GretaWitch

A very different topic than before, but I'm really interested in something:

Why are Jellycat plushies so popular? I've never had one around, but from the picture they look like any other plushie anywhere. Maybe they feel different? Why are they so popular? Why do you collect them? The picture is just to attract attention.

Yesterday I was introduced to the musical Next to Normal. I had heard about it before, but I had not seen anything about it, so I went into it relatively blind. I saw the professional recording of the West End.

My first impression was that it would probably take place in about 1-2 "locations", and I don't have much experience with those.

I must admit that I was a little bored at first and thought that this would be a one-off experience.

Well, I was wrong.

The actors were simply fantastic. I had seen Caissie Leyv before in the musicals Frozen and Wicked, so I knew her voice and acting. She was fantastic here too. I first heard of Jack Wolfe in Hadestown, but I had not seen him in it. I had previously questioned why he became such a big deal, but I can already see that he has potential. He sings and acts very well. Eleanor was also fantastic. She was able to convey her emotions very well. I swear I want to play Natalie too, and it's because of her. Jamie, Jack and Trevor were good too. I'm satisfied with everyone.

The stage and sets looked really good too.

I thought it would be just another lame little show, it's not my genre - and although it's not half my genre - it managed to grab me because it shows deep emotions. I could really put myself in Natalie's shoes.

You can tell when something touches me deeply (even if I don't know it on the surface) by the fact that I'm hooked on at least one of its songs. Superboy and the Invisible Girl is one of those right now.

I have to admit that I really understood what was going on with Gabe in the second act. That's when it really became clear what was happening, and that's when the story started to get closer to me.

As I mentioned, my genre is musicals that show deep (non-romantic) emotions, so it was able to capture me. If it had been more superficial, I wouldn't have been so positive.

So, in conclusion: overall I really liked it. It doesn't surpass my favorite musicals so far, but I'll be interested in it in the future, who knows? Maybe I'll really like it.

I thought about something interesting about Wicked.

The Wizard is the center of everything in the musical. They even say, "Sweet Oz!" In the song "Thank Goodness," they thank God. Why?

I've been thinking about this for a few days now. If they're so into the Wizard, why do they thank God? Or is the Wizard equal to God?

It was 2026. 02. 16. when I first saw this musical.

My first impression was that it was like a mix of several musicals. A few scenes made me feel like Beetlejuice, another Matilda, Wicked, Rent and maybe a little Mean Girls. The behavior of the characters also confirms all this.

Before I watched it, I didn't know too much about it, except that the story is girly, school. I admit honestly: I didn't expect this.

The beginning started out perfectly okay, but then the whole thing turned into this very…repulsive version. It really seems to me that most of it is about s@x. Okay, that's how it has to be. It's about young people, teenagers, etc. but unfortunately it repels me in movies like this, especially on stage, especially when we're talking about an otherwise girly, colorful musical. I thought it was something like Mean Girls.

Out of the 2-hour play, about 20 minutes of it caught my attention, the rest was like… nyeh. I tried to pay attention to it because I was really interested, and it also had actors I like. Elizabeth Teeter and Kerry Butler (plus I know McKenzie Kurtz). But it still wasn't a very positive experience. It's true, all the actors were very good, I'm glad I finally got to hear Elizabeth's voice really come out. It was interesting to experience how characteristic Elizabeth and Kerry's behavior and voice are. They are easily recognizable even from a distance. :D Erin Morton sang simply fantastically. She deserves all the credit.

I like the depth of the characters, the whole thing doesn't remain superficial, the songs pick up the more boring parts well, and it's also…spectacular in a positive sense.

This is the only time I've seen the musical and I haven't seen/heard a single song since. The big part stayed with me, so I think I was able to gather my thoughts. Unfortunately, it wasn't my favorite, but there are a few other cast members that I'd like to see.

Yes, many of you may be wondering what I'm talking about. (Based on my experience, not many people know this) In the original workshop production of Wicked, Stephanie played the character of Elphaba, which means she was the first to play the character, not Idina Menzel. She was just replaced. That's why I thought I'd start my analysis of the actors in Wicked with her. Stephanie's acting is good, and I like certain small unique features that she brought to it. Her voice is good, and she's a relatively typical witch. I like watching her, she exudes kindness to me. I really look up to her because even though she was not cast as an original (which is important), she later showed that she can play the role too. I don't think Idina is any better than her, in fact. Stephanie performed better in many moments and songs for me. I think she belongs in a "good" category than me. I would have really liked to see how he would have played the character in the original cast so that he wouldn't have had to follow the previous actors.

The first actor I would like to write about is Sophia Anne Caruso. Sophia played the role of Lydia Deetz in the musical Beetlejuice in the original cast. The character itself went through a big transformation, because she behaved completely differently in the film. Almost every actor in the musical interprets the character in a very unique way, and Sophia is no exception. Her Lydia is endlessly angry, bouncy and doesn't really know how to be kind. Sophia's voice is fantastic both in the studio recording and in the theatrical recordings. Her acting would be okay, but the girl has a big problem. She can't really express emotions well. Anger takes over her so much that you don't really feel anything else from her. Her grumpiness is very rarely replaced by a little laughter or anything else. She fit the character very well, and her voice is wonderful, but I can't wholeheartedly say that she's my favorite, because she could have polished it a bit more. He should have worked on his emotions.