I just watched Jemma freakin’ Rix and Suzie Mathers on a matinee show. I repeat…I just watched Jemma freakin’ Rix and Suzie Mathers on a matinee show. And to top off the icing on the cake, I managed to brave the stage door and get most of the cast’s freakin’ autographs on my playbill (I have their freakin’ autographs, videos, and photos! Definitely one of the highlights of my day!)
Due to my crazy schedule in the real world, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine getting a chance to watch THE Jemma Rix live here in Manila. I’ve always wanted to catch her in one of the evening shows, but gave up on that idea seeing how my evenings are already full as it is. Imagine my surprise when I saw this in the lobby:
And all I could think was, “No freakin’ way!”
I was so surprised, I had to do a double take. I was doubting my good fortune up to the very minute she appeared on stage to perform.
So what the heck is Wicked all about and why should I care about Jemma Rix and Suzie Mathers? Who the heck are these people?
Written and composed by Stephen Schwartz, Wicked is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is told from the perspective of the witches–a sort of prelude to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the story of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North), who form an unlikely friendship, despite differences in personalities, priorities, and a shared love-interest. It is the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Jemma Rix is an Australian actress who plays the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. In my honest opinion, after watching Live and YouTube performances of various Wicked performances, I can definitely say that she is, by far, the best Elphaba in the world. No one plays Elphaba as perfectly and powerful as she does. When she performs, she sings with power and clarity. Her riffs are full, rich, clear, and crisp–she honestly puts Idina Menzel (the original Broadway Elphaba) to shame. I quote my previous comment on her:
Words cannot fully express my state of euphoria after she completely nailed Defying Gravity and poured forth so much anguish in No Good Deed. I was all choked up with emotion, completely overwhelmed and blown away by her brilliant performances. I can’t imagine anyone else who could play the role better than her.
Here’s Jemma singing Defying Gravity in the press event:
She’s even better live!
Suzie Mathers is an Australian actress who plays Glinda the Good. In all honesty, she is probably the best Glinda around. Her performance was definitely better than Kristin Chenoweth’s (the original Broadway Glinda), Lucy Durack’s (the Australian Cast Glinda), Justine Puy, and the other Glinda’s I’ve seen on YouTube. There’s just something about Suzie that makes me naturally like her–no matter how annoyingly perky her character is. She’s the only one who can pull off those giggles and shrieks without sounding too nasally or robotic. Suzie has that charm that draws you into loving her character even more. She is the perfect complement to Jemma’s Elphaba. For Good was BRILLIANT and heartfelt, while her Popular performance was simply too cute for words–it left the entire audience laughing in stitches.
If you read my blog, you may be aware that I was fortunate enough to watch Wicked on its first weekend. While I did find the entire musical magical, I still felt that something was still lacking. Ali Calder (Jemma’s understudy) and Justine Puy (Suzie’s understudy) are talented individuals, but they seemed to be lacking the beautiful chemistry that Jemma and Suzie share:
Other members of the principal cast were wonderful as well:
Steve Danielsen plays the role of Fiyero, the winky prince and love interest of both girls in Wicked. His Fiyero gives off that cocky vibe, and makes he seem like the guy you’d love to hate for being so cocky and full of himself (and then you just end up loving him in the end). I do love that he has a nice singing voice and possesses charisma so strong that some girls would stay up all night to catch him by the stage door (I kid you not). I thoroughly enjoyed his Dancing Through Life performance. While he does have a nice voice and is very pleasing to the eyes, one thing I’ve noticed (in the two performances I’ve seen so far) is his need to tone it down a notch whenever he sings a duet. On both shows, he seemed as if competing instead of complementing his duet partners (especially in “As Long As You’re Mine,” which is one of my favourite songs from Wicked).
THIS is how a duet is sung and performed, my dear Steve:
Regardless of my issues (?) on his duet performances, I still think he makes a solid Fiyero.
Jay Laga’aia plays The Wizard. I loved how rich his voice was, and how he was able to bring to life The Wizard. I usually feel detached whenever The Wizard would sing a song, but Jay managed to make an exception for this. It also helped that he was pretty friendly backstage.
Maggie Kirkpatrick plays Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz (where Elphaba and Glinda study) and one of the cohorts of The Wizard. While I do love her as a performer, she did seem a bit snobby backstage (although it could have been because she was tired from the show).
Emily Cascarino plays Nessa Rose, Elphaba’s crippled sister. I think she played a pretty solid role as Nessa Rose, making me filled with pity over her character. And there’s just something about her that makes her able to portray Nessa Rose’s anguish and naivety really well.
Edward Grey plays Boq, the munchkin boy who’s madly in love with Glinda (who doesn’t love him back). However, Nessa Rose is madly in love with him. What a complicated love triangle square polygon do all these characters make! 
Edward makes a wonderful Boq. He’s so adorable and tiny–you just wanna keep him. Kidding aside, Edward makes Boq a really likable character, and one can’t help but empathize with him over the tragedy of him being a munchkin. He was also really nice and engaging backstage, so that kinda added some biased points for me. LOL
You also know when a production is solid when the ensemble plays their parts brilliantly well. Everything was wonderful. The production design, costumes, make-up, and orchestra were all done perfectly. You could definitely feel the passion that everyone in the production team put into the musical to make it work.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: No matter how many times I’ve seen this musical, I can never get tired of watching it and singing along.
The magic of Wicked never gets old. Each show is different, bringing about something wonderful to the audience. I honestly fall in love with the show every single time.
Kudos to Wicked Manila’s cast, ensemble, and production team for a job well done! You most definitely deserved that standing ovation! 
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Wicked daily shows are held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).
Running time:
ACT 1- 1hr 28mins
Intermission – 20 mins
ACT 2 – 1hr 1min
TOTAL: 2hrs 50mins (almost 3 hours)
Wicked announced its final extension for its Manila run. Despite the huge demand, the show must close on March 9, 2014. Ticket prices are at P1750, P2250, P3500, P4500, P5800, P7000. To book tickets, you may call +632 891 9999 or visit the Ticketworld website.
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P.S. Videos/photos of the cast to follow. I was being my crazed fangirl self, so my friend Paul took the photos. I’ll have to remember to get it from him and update this entry soon. TTFN! x
Backstage with Jay Laga’aia (The Wizard of Oz) and Ed Grey (Boq). I was too busy chatting with Ryan Sheppard that I missed Steve, Jemma, and Suzie. Meh. They’re in the video though! \0/
Paul’s first musical! Love that he’s still on Wicked high 
Came in early, so the lobby was empty. Yay for a solo pic in the lobby!
The view from our Orchestra Center seats:
Ready for Wicked! Pardon the fat cheeks in this photo
