Wicked Awesome

I finally have something interesting to blog about! Tim and I finally left the house! Without the kids! I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and was lucky enough to buy tickets to Wicked from a friend whose family vacation interfered with her tickets. (Thanks again, Jackie.) This was a big deal, because it's not every day that a bigtime musical like Wicked lands in Salt Lake City, and tickets were sold out so fast that I didn't even have time to check the bank account to see if we could afford to go. So I snatched up the chance and the tickets, and Tim and I went on a real date for the first time in ages. As soon as I had the tickets in my hands (actually, stashed very safely in a place little grubby hands couldn't find them), I downloaded the soundtrack and listened to the music daily in preparation, and encouraged Tim to do the same.

I'm not sure if it was the fact that it had been years since my last real musical experience, or if it was that the kids weren't with us for the first time in a year. Maybe it was just the combination of fabulous costumes, exciting music, and pumped up crowd at the theater, but I found myself struggling not to cry at the end of every big number. I had heard the music before, and I knew the basics of most of the story, but experiencing the musical up close with a live orchestra made it so much better. When I saw Les Miserables at the Capitol Theatre I think I had a similar experience, except that I was on the back row of the balcony behind a pillar. The Capitol is a smaller theater, so even on the balcony you still get a fabulous experience, but this time we were on the floor, close enough to know what the actors' faces actually looked like and never having to strain to see or hear anything that was happening.

Without giving too much away (I'm guessing everyone will eventually see this musical, and you know a movie version will show up in a few years), let me give you a quick rundown. Wicked is the story of the Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view. It explains why she's green, why she cares about those silly ruby slippers so much, and why she's so darn bitter and angry. You find out her history with Glinda the Good Witch, and what's going on with the talking lion and Dorothy's other pals. To me, no matter how good the music is, if the story's lame, it's a waste of good music. This was no waste. Great story!

I love love love the music. When I was listening to it on my ipod, there were certain songs I didn't really get. When they were put into context in the theater, they were powerful and moving. My favorite musical moments from the musical were Popular (hilarious!), Defying Gravity (my mom tells me all her students want to learn that one--it's even better once you see it on stage with the costumes and cool staging), No Good Deed (that when I let the tears start falling), and Changed for Good (I was trying not to sob openly). The orchestra was awesome, and all but keyboard and rhythm was done by local musicians. Go locals! The singers were also excellent. We got the understudy for Glinda, but she was still quite impressive. The girl singing Elpheba was incredible. She was powerful and I thought her acting was also very good. Fiyero had a great voice, but his acting seemed a little stiff. The rest of the cast was great. The music did not sound easy to learn, and the ensemble was tight and in tune (hooray!).

I took my husband, who had never been to a musical before. That was the real test. Would he like it? Well, the next day when we were driving to Salt Lake for an Easter party, he asked me to turn on the Wicked soundtrack. It passed the test. I think the combination of a great story and really wonderful music on a colorful and interesting stage makes it accessible to everyone, even musical newbies.

On a completely different subject, what has happened to all the jelly beans? I looked and looked and found one bag after 3 stores! Does anyone else think it is a travesty that no one's selling the Starburst jelly beans anymore?