# Should I see Wicked in Cincinnati, Ohio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629 "2014-03-01T20:52:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/1 "2014-03-01T20:52:07Z")
I haven’t seen Wicked before, I have the 2003 Broadway cast recording and I’ve listened to it hundreds of times. I love the music. I’ve read the very confusing [Wikipedia discussion of the musical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical)) [Here is the show I would see if I decided to attend.](http://www.wickedthemusical.com/north-american-tour-tickets) I’d certainly like to see the show in New York, but I’m not sure when I’ll be there again. Is this touring version worth seeing? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/2 "2014-03-01T21:06:59Z")
If it’s within your budget, yes. Especially if the cost to get to NYC and those tickets aren’t. We were fortunate to see the show during tuneup in San Francisco, before it opened on Broadway. It was fresh and magical and came with a great cast story I am still pleased to have seen. We saw it again a year or so ago, and it’s such a… I dunno… Disney ride? Tourist trap? Slightly dreary must-do? Shopworn? that it was a much lesser experience. Kind of like the difference between stumbling into a small rock booking to find it’s really Tom Petty working out his new album, and seeing TP in the fourth stadium show of the week in Cincinnati. See it in a more modest setting and I think you’ll appreciate it more. As long as the stagecraft can pull off “Defying Gravity” it will be everything you want. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/3 "2014-03-01T21:24:23Z")
Sure. I saw it twice here in Schenectady, most recently in 2012. If it’s the national tour, it’s only one step below Broadway as far as the performers are concerned, and many often have performed there. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/4 "2014-03-01T22:40:00Z")
We saw the traveling production in Minneapolis this fall - it was really good. Expensive. But good. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/5 "2014-03-02T15:13:26Z")
Yes, the tour is excellent, and comparable to Broadway. You’ll get your money’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/6 "2014-03-02T15:36:38Z")
Are there any Special Guest Veteran Actors in the cast? Some years ago, I saw in in L.A. with Joanne Worley as Madame Morrible and John Rubinstein as the Wizard. A year or so ago, I found the tour had John Davidson, of all people, as the Wizard. (I found this while looking to see if he was still alive._L_) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/7 "2014-03-02T19:10:17Z")
I read the book, and then saw the show in Cleveland a few years back. It was good but not great. If you love the songs, see it. Hearing them live, and seeing the sheer spectacle of it, should be worth your while. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/8 "2014-03-03T15:28:59Z")
The book is great, and musical is also great. Everyone predicted it would win the Best Musical Tony. In one of the biggest upsets in Tony history, it was beaten by Avenue Q. Yes, go see it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/9 "2014-03-03T15:53:09Z")
We saw it in November here in Indy, and it was fantastic. Looks like they’ve swapped the cast out with the tour going on right now. But Fiyero is played by Justin Guarini, of American Idol “fame” (he’s the one that was beat by Kelly Clarkson), so that’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/10 "2014-03-03T15:57:38Z")
I also saw it when it was in Minneapolis last year. I am slightly agog at the ticket prices it still manages to pull in for a show that’s been touring how many years, but it was perfectly enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/11 "2014-03-03T16:37:04Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’d certainly like to see the show in New York, but I’m not sure when I’ll be there again. Is this touring version worth seeing? Absolutely. Often the tour has former Broadway cast members. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/12 "2014-03-03T19:58:58Z")
Go see it. I saw it on the return to SF, and while not my favorite musical ever, it was pretty good. (I didn’t pay, which helps.) However, it has been on Broadway for so long that the cast which opened the show is long gone. I saw the Producers on Broadway well into its run and the acting was good but hardly spectacular. OTOH I saw The Book of Mormon in SF at Christmas with an original Broadway member, and it was amazing. So give it a chance. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/13 "2014-03-03T20:01:09Z")
Fuck yes! I’ve seen the touring show twice and would happily see it again. Especially if you have a good Glinda, it’s great, and hearing it just isn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/14 "2014-03-03T20:08:51Z")
I hated the book, but I think the music is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/15 "2014-03-04T20:46:28Z")
Thanks for starting this thread, **dalej42** : I clicked on the link and learned that the tour will be coming to Baltimore in April 2015 (I missed it when it came to DC a couple of years ago). I’ve already asked my theater buddy if she’s interested. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/16 "2014-03-04T22:52:09Z")
I’m not sure how theater tickets work for everyone else, but you’ll be well-suited to sign up for your local theater’s mailing list. Because we saw Wicked last November, we were on an early list to get tickets for Book of Mormon. Bad seats at the theater can really detract from your night - especially when 10 rows can make a huge difference. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/17 "2014-03-04T23:20:18Z")
You can also check Craigslist. We have excellent season ticket seats at the DPAC, and we sell tickets to shows we don’t want to see or have to miss. It’s always been a very pleasant experience. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/18 "2014-03-05T00:07:03Z")
I can’t speak to Wicked, which I saw on Broadway several years ago, but every touring show I’ve ever seen has been equal in calibre to what I’ve seen on Broadway. Touring performers are almost equal to the headliners in my opinion and certainly equal to the understudies, which I’ve seen on Broadway. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/19 "2014-03-05T00:10:19Z")
That’s incomprehensible. What I mean is touring performers are equal to understudies on Broadway. I have been to Broadway shows on Broadway and seen understudies. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629/20 "2014-03-05T00:20:21Z")
I saw the new touring version of Phantom of the Opera two weeks ago in Chicago and I was blown away. It was excellent and I was with a friend who has seen over 200 musicals who was also impressed. I know Wicked played here in Chicago late last year, I really wanted to get to the show, but there was just too much going on. I have very high expectations for the show in Ohio, I have decided to go. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-see-wicked-in-cincinnati-ohio/682629.md?page=2)