I feel bad for “liking” and ruining the number of 69. :P

I struggle to follow who’s who in the decline of our country into fascism.

I look at names from the start of the first administration and go “I forgot that fuck existed”. It’s like looking back at S1 of a tv show where the cast is all different 5 years later.

“But Patrick- have grace and be kind to yourself. You’re beating yourself up and need to pick yourself up and carry on with the day.”

You can have grace and kindness with yourself. But only so much when the world around you does not.

It needs more spark. More energy. More vision in creatively adapting these numbers. But Pt. 1 had those issues too…

I think I’ll summarize it this way-

I was already going into Part 2 knowing Act 2 is a mess. And, in many ways, it is a much better go at Act 2 than the show.

But the stage show is more *consistent*. Act 2 is better but extremely inconsistent and wears its flaws more obviously.

But when it’s good… when it feels like it has energy and it’s Oz, it feels so good.

Oh, and at least we didn’t get more Baby Elphaba.

But we replaced her with Baby Galinda.

Trash it. We didn’t need it. Doesn’t matter. It’s overbaking it again.

Like, even showing Dillamond at the university was way too far. He’s a character basically dead by Act 2 and it undermines NGD a bit if, nah, he’ll be fine eventually.

It screams of a reshoot addition though. I think a lot of that was just too tacked on.

The ending is also just way too happy. Too saccharine…

I think it misses why the show ends on such a sour note. Elphaba leaves and we end on ambiguity and hope that Glinda can eventually fix things.

Showing she ends decades of systemic racism over night…

Elphie, y u leaving? She solved the racism

Falter out, like when you’re so furious but it gives way to anguish.

NGD is the 11 o’clock number and actor needs to swing at and Erivo just… doesn’t. And it disappoints me.

Maybe it’s personal choices- but I’ve always seen NGD as a song done through sobs. Not literally, but Elphie is in crisis and break down. I’ve always felt the way the literal notes are structured- it leans into very staccato delivery (like quick breaths in a panic attack) and held notes that-

And Erivo is just… giving it a 6/10 in energy. She’s anguished- but not enough to be coming apart at the seems. Not enough to look ugly. Not enough to feel her hurt.

This is Elphaba’s breaking point. She accepts her wickedness. I need to feel that.

I also hate to kinda feel like… my favorite number kinda flops.

No Good Deed is my favorite number of the show. I think it’s an agonizing tragic fall of Elphaba into her role. I’ve always felt this is a “Coming of Rage” and descent into madness number. It’s a swing for the nosebleeds.

Number starts and then they cue up music. It feels awkward and low energy.

And a lot of these numbers are just… beautifully strolling through sets/green screens. The visuals don’t keep up with the songs.

I also figured out a part of Chu’s choices that I don’t like.

In acting, you feel the emotions in the script and when dialogue hits a 10, you sing. And when singing hits a 10, you dance.

Chu doesn’t let emotions build into a song, but instead the characters just kinda… stroll up to where the-

But some attempts to flesh out characters also fall flat. The two new songs? They grind the story to a stop on an already leisurely pace. I couldn’t tell you the melody and they just don’t have energy.

I think they do a lot of really good scene building to flesh out the characters as the develop where the original show is just way too fast to sit in those moments.

Positive choices- I think everything Nessa related was as good as it’s going to get and it sold me on it more than the show ever did.

I think there are some staging/blocking issues with the scene, but I liked it.

I think in adapting an under-baked Second Act, they kinda overbaked it.

And they really undersell some moments.