Wicked: 15th Anniversary | Celebrating the incredible men who have played Fiyero!

Wicked has established itself as one of the biggest and best West End shows, originally opening on Broadway in 2003 it headed over here and opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in 2006. Today we're celebrating 15 years of the show, and after the slight 'pause' the show has taken, it's come back better than ever and what a good time to celebrate its Birthday! In this piece, we look back at all the wickedly talented Women who have played Glinda in the UK. From the London production to the tours! Which one was your favourite?!

Wicked in London

Adam Garcia 

September 7 2006 - July 14 2007

Oliver Tompsett 

July 16 2017 - March 27 2010

Lewis Bradley 

March 29 2010 - May 8 2010 

Lee Mead 

May 10 2010 - February 5 2011

THEN AND NOW: Wicked the Musical

Wicked has a huge place in the musical theatre hall of Fame now, being an international hit the show still runs on Broadway after 15 years and 12 years in the West End. Although the show hasn't changed very much from the original Broadway production, we look back at the years the show has been running across a few productions. The original Broadway production, one of the first West End companies, the non-replica production in Copenhagen, a few different companies along the West End run and the current cast we have here in London. Take a look and share your favourite moments of the show with us on Twitter! @PocketSizeBlog #PocketThenNow  

Elphaba

Idina Menzel (2003), Kerry Ellis (2007), Maria Lucia (2011), Louise Dearman (2012) & Alice Fearn (2018)

Glinda

Krsitin Chenoweth (2003), Helen Dallimore (2007), Annette Heick (2011), Chandra Lee Schwartz (2012) & Sophie Evans (2018) 

THEN AND NOW: Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors opened at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park in a production like we've never seen before. So as part of our new 'Then and Now' series we thought this show would be thee perfect one to kick things off. We decided to look back at the different productions we've been treated to over the years, both here and in the US. Take a look and share your favourite moments of the show with us on Twitter! @PocketSizeBlog #PocketThenNow

Seymour Krelborn

Lee Wilkof (1982), Hunter Foster (2003), Paul Keating (2006), Sam Lupton (2016) & Marc Antolin (2018)

Audrey 

Ellen Greene (1982), Kerry Butler (2003), Sheridan Smith (2006), Stephanie Clift (2016) & Jemima Rooper (2018)

West End Men: Theatre Review

West End Men is a concert filled with Musical Theatre classics as well as some surprises, Currently playing at the Vaudeville Theatre until the 22nd June having previously toured last year. The show features West End talent such as David Thaxton, Glenn Carter (until 8th June), Lee Mead, Matt Willis and Stephen Rahman-Hughes (from 10th June) with special guests Kerry Ellis (until 15th June) and Carley Stenson (from 17th June). I’m glad that they’ve featured some of the more modern musical theatre talent rather than the ‘Michael Ball’ type people, they’re really updating what people think about West End leading men. Admittedly, these aren't the names I’d come up with if I was putting together this concert but they are all incredibly talented and really show why they are leading men within this show. 

The set list is interesting, for example I really liked the opening number. They mashed together Pure Imagination, Being Alive, Love Changes Everything and Music of the Night; a very odd choice of songs to put together but it was a really nice, relaxed introduction to the show. Another highlight was the West Side Story medley which opened the second act, I really liked that they paid homage to this but they went for the obvious choices of musical theatre songs like things from South Pacific, Chess and Les Miserables. Don’t get me wrong, these are great but you’d think with this more modern feel to the show they’d go for contemporary musicals as well. I would have loved to have seen some surprise musical theatre numbers in there like something from Newsies or Next to Normal or something along those lines! They were far to safe with the set list. 

Wicked the Musical: Theatre Review

Wicked the Musical has recently celebrated its fifth birthday in the West End, the show has proven very popular with musical theatre fans as they continue to sustain a very strong fan base who remain dedicated to the show and support it constantly. I have reviewed this show twice before, but I recently saw the show with the new cast. A lot of the cast have left the show since I last saw it, so I wasinterested to be invited back to check them out.

Rachel Tucker has remained with the production since coming into the company in March 2010; ever since she first started she has just got better and better. She is as strong as she has ever been. What I love about Tucker's interpretation of Elphaba is that she understands the role, a lot of the portrayals I have seen have been based around the singing aspect of the role and the actress's I've seen don't have that much depth in their Elphaba, where as Rachel's does. Her rendition of Defying Gravity and No Good Deed was the best I have ever heard; her voice fills the theatre and is delightful while having an edge to it which gives you shivers down your spine. Her chemistry with Gina Beck (Glinda) was also wonderful; they have had some time to settle in since they have started and their characters definitely work amazingly together and have a certain connection which hasn't been portrayed like that before.

Gina Beck plays a fresh Glinda, her voice is pure and a wonder to the ears. Glinda's comedic parts in the show were done incredibly by her and she picked up on everything, in my opinion she is the only Glinda in the London production that has actually paid attention to who Glinda actually is, rather than focus on what happens to her on her journey in the show. She had a great presence as Glinda and her journey through the show also really contributed to her interpretation of the role.