Wicked

I don’t remember exactly what year it was but sometime when I was in college, the musical Wicked hit Broadway and was an immediate smash. Well, I assume it was. Anwyay, I have listened to that CD ten ways til Sunday but it wasn’t until April 2014 when I finally got to actually see the performance in person.

I loved it. I obviously was familiar with the music and knew the story line but the sets, the costumes, the emotion, the dialogue, it was just fantastic. Glinda was hysterical. I like Elphaba’s songs (except for Glinda’s part in “Thank Goodness”) but oh my heavens, Glinda has some funny lines. I loved the way her voice changed from between when she was being real and when she was trying to put on her perky persona. I laughed so much whenever she was onstage. I also adore Fiyero’s songs and although I adore Norbert Leo Butz, our Fiyero held his own.

The one thing I have to say about this production of Wicked was that it seemed so dark. Literally. I mean, I know the story itself is dark but literally, the stage always seemed to dark. It was hard to make out the detail of the gorgeous costumes and makeup with the muted lighting or with the cross-crossing lights that made strange shadows. All in all, though, a minor thing that was unfortunate but didn’t ruin the experience.

It may not have been Broadway and it may not have been Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Wicked and I’m so glad that I’m able to finally check it off my list.