A Totally Different Look At A Classic

My Easter Sunday began this morning about 5 hours after Saturday night ended. I COULD NOT sleep for the life of me. I was sooooo excited that we were going to redeem the Christmas presents Jeff and I got the parents and I got for Megan and Carol. The anticipation was staggering (I swear I’m worse than a kid at Christmas… imagine if I were the one going to be in the company of a professional cast… no sleep at all). Around 1AM, I finally fell asleep. Around 6, I woke up and flipped the channels and came across the Pope’s mass from St. Peter’s in Rome. By 7, I was wide awake. Breakfast was at 8 with the family, so I went down, showered, and put on some leisurely clothes so I did not ruin my good clothes before mass.

We went to 10:30 service instead of sitting through the 2.5 hour Easter Vigil mass the night before. I did get to sing in the choir and was told by another member how jealous she was and that she was going to see the show before its run in Toledo was finished.

What to say about WICKED? I have to say that the hype and praise is definitely well deserved. I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive at first by the audacity of changing a classic movie I have had fond memories of for my entire life. I was tempted to reread the novel by Gregory Maguire but am glad that I decided not to.

Starting with the novel Wicked, Maguire has turned several fairy tale legends upside down and told familiar stories most people know from the eyes of the antagonist. He has also penned two sequel novels set in the Land of Oz.

Wicked begins seconds after the liquidation (eh) of Elphaba (aka… The Wicked Witch of the West). From there, Galinda/Glinda takes the story back through the life of her “friend” the green one. We go from birth to school at Dear Old Shiz University to the life changing appearance of a flying farm house which falls from the sky. Traditional concepts such as acceptance, popularity, and the effect of rumors are put on great display.

Along the way, we meet several new characters created in the novel:

Doctor Dillamond (the last remaining animal teacher at the university)
Boq (a Munchkin who has eyes for Galinda… incidentally, he was played by a Northwest Ohio native)
Fiyero (a student who is the love interest of Galinda and Dances Through Life)
Madame Morrible (a teacher who if you change the first letter of her name describes her character perfectly. Rue McClanahan played the role on Broadway)
Nessarose (aka The Wicked Witch of the East… wheelchair bound… cared for by Elphaba)

I just wish that I could go on forever about how great this show is! It really did challenge everything and provided insight into one of the most sinister characters ever created. The performances, sets, and music were all spectacular. Elphaba herself herself definitly was the star… WHAT A VOICE and she was an understudy!

I must admit that I splurged just a bit on the souvenirs but I did get a nice jacket to do my walking in and a colorful program!

Then we went to NICKS for dinner! Always a filling delight… but I did bring some cherry cheesecake HOME! It was already in a take home container which makes sense because none of us ate everything. But once again the ribeye/shrimp combo was worth every penny of the $14.00.

And the YANKS are…. winning 2-1 in the top of the 4th in Boston!

Here is a shot of the Wizard, himself who has a very interesting role in the show: