Latest / The BSB Podcast / 'The Wiz' Music and Technical Aspects | Box Seat Babes Podcast

Transcript

'The Wiz' Music and Technical Aspects | Box Seat Babes Podcast · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome back fellow theater lovers to another episode of the Box Seat Babes podcast.
• 0:04
  Today we're continuing our discussion of the North American tour of The Wiz, which recently arrived at the Fisher Theater as the final show to this season of Broadway in
• 0:11
  Detroit.
• 0:12
  But before we jump into the music staging and all other aspects of the show, please like, follow, and subscribe to Box Seat Babes on all social media platforms at Box Seat Babes.
• 0:19
  Spoiler warning, we will be talking in depth about what you can expect from The Wiz.
• 0:24
  So if you don't want to be spoiled, pause this video and return to the land of Oz when you've seen the show.
• 0:28
  However, if you're still with us, let's ease on down the road and explore the vibrant characters of The Wiz.
• 0:35
  My name is Brian Kitson, the gayest munchkin in all of Oz, and joining me today is Evillene's main henchmen's cousins, twice removed on his stepmother's brother's side, RJ
• 0:43
  Miller-Zelenko.
• 0:44
  How you doing, sir?
• 0:44
  My favorite part is that you got that.
• 0:47
  without hesitation, just ran right through that title.
• 0:52
  I think it's because it's from Mel Brooks Spaceballs and that's the only line from that movie I know because it's the only I've never seen that film but I was just like I can use
• 1:01
  this as a funny little thing and I've been practicing it in my head for so long to get to that moment.
• 1:06
  just for this exact moment in time.
• 1:10
  Congratulations.
• 1:11
  I feel like that's a success.
• 1:12
  We can just end right there.
• 1:14
  It's over, folks.
• 1:16
  That's all you needed today.
• 1:18
  so for those who haven't watched episode one, we did talk about the story in cast and standout moments from when the Wiz arrived in Broadway in Detroit.
• 1:27
  Um, but today we're to be focusing on the music staging and other aspects of the Wiz and also giving our final verdict.
• 1:34
  without further ado, my music man, my main henchmen, cousins twice removed.
• 1:41
  there's a lot of music in the show.
• 1:43
  It's a very musical musical, I should say.
• 1:48
  What really stood out to you about the music of The Wiz?
• 1:54
  Well, I mean...
• 1:55
  The Wiz is probably one of the more unique musical styles for a musical because of its blend of we've got soul, we've got R&B, but it's like made to fit Broadway.
• 2:13
  um There are, you know, more like showstopper type numbers and then you have just like
• 2:24
  you know, certain songs that you want to like snap to or dance to.
• 2:32
  And it's probably, yeah, it's probably one of the most articulate, like the articulation and the
• 2:41
  gonna say this word wrong.
• 2:43
  Ornamentation.
• 2:44
  I said it right.
• 2:45
  Music theory coming back.
• 2:49
  Yeah, it is I don't think I've ever heard so many riffs in a musical, which and usually that's on purpose.
• 2:58
  Like usually the music director decides, you know, you can put one here, you can't put one here.
• 3:04
  And this just kind of felt very free and very like whatever the moment was calling for.
• 3:10
  we were hearing runs and riffs all over the place, which feeds more into that like soul R &B style.
• 3:19
  You know, going off of that, when you were talking about the rifts and stuff, was thinking, like, of course we have Dorothy and we have Galinda, all of these, these very
• 3:28
  like female centric uh roles that you see tend to have a lot of riffs.
• 3:32
  We think about Elphaba having the battle cry and the rift in uh for good, not for good.
• 3:38
  um What's the, what's the one when she's bad?
• 3:42
  Nevermind.
• 3:43
  It doesn't matter.
• 3:43
  uh
• 3:46
  But this one also had a lot of riffs for the male centric stories, like songs too.
• 3:51
  Like I think that the Tin Man had a riff in almost every single song that he sung.
• 3:56
  He was riffing a little bit and granted they weren't always maybe as high, um or they didn't go for as long, but there was a lot of riffs.
• 4:03
  was a lot of, sometimes it almost felt like it was scatting a little bit.
• 4:06
  You know, there was a lot of this feel and pull of just like, like you said, that fusion of R &B, that soul with quintessential Broadway.
• 4:13
  I do think really makes
• 4:15
  it unique for the Wiz specifically.
• 4:18
  I do not think that there's a musical that has music quite like this.
• 4:21
  Yeah, I think because of the time period in which it was created along with the culture of the show, it just, it's true to that, to that culture, right?
• 4:35
  And so you can't have like, you can't have who you have on stage and you can't have this production and then go into something that you might see in like Moulin Rouge.
• 4:47
  Like it musically doesn't make any sense.
• 4:51
  You need this like funky, very smooth, even with all of that articulation, which technically is more, it's shorter and harsher, but you're making it sound smooth.
• 5:06
  Um, and it's more difficult really to, to do, um, some, well, some people are naturally very good at it.
• 5:13
  Others are, have to really work at it.
• 5:15
  So yeah, it's very specific.
• 5:19
  I think I was almost, bamboozle's the wrong word, but it's the one coming to mind.
• 5:24
  But like, I think with that first song that we had between Dorothy and Auntie Em the feeling we once had, I was thinking, oh, this is going to be very ballad heavy.
• 5:33
  This is going to be very much like, almost like a somewhere over the rainbow.
• 5:36
  Like you're going to get a lot of that classic Broadway feel, which when I watched the film, I don't remember a lot of that classic Broadway feel.
• 5:44
  It felt very urban and hip and you know, the R &B.
• 5:49
  And so to have this start off that way, and then we go from there to which, where, which, what, which, why, which is a thousand percent kind of like the that's Addaperle's song
• 6:01
  when she kind of lands in, uh, or here's the Wiz and maybe is what it's called.
• 6:06
  Um, but there's this, there's this, that's when it kind of takes this identity of like R and B and soul, which I guess that first song does have a little bit of soul, but I do
• 6:13
  think I was like, wow, I wasn't expecting it.
• 6:16
  to transition like that when we had such a ballad heavy song to start off the show.
• 6:20
  Yeah, I mean, and I mean, let's make some comparisons.
• 6:24
  So when we think about The Wiz versus even The Wizard of Oz and how that show opens, well, what do you have?
• 6:33
  Somewhere over the rainbow, right?
• 6:35
  um Which I think, I mean, probably in this show is equivalent to home.
• 6:44
  um But we get a taste of that.
• 6:49
  I don't, it's not called home, but it's, it's kind of like a prequel.
• 6:54
  uses the same themes as home, um, to, basically open the show and then, yeah, and then go into that duet, which the dynamic levels were very important.
• 7:09
  I mean, there were points where granted, and we'll get into this, I think there was some musical sound issues, but
• 7:17
  The dynamics were so insanely soft.
• 7:21
  Um, probably the quietest I've ever heard in a show, a professional show, um, to the point where you're like, is her mic on?
• 7:31
  Is she singing?
• 7:32
  But you knew that she was, but also you were kind of on the edge of your seat because of that, which I think was probably intentional.
• 7:41
  kind of draw you in a little bit.
• 7:43
  Yeah.
• 7:44
  And you have, then you have a substantial way to go, right?
• 7:49
  Like then you do see the drastic measure between, okay, you know, pre-storm, pre-tornado, here's where we are.
• 7:57
  We're in this very ballady, smooth land.
• 8:01
  And then right when we jump into this kind of like neurotic jumpy um song, once you reach Oz.
• 8:11
  What are some of the songs that really stood out to you from this production?
• 8:14
  Because I know they also remixed some songs.
• 8:16
  They tried to modernize it a little bit.
• 8:18
  They added different orchestrations.
• 8:21
  Was there any that really stood out to you from this touring production?
• 8:26
  I mean, it just, did feel modernized, but I think that was due to the instrumentation that was being used.
• 8:33
  Um, I'm not sure exactly what the pit looked like off the top of my head.
• 8:37
  I imagine there was a lot of synth keyboard happening.
• 8:40
  That's a lot of what I was hearing.
• 8:43
  Um, and so that was hard.
• 8:47
  That's a hard transfer because when the show originally came out, I can't remember how many years ago there would have been less.
• 8:56
  Yeah, it would have been less.
• 8:57
  Like we just didn't have the same technology that we do today.
• 9:00
  I mean, they would have had some, but it didn't sound so plasticky is what it sounded like to me.
• 9:06
  Like we were kind of like rubber sound.
• 9:09
  Um, and so, but then there's, you know, the classics ease on down the road.
• 9:16
  have the horn section just blasting away and everybody knows that song, right?
• 9:21
  Like, and I mean, of course it's like,
• 9:24
  follow the yellow brick road.
• 9:25
  It's it is everybody does the walk and the dance and arms.
• 9:30
  um Home.
• 9:34
  Well, no, I could not.
• 9:38
  Yes, they did it.
• 9:39
  did not do it.
• 9:42
  Home is the showstopper, I think, right?
• 9:46
  uh
• 9:48
  You know, I think that what's interesting about this is that I know that people love Home.
• 9:53
  I've seen it in The Wiz of the movie recently, as you know.
• 9:57
  For those who don't know, I have recently seen The Wiz for the first time ever.
• 10:03
  But what's interesting to me is, and granted maybe this speaks to who I am, and obviously, RJ, you know me, and I'm not always a big ballad person.
• 10:10
  I definitely like a more upbeat song.
• 10:12
  So the songs that definitely spoke to me were like, Slide Some Oil to me, like The Tin Man.
• 10:17
  had a great energy, that song was upbeat.
• 10:19
  I was born on the day before yesterday with the Scarecrow.
• 10:22
  I feel like the songs that were for each individual character, it just had the energy that I wanted.
• 10:29
  ah I think that those really spoke to me along with, um so you wanted to meet the wizard with the wizard at the end of act one.
• 10:39
  There's just, I mean, we had a great wizard, but like the wiz.
• 10:44
  ah
• 10:47
  I feel like I liked the upbeat songs more than those ballads.
• 10:49
  feel like I got lost in home a little bit.
• 10:51
  I think maybe that speaks to the sound issues you were kind of mentioning.
• 10:53
  Well, and this is exactly what theater is, right?
• 10:56
  Like we all have different things that we enjoy more than the other.
• 11:00
  am, I mean, every show we probably have talked about, I'd probably say the Power Ballad is my favorite because I am just that, that's also what I sing, right?
• 11:11
  That's my moneymaker.
• 11:15
  Yeah.
• 11:16
  And so it's deeply emotional.
• 11:20
  it's on a different level than the party song, right?
• 11:26
  Like the upbeat, break it down, probably a big dance break, like the Wiz or really, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, uh any of those, any of their songs.
• 11:43
  But you have to have that balance, right?
• 11:45
  Because otherwise people would be.
• 11:46
  snoozing or they would be overwhelmed by the amount of just like energy that's flying at them and the ensemble would probably pass out like two songs in so you know
• 11:59
  I think I also want to mention before we move on from songs too, is that we had a very good company of people.
• 12:04
  And songs that like, I don't usually like ballads again, but like, what would I do if I could feel by the Tin Man?
• 12:10
  Which was kind of that closing number.
• 12:12
  I mean, you would classify that as a ballad, correct?
• 12:15
  It was kind of ballad-y.
• 12:17
  I feel like that with just the talent that he has, D.
• 12:22
  Jerome, I think that there was that I could get behind.
• 12:25
  And I think it was also because he had one of the stronger voices.
• 12:27
  I could hear what he was saying and he didn't get lost in that sound.
• 12:30
  um like um anything that was sung by uh Kyla Jade for Evillene or for Auntie was also incredible because she has an incredible voice that you could hear.
• 12:43
  Which again, it goes back to those sound issues.
• 12:47
  And for those who, I hope that it's gotten better.
• 12:49
  Those who have been to the show recently let us know.
• 12:52
  But the night that we went, um
• 12:55
  There was almost, I would say what, 75 % of the show that you couldn't hear Dorothy.
• 13:00
  There was a lot of time.
• 13:02
  Yeah, and I'm not even sure exactly, like there were some mics that felt muted, like you could hear them, but they felt like they were underwater a little bit.
• 13:11
  Um, and sometimes the, the feed of that is, you know, is this an equity or non-equity show?
• 13:17
  Are they just, they have a lower budget, their sound system isn't as good, but it was sparingly between roles that there was these, these differences were occurring.
• 13:28
  Um,
• 13:29
  And I also know, again, as a music person, tonality of a person's voice does make a difference in regards to how that microphone picks up their voice.
• 13:39
  Typically though, that's where the sound mixing comes in.
• 13:42
  And so, and that's where they have to make the magic happen.
• 13:45
  And it just didn't feel as if the magic was happening fast enough.
• 13:52
  because you have to be, and that's why like shout out to
• 13:58
  the, you know, back of house, um, crews for any show, because these are the things that make a production that you don't really think about until they don't work or until they
• 14:09
  aren't as good.
• 14:11
  And something as simple as crisply and clearly being able to understand what someone's singing or saying, um, it's not as easy as just turning the volume up and turning the
• 14:24
  volume down.
• 14:25
  Right.
• 14:26
  But, um,
• 14:28
  So a shout out to those teams and hopefully, yeah, it's always hard with national tours because you're in a different venue every couple of weeks.
• 14:39
  And depending on who's in what role, that situation is different.
• 14:44
  uh Microphone placement for roles are different.
• 14:48
  Sometimes it could be in a hat.
• 14:49
  Sometimes it could be in your hairline.
• 14:52
  Sometimes it could be on your cheek uh and every actor kind of.
• 14:57
  literally is different in that sense too.
• 14:59
  most times, and I think maybe what saved them through Act Two was that most shows will have the leads all have two microphones.
• 15:11
  That's like standard.
• 15:12
  um And so I do think that there was a point where we could kind of tell that there was a jump that happened and it might have been from from swapping that mic.
• 15:25
  I was going to say, noticed that our intermission, because usually intermission is about 15, 20 minutes.
• 15:29
  We had a full half an hour.
• 15:31
  And when they came back, I noticed that there seemed like there was more mics than some of them, because the scarecrow only seemed like had one mic.
• 15:38
  And when he came back, it seemed like there was two mics that were coming out of his head.
• 15:43
  But it's interesting that you noted about where the placement was, because the tin man, who was one of the stronger ones, his mic was off to the side of him.
• 15:50
  It was like coming down, where Dorothy and the scarecrow had him coming.
• 15:54
  off of here.
• 15:56
  And so it does make me wonder if like, it would because it was closer to his mouth, they of course would pick it up a lot easier, you'd hear a lot more of the sound that's coming
• 16:03
  from him than you would from somebody who has a mic on the top of their head.
• 16:06
  Yeah, and I mean, obviously, it's so dependent on what kind of mics you have.
• 16:11
  um Most professional productions do almost require that people all have it in their hairline because of like costuming and accessories.
• 16:23
  Like there's way more of a chance of you brushing your microphone when it's on the side of your face than there is when it's up here, right?
• 16:30
  um
• 16:32
  And usually it's like hidden in the wig cap or whatever.
• 16:35
  But also if you don't have hair or you don't have a costume that allows you to, you know, put wiring through your head, um then it has to probably was wrapped around his ear or
• 16:51
  something to that nature so that it would actually stay.
• 16:54
  Because also you're mic taping that which anyone who's worn mic tape knows that it's a
• 17:01
  pain to rip off.
• 17:03
  uh But also when it's as hot as it is, even with air this summer, it's freaking warm.
• 17:10
  And on stage under those lights, like that is melting off of you too.
• 17:14
  So that could also have been an issue that was occurring.
• 17:18
  uh We just had a friend who was talking to us about how their microphones, same issue, like as they were dancing, as they were moving and singing on stage.
• 17:29
  you know, the mic pack, wherever that's hiding, right?
• 17:33
  Cause has to be in your body is, you know, slipping into your pants or going down your leg or, you know, sometimes usually professional productions have, uh, packs so that it's
• 17:48
  literally just your microphone is wrapped around your body.
• 17:52
  But a lot of those costumes, I mean, like Dorothy,
• 17:58
  Scarecrow probably could have but Tin Man like it's it's built relatively tight to their skin.
• 18:03
  So chances are that thing is either literally hiding in a hat or in some type of pocket or accessory.
• 18:14
  for sure.
• 18:14
  And it's things like, you know, that, I mean, again, this doesn't reflect the art that was on the stage, but it does reflect that it does make the enjoyment of it sometimes, I would
• 18:28
  say, more difficult.
• 18:29
  Because when you're trying to lean forward to listen, when you're not as engaged in that process, I feel like that's kind of, you know, where sometimes I do have a hard time when
• 18:39
  you're like going to a show and you're just like, I can't hear what the character's saying.
• 18:44
  And I kind of can figure it out from context because we're all relatively smart individuals going to see these shows.
• 18:50
  We can figure it out, but it does pull you back a little bit.
• 18:53
  um But there's not much you can actually do about it unless in the moment you have to figure that out.
• 18:59
  Like you said, for each setting, each place as you go along.
• 19:01
  Speaking of things that maybe didn't work as well as they should have, I do want to talk about the staging.
• 19:08
  And I'm unfortunately going to leave this charge here because
• 19:11
  I, the pieces that they had for the set, like the house were great.
• 19:18
  I struggled because most of the Wiz felt like it was just a screen.
• 19:22
  And I feel like there's ways to dress up a screen and I feel like there's ways to utilize a screen.
• 19:26
  And I do.
• 19:27
  I think I had a hard time with this one, but what did you think of the set design and the use of the
• 19:34
  Backdrop being a screen I'm sure that's where a lot of shows are going to now because it's cheaper and easier to kind of roll through But did it kind of work for the show?
• 19:41
  I mean, I can understand why they did what they did.
• 19:46
  Yeah, I would say it's screen heavy and that is fortunate and unfortunately the way that I think a lot of Broadway is moving as we look at technology.
• 20:01
  But yeah, there's some things about it that...
• 20:04
  I don't want to say that they're not possible without the screen because we've lived in the theater world for so long and things that we thought weren't possible were made
• 20:11
  possible.
• 20:12
  And so when I think of the, you know, the lair factory, like, um and that did have a large stage piece, but like the background, like,
• 20:24
  Could they have gotten away with having things hanging from the ceiling or...
• 20:29
  um
• 20:30
  you know, things that felt.
• 20:33
  oh
• 20:34
  I don't know, made it more real unless, again, kind of like plasticy.
• 20:38
  I, the one thing that's coming to mind is when after they, kill Evillene they go back to the wizard and it's a completely empty stage besides the backdrop that is like the, we're
• 20:50
  clearing out, we're moving home, we're getting out of here.
• 20:52
  And there was nothing else.
• 20:54
  There was no other pieces.
• 20:55
  There was things that they rolled on and off for like, like they were cleaning up.
• 20:59
  But I was just like the, get what you're going for, but it makes it feel like there's something missing from this and like,
• 21:05
  I think that's what I went back to.
• 21:09
  And dear God, I can't believe I'm about to say this, because you know how much I don't really care for the show.
• 21:14
  Les Mis, the way that they use their screen and also still had set pieces that moved on and off.
• 21:19
  I feel like that was the integration between set pieces and the screen that shows need to embrace.
• 21:25
  Like there were still physical pieces like that felt like there were cities and towns, even though there was a backdrop, even though there was a digital screen that was used for
• 21:34
  majority of the show.
• 21:36
  That is kind of what I feel like, it reminds me of a movie, there's only so much CGI you can do before people stop believing in it, you know what I mean?
• 21:43
  right?
• 21:44
  And so that's where I struggled a little bit with this.
• 21:46
  I was just like, I needed more physical pieces and there were some physical pieces.
• 21:50
  But think about like when she lands in Oz, even though there was a lot of people there, didn't it feel slightly empty or am I remembering it wrong?
• 21:59
  No, yeah, I mean, it was kind of like walking onto a stage, essentially.
• 22:06
  I mean, you had like a couple people coming on and off, but it didn't.
• 22:11
  That's why I think also I was kind of confused as to where we were because comparatively to previous versions or the live version or the movie, I was like, okay, so we're, oh
• 22:23
  okay, so we're in Oz.
• 22:25
  This is where we are.
• 22:27
  Yes.
• 22:28
  It was a very different feel.
• 22:30
  But where the show really shined besides the actors, I think, was the costumes and the choreography.
• 22:36
  uh First, I to talk about those costumes.
• 22:40
  That was, I did go see Joseph in the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat recently, and so that was a lot of colors on the stage too.
• 22:46
  There was so much vibrancy in the costuming of these characters, with the exception of maybe Dorothy.
• 22:52
  She was a little plain Jane, but it also fits the character.
• 22:55
  But these costumes just were...
• 22:59
  out of this world.
• 23:00
  What did you think of?
• 23:01
  costuming, I was a little bit underwhelmed.
• 23:07
  okay.
• 23:08
  um with some people so i i mean like the four leads i thought were fine kind of what i expected Evillene
• 23:24
  No, okay.
• 23:25
  don't know what it was.
• 23:27
  It felt too cookie cutter to me.
• 23:32
  Like rather than having like, and God knows I am no fashion person, but I just, maybe I'm envisioning like, you know, something closer to wicked where the colors are a little bit
• 23:47
  more blended.
• 23:48
  It's not so like, oh, this looks like a flame.
• 23:53
  Yes.
• 23:53
  and this looks like black and this looks and it's a triangle.
• 23:58
  You know what I mean?
• 23:58
  Like I would have liked it, but with that being said, like the dress was still a lot, like there was still a lot happening.
• 24:09
  I just don't know that that's what I anticipated seeing.
• 24:14
  For sure, okay.
• 24:15
  Well, I mean, I can understand where you're coming from with that because it was, I kept thinking of the Heatmizer when I saw it.
• 24:22
  Like, I kept thinking of the Christmas Heatmizer.
• 24:24
  Yes, yes, because it's like that like the like wavy heat thing.
• 24:29
  Yeah, and the color.
• 24:33
  That is exactly it.
• 24:36
  it's interesting that they wanted to give Evillene such an interesting character design or just like, guess like even period, whatever take it is, because like the Wizard of Oz, the
• 24:47
  Wicked Witch is just in black.
• 24:48
  They made this one specifically like a fire witch, which is, just, I think it's trying to give it that identity, but I can see what you mean.
• 24:58
  I can understand that.
• 24:59
  uh Speaking of the choreography then.
• 25:03
  There was a lot of dancing, a lot of interpretive dancing maybe.
• 25:05
  There was like the tornado scene that was very interpretive dance-y-ness.
• 25:09
  There was a lot of things that I expected.
• 25:10
  The Ease and Out of the Road was like exactly textbook, what you would expect.
• 25:14
  um Was there anything about the choreography of the movement that really stood out to you?
• 25:19
  I mean, just a lot added in general, like you said, when I think um the poppies and I think Oz, um which while it was cool that they kind of modernized that.
• 25:35
  um
• 25:36
  I'm not sure that it needed to go for as long as it did because I struggled to see the separation and what they were doing.
• 25:45
  Like they kind of went from what I think the purpose was was to go from like, okay, we're doing 40 % and then we're doing 60 and then we're doing 80 and now we're like at 100.
• 25:56
  But really to me, it felt like, oh, we're at 70 and then we're at 90 and then we just like
• 26:05
  sat at like 99 and 100 for the like next two like phases of that dance.
• 26:13
  So
• 26:17
  It was as an audience, like, you know, you end up, especially because of the way that it's built into the script, like there is a pause and you, there's applause and then they go
• 26:30
  back and do number two and you're like, cool.
• 26:33
  It's a different take.
• 26:34
  You applaud again.
• 26:36
  That they go back and do it a third time.
• 26:39
  You're like, Oh, okay.
• 26:42
  There's a little bit of a difference from what we just saw, but like not a ton.
• 26:45
  kind of doing almost the energy level is the same.
• 26:49
  And then they do it the last time and you're like almost not bored, but like you're like, okay, I've now seen this four times.
• 26:56
  Sure.
• 26:57
  I was a little confused.
• 26:58
  I know what you mean.
• 26:59
  Like I was a little confused.
• 26:59
  I'm like, what are we doing here?
• 27:02
  And I feel like I wasn't just us.
• 27:04
  I feel like there was quite a few times.
• 27:06
  And when we were going into the show, I was almost in my head thinking of like, it's going to be the same energy that we got with like Michael Jackson, where it was like, it was
• 27:13
  almost a party and like people were celebrating.
• 27:16
  And I felt like this was a little more like confusion, but like not like a, I think that's the wrong word, but like there wasn't as much of like people getting into it.
• 27:26
  of that I was expecting of being like, this show is 50 years old and people show out for the Wiz and they're not dancing as much.
• 27:32
  They're not interacting as much.
• 27:34
  And I think that's a perfect example of, I remember that there was someone behind us that was giggling, but like I'm uncomfortable giggle during that scene.
• 27:40
  they didn't really quite know what to do with it.
• 27:42
  Well, and, and again, because of the way that the script is written with those pauses and then with it, you know, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, like
• 27:53
  there's a dance break and then ultimately it's dancers like getting feedback.
• 27:58
  It's, it's a, I'm sure it is kind of a tribute to ballroom culture, which is very cool, but we don't need four iterations of the same thing.
• 28:11
  And so.
• 28:12
  They do one, you know, I think it was the wizard that says like, but now I need something else.
• 28:18
  And then they do number two to a little bit funkier music, but now I need something else.
• 28:23
  Number three, but now I need something else the most.
• 28:26
  Number four.
• 28:28
  And there probably was meant to be more audience engagement of like getting into it and being hype and being like, woo.
• 28:36
  But that happened on, think more the like first time.
• 28:42
  And then it got quieter and quieter and quieter, basically nothing by number four, because the expectation and the separation of what they were doing wasn't, was not clear.
• 28:57
  And the caliber all felt the same.
• 28:59
  Like if you're doing something small and cutesy and you're building up to like doing a lift, people are going to go nuts for the lift right?
• 29:07
  But if you do the lift at the beginning,
• 29:10
  And then you just keep doing lifts.
• 29:12
  You've set yourself up for, well, we just saw that three times before this.
• 29:17
  So it's, it feels like it's still, we know that it is physically very impressive.
• 29:22
  However, for the show stopping effect, it's less impressive because you've been doing it for a minute and a half.
• 29:30
  for sure.
• 29:31
  I can totally agree with that.
• 29:33
  So do you feel like this show, this touring production of The Wiz lives up to the legacy that it's had of The Wiz?
• 29:41
  think it is what people want it to be.
• 29:45
  by no means did I go to this and say, that's not what I expected, right?
• 29:50
  It is pretty much what I expected with a little bit more.
• 29:54
  I just...
• 29:55
  I'm not sure, honestly, I don't know how it lasted on Broadway.
• 29:58
  This revival run, because comparatively, it's very expected.
• 30:08
  Like you get what you expect, you get incredible vocals, you get the story that you love, and that is what you get.
• 30:18
  There isn't really like a ooh-ah, shocking, show-stopping moment.
• 30:25
  that you aren't expecting.
• 30:27
  So yeah, I think it lives up to what it exactly is.
• 30:33
  I think that it also, when you look at it too, that needs to be taken into account of this is that while it was nominated for a Grammy, it did not get nominated for any Tonys, which
• 30:45
  is shocking for a show that was revived like this to come back and to not receive a Tony nomination for something.
• 30:52
  I mean, that tracks for me though, because the vocals are so incredible.
• 30:56
  And I forgot to mention this earlier, but this is a show you really could, and this is not meant to be uh a negative, but like I could go to this show, close my eyes and just
• 31:11
  listen.
• 31:12
  Like this is a listening show.
• 31:14
  And I wouldn't feel like I'm really missing out on a lot if I close my eyes because
• 31:21
  It's all the vocals.
• 31:25
  Yes, there's some dance breaks and, you'll note that the dance breaks are typically not when there's singing happening, right?
• 31:31
  It is there a song there's dance, there is song because they're all equally as intense, but there isn't so much of the Broadway we're singing, singing and dancing at the same
• 31:42
  time.
• 31:43
  Um, so to have, yeah, to have a Grammy because, or be nominated for one.
• 31:50
  because the vocals are insane, 100%.
• 31:53
  Like they could all have their own albums and probably do.
• 31:56
  But on a stage...
• 31:59
  It's more concert, like I'm there for the concert, really.
• 32:05
  Would you see this again?
• 32:08
  Part of me wants to say yes, but I, I don't know that I would.
• 32:13
  I mean, if the opportunity arose and someone's like, I really want to go see this.
• 32:19
  I would probably go like I'd probably go with my family or something.
• 32:22
  um Just again, because the vocals are insane.
• 32:26
  Like I wish that I could sing a 16th of what these people could sing.
• 32:30
  um But for the stage.
• 32:37
  Broadway aspect.
• 32:38
  Like I would not go see this on Broadway.
• 32:40
  I would see it, I'll put it that way.
• 32:43
  I'd see it on a tour, but I would not go see it on Broadway.
• 32:47
  which is interesting because we had talked about, when we were in New York the first time, we were like, oh man, we should have went to go see The Wiz.
• 32:53
  Like we said that out loud.
• 32:55
  We were standing across from it we're like, oh, we should have went and saw The Wiz.
• 32:59
  But I agree.
• 33:00
  And I would say, I actually would see this again, but I would want to see it further as it eases on down the road to see how it's changed and how it's adapted.
• 33:09
  And if it finds a stronger identity than what's going on, like it's,
• 33:17
  good right now.
• 33:18
  The vocals are phenomenal.
• 33:20
  The show is good.
• 33:21
  I think it could be great.
• 33:23
  I think that there is potential for it to be great.
• 33:25
  I think that a show doesn't last for 50 years without the potential to be great.
• 33:28
  I do think that this one needs a little more time to find its footing, especially when you have such an exceptional cast.
• 33:35
  Like with the cast being as good as it is, you could find that footing.
• 33:39
  You just have to give it time to kind of breathe.
• 33:41
  agreed
• 33:43
  And so with that, are running out of time, but stay tuned for future episodes of the Box Seat Babes podcast, where we'll be discussing shows both here locally and on Broadway.
• 33:52
  Thank you again for joining us here in our box seats till next curtain call.