Wicked - Chicago
I saw the Chicago version of Wicked last week. I enjoyed the show. Very good seats (center orchestra, 8 rows back). It would be better to be a few rows further back to avoid the vision obscuration by tall people in front of me. But a good show. There isn't much point in adding yet another review to the show beyond that.
I keep forgetting how loud some of these shows are. The amplification is a bit excessive, but it ensures that the audience noises are not distracting. This show had more tourists and novices than my usual Broadway shows. There were the teenage girls, talkers, and other distractions. But they do quiet down once they get involved in the show.
It's interesting how the theater district in Chicago has picked up and become a night spot. In the summer it's still light when the show starts, and there were a lot of women dressed up for their dates and the show. I got there early because there were no traffic problems and no problems finding parking. (You never know with Chicago.) So I had a nice tea next door before the show opened. The neighborhood is nicer than Broadway, although the area is much smaller. It's nice to see theater picking up a city neighborhood. Having a few core theaters and a theater cluster seems to be necessary. The theaters in DC don't seem to make as big a local difference.
