Billy Elliot.”)              

As I realized that the last scene is simply a continuation of the first, I was able to experience the beginning of the show in a new way. It was a new perspective that only came from knowing all that was to happen. There are many other examples of statements and behaviors that foreshadow future events, which become fun to identify with the advantage of hindsight.              

There were several times when I got caught looking at the wrong part of the stage, and I missed something interesting, funny or important. If you missed it the first time, be sure to focus on Glinda and Elphaba at the end of “What Is This Feeling.” Also, Elphaba’s appearance at her sister’s home was visually stunning. I didn’t see it the first time, but I’ve seen it many times since.

When asked, “Which was the best production?” I cannot give a simple answer. For example, the singing Elphaba in New York was the best, but the best acting Elphaba was at ASU Gammage. The best acting Wizard was in L.A., the best singing Wizard in Chicago and the best dancing Wizard at ASU Gammage.              

Watching different casts, I find it fascinating to see how much an actor can bring to a role, and even change a character. Sometimes it is the delivery of one line, or even just a word or gesture. The first Elphaba I saw smiled after the song “Just For This Moment” when she said she felt “wicked.” That quick smile gave a dimension to the character that no other Elphaba has duplicated since. Maybe next time.

In most productions, the performances, both singing and acting, have been excellent. I’ve only seen one bad Glinda, one mediocre Elphaba and one Fiero who may have been dancing through life, but had a little trouble dancing through the show.              

You may notice that while all the music sounds like “Wicked,” the style of each song changes to match the characters and the action, and serves the story well. The melodies and harmonies are beautiful and compelling, but for me the best musical aspect is the rhythmic vitality. No matter the speed, the music is always moving forward. The best way I can describe this driving rhythm is that after 30 years of being a pit musician playing woodwinds, “Wicked” is the only show in which I’d want to play the drums.              

The show’s lyrics flawlessly and simultaneously advance the plot and establish character. Stephen Schwartz manages to do this in a way that is both poetic and humorous – not an easy task. His use and intentional misuse of the language is masterful.

One fun thing I sometimes look for is how and when they hook up Elphaba for her “ascent” just before the end of the first act. It is not something you would even want to notice the first time.

After all of this, is there another reason to see again? I’ll let you know after I see it the 12th time.

Alan Handelsman and his wife Anita live with their bunny in Scottsdale. Retired after 30 years as a musician, Handelsman is now a perfectly non-wicked hypnotherapist whose prior review gigs include serving in the first class of ASU Gammage Goers.

Note: “Wicked” will be performed Feb. 15-March 11 at ASU Gammage in Tempe. Click here for show and ticket information.

Coming up: More fun with Stephen Schwartz musicals

Neanderthals making nice?

Cast of Arizona Theatre Company production of God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza

There’s a point in the play “God of Carnage” where things take a decided turn, but making it that far into the Arizona Theatre Company production, which I saw on opening night, took some doing. I found myself thinking, “I can’t take any more of these plays about people whining on pristine sofas.”

Soon slurs, swearing and something best left unnamed before the uninitiated start spewing forth — and the story develops at a quickening pace. Still, theater afficianonado Alan Handelsman, who was part of the first class of ASU Gammage Goer reviewers, felt “there was something missing” in the opening night performance.

Handelsman and his wife Anita saw the play a couple of years ago in New York City, and he’s got a clear preference for the NYC version’s vibe — feeling it had more “energy, commitment, rhythm, flow, surprise, pacing, abandon, arc and continuity.” Even simple prop choices, he recalls, gave the NYC production “a much greater sense of impending danger.”

Clockwise: Joey Parsons, Bob Sorenson, Amy Resnick and Benjamin Evett in the ATC production of God of Carnage

The Arizona Theatre Company production was good, says Handelsman, but not great. Despite being surrounded at the Herberger Theater Center by people laughing loud and proud, I’m afraid I have to concur. “God of Carnage” felt a bit of a letdown — perhaps because I went into it expecting so much. “God of Carnage” won the 2009 Tony Award for best play.

Other people whose opinions I respect felt differently. I saw Frances Smith Cohen, artistic director for Center Dance Ensemble, and her daughter Rachel Cohen in the theater foyer after the show, and both praised its artistry. Rachel loved “the writing and directing” and Frances “the contrast in characters.” My own theater baby Lizabeth, who has studied dance with both, would likely take their side.

We talked via “Skype” after I got home from the theater Saturday night, and Lizabeth was shocked when I shared my tepid response to the show. She saw “God of Carnage” in Chicago last year while touring colleges with my husband James. Both remember it being fabulously funny.

Lizabeth described it as “well written and well acted” — and shared that she loved watching the different characters evolve during the course of the story. Seems she was amused by just how “quickly the adults became the children.”

“God of Carnage” centers on two couples’ attempts at a civilized conversation after their sons spar on a playground. “You just don’t expect it to go as far as it does,” reflects Lizabeth. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen dad laugh that much,” she recalls. “He totally let loose.”

“Maybe.” she says, “it was his way of letting off steam after all the things that happened when we were little.” Seems she’s observed that the things we sometimes took too much to heart as young parents now fall into more perspective. “You used to take it all so seriously,” she told me. “You guys have learned to let go since then.”

The journey from kindergarden to college does effect profound changes. But the parents in “God of Carnage” have survived only grade school, and the perils of middle school are proving a bit more daunting. After meeting to discuss one boy’s use of a stick and another’s missing teeth, they demonstrate that words are perhaps the worst weapons of all.

The parents who seem so perfectly civilized to begin with soon dissolve into shreiking narcissism and nihilism, something that feels more believable once alcohol enters the picture. I hate to think any of us could trade “nice” for “Neanderthal” so quickly in its absence.

Handelsman, a highly-trained hypnotherapist, says the play reveals “how many different layers humans live in” — showing “the difference between the person we show, and the person we are, and the person we may be afraid we are.” Confronted with the final image in this production, we realize that humans haven’t evolved nearly as far as they imagine.

— Lynn

Note: This original production, directed by Rick Lombardo, is a co-production of Arizona Theatre Company and San Jose Repertory Theatre (which performs it next spring). Yasmina Reza has teamed with Roman Polanski to write the screenplay for a movie titled “Carnage,” directed by Polanski and scheduled for mid-December release. It stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. Click here to learn about another opportunity to see the play performed live. Please note that “God of Carnage” contains “mature content.”

Coming up: Advice for young filmmakers, Handelsman shares his “Wicked” ways, Holiday shopping “arts and culture” style, The fine “Art” of Yasmina Reza

Photos: Tim Fuller for Arizona Theatre Company

“Fiddler” & family

Jewish father and milkman Tevye likens the balancing act of life to a fiddler perched atop a roof (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Most of my favorite musicals focus on family-related themes. There’s “Les Miserables” — which portrays a mother’s sacrifice for her sick child, “In the Heights” — which recounts the experience of immigrant parents who send their daughter to college, and “Fiddler on the Roof” — which follows the frustrations of parents whose three eldest daughters struggle to find independence in a world defined by tradition.

The touring production of “Fiddler on the Roof” is being performed through Sun, April 3, at ASU Gammage in Tempe — the venue at which I first enjoyed the musical with my husband and three children many years ago. For all the fun I’ve had at “mature-theme” musicals, this “family-friendly” show is still among my favorites.

Its characters, including Tevye (the papa) and Golda (the mama), are human in ways many parents find familiar. We wonder how to balance the past with the future. Ponder the meaning of family and home. Fret about fostering values without forcing them upon our children.

Tevye and his wife live in Tsarist Russia. The year is 1905, and the country is on the brink of revolution. They’ve got five daughters and little means. And the three eldest daughters are begining to develop, and act upon, their own ideas about life, love and the world around them.

The original production of “Fiddler on the Roof” opened on Broadway in 1964, and won nine of the 10 Tony Awards for which it was nominated in 1965 — including the award for best musical.

But its themes are every bit as relevant today. Think religious versus secular life. Economic hardship. Political upheaval. Think roles of women and men in society. Gossip. Keeping and breaking promises. Learning to start over.

"Fiddler on the Roof" runs through Sunday at ASU Gammage in Tempe (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

“Fiddler on the Roof” is a feast of music and dance, full of rich color and texture on all sorts of levels. It’s tender and joyous, playful and profound.

You can take it all in without any appreciation for its more serious themes. Or you can embrace it as a vehicle for bittersweet reflection on the many ways our personal, family and collective histories are moving forward.

In either case, it’s a classic musical that no parent should miss — and a fine choice for folks eager to introduce their children to the magic of musical theater.

— Lynn

Note: Tickets for “Fiddler on the Roof” at ASU Gammage start under $25. The show runs through April 3 and there are both matinee and evening performances on Saturday and Sunday. Visit the ASU Gammage website to read reviews by “Gammage Goers” and learn about special offers and opportunities (including a “talkback” with cast/crew and a special brunch at the ASU University Club).

Coming up: Get your fringe on!, Reflections on a glass house, Tips for choosing a college theater program