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?

1995

First, a warning: Mom and Dad, this post may seem boring to you, because I will be referring to a bunch of pop culture that you most likely either don't remember or wish you didn't remember.

You know that song by Bowling for Soup, "1985," that talks about a woman who is stuck in the 80s? Well, I came to a realization a few days ago, while riding in the car with my husband. We were listening to the radio, the same station I've been listening to since my freshman year of college, and a song came on that neither of us had ever heard, by someone we'd never heard of. We are old fogies. I am that woman from that Bowling for Soup song, except that instead 1985, I'm stuck in 1995. Here is proof:

1. My husband and I recorded all 5 hours of VH1's 100 Best Songs of the 90s, then stayed up all night watching it and reminiscing about back in the day when music was good. Back when people still knew who Pearl Jam was and when REM was touring. We knew all of the songs on the list. We even noticed which songs were missing that should have been included. If they do the same thing for this decade I may get lucky and recognize a few songs that made it into movies I saw.

2. The radio station I used to listen to (101.9, the End, which I was true and faithful to) had their flashback lunch, and I was expecting some early Depeche Mode, but got "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis instead. Which came out while I was in college. They referred to Oasis as a classic band. Remember the line from "1985" "When did Motley Crue become classic rock?" That actual lyric popped into my head when the DJ said Oasis was classic. I actually switched stations to X96 (my brother will be amazed, I think, that I listen to that station, because I am a fogie) because they play more 90s alternative than my old station. And they just call it good stuff, not classics.

3. My friends that are younger than me (and not by that much, actually) talk about bands all the time that I've never heard of. For example, I have now heard of Dashboard Confessional and Panic at the Disco, but I feel completely out of the loop, because I don't know their music at all. I used to pride myself in college for knowing who sang what song and being up on all the new stuff. Actually, my husband and I kind of make a game of it with songs from his iPod, which are all from the 90s. Yeah, we're fogies.

4. I still wear Gap jeans and T-shirts and the same sweaters I wore in 1995. And I have 6 pairs of Doc Martins. If you are wondering what Doc Martins are, look up 1995 fashion.

5. I feel betrayed by Bon Jovi, because I found out a while back that he was releasing a country album. Country!!! This is Bon Jovi, whose concerts I have attended, who thought I was a crazy stalker at the Olympic closing ceremonies because I was standing on my chair in the orchestra pit 10 feet away and screaming "I LOVE YOU!" I don't feel that way anymore, Mr. Jovi. And I just haven't connected like that with any of the more recent singers. Because I don't know who they are.

6. Some younger friends have commented in the past on my funny prom dresses. Funny as in old and out of date. I still don't get what's funny.

7. I still use the word awesome a lot. And I am not opposed to the use of the word rad. Like, I think "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is an awesome song, but not as rad as anything on U2's Joshua Tree album.

8. When someone tells me their car was made in 1995, I still think of it as kind of new. Not 13 years old and ready to retire. I saw a Mazda Miata in the parking lot at Walmart the other day, and I'm pretty sure it was a model from around 1995. It looked old, and not so hot anymore. It was kind of a shock.

Is anyone else with me? I am totally stuck in a time where music was the best, good movies were still being made, and clothes were totally cute. (I don't tuck in my shirts and puff them out, though--I know better.) And I realize that my tastes all froze 13 years ago whenever I hear that song "1985." Or when I look around and I'm the only one in Doc Martins in the room, and everyone else is groovin' to a song that came out 3 years ago that I've never heard of.