Wicked

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire was first published in 1998 and in 2003 this wonderful book was turned into an amazing Broadway play with the amazing Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Joel Grey, and many more fantastic performers. The book is a much more political and adult take on the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, whom Gregory Maguire names Elphaba after L. F. Baum. 

I first saw Wicked for my Best Friends birthday in April of 2006.  When I went to see this performance the cast consisted of:
Glinda-Megan Hilty

Elphaba- Eden Espinosa

Fiyero- Derrick Williams

Wizard of Oz- Michael DeVries

Madame Morrible- Carol Kane

Nessarose- Jenna Leigh Green

Boq- Robb Sapp

Doctor Dillamond- Sean McCourt

The first time I saw the show my seat was under the balcony so I was not able to see the Dragon on the top of the stage which was upsetting because I knew it was suppose to move around however if I did not know about it, it would not have taken away from the experience.  One of my favorite things was the curtain, which, for those of you have not seen it, is a map of the World of Oz.

The second time I went to see Wicked was in July of 2009.  This performance had a cast of:

Glinda- Alli Mauzey

Elphaba- Nicole Parker

Fiyero- Kevin Kern

Wizard of Oz- P.J. Benjamin

Madame Morrible- Rondi Reed

Nessarose- Cristy Candler

Boq- Alex Brightman

Doctor Dillamond-Timothy Britten Parker

This time I was seated on stage right, closer to the actual stage.  This was a totally new experience because I was able to see all of the technical aspects much more clearly than the time before that.  The dragon was really a fantastic thing to see and all the gears of the stage were fantastic. 

Overall I think my favorite scene was Dancing Through Life.  The song was very catchy and it showed Glinda’s change in heart towards Elphaba which was very sweet.  I find myself re-listening to the music from Wicked over and over again because I find that the music is very strong and meaningful and I really relate to them, especially when I am put in certain situations.  I would love to go back and see it again, heck I would love even more to be in it…but who wouldn’t.

TRIVIA!!

How many Tony’s was Wicked nominated for in 2004?

a)7

b)10

c)9

d)8

Madame Tussauds Wizard of Oz Experience

So I thought I would start off this blog by talking about the Madame Tussauds Wizard of Oz Experience which I attended in November.  This experience was such a great one.  You first come to a display of the Yellow Brick Road leading to the Emerald City and none other than a wax figure of 16year old Judy Garland herself dressed in the famous Dorothy Gale costume.  The figure is beautiful and so life like.  All of the guests are taking pictures and under all of the hustle and bustle of people you hear a compilation of instrumental versions of a few of the different songs from the movie.  The wait in this area is not too long and soon after arriving the doors to the 4D theater opened and we were all let in to watch the Wizard of Oz Experience in 4D.  It was basically a condensed version of the movie with some great effects such as feeling the tornado, the smoke coming out of from screen when the Wicked Witch disappeared and bubbles coming out whenever Glinda arrived.  This experience, though it was short, was a great one and I hope everyone else who got to see it enjoyed it as much as I did.  I was lucky enough to see it on its last day running and I feel so lucky for that.  This is one Oz experience I will not forget. 

If you want to watch the vlog I did after going to the exhibit click here