Wicked is Wicked Good!

One of the highly anticipated intern events planned for this summer was going to see Wicked at the Pantages theatre downtown. I was so excited to not only get to see a musical, but a well-known one like Wicked. We went two Thursdays ago (July 19).

When I arrived at the theatre, there was a long line outside, but I thought it was strange that I would have to stand in it since we had a planned cocktail hour before the show. So I walked up to someone who worked there and he ushered me inside. I felt like such a celebrity! We socialized while having some heavy hors d'ouevres and drinks (I stuck to water since I was parched), and were pleasantly surprised to find out Toyota was paying for each of us to get a t-shirt! We got to pick from a few styles, and I chose a cute green one with the title of the main song from the show "Defying Gravity".

Apparently, the Pantages used to be the site of the Academy Awards and I could see why. The inside was beautifully adorned. I took a couple of pictures of the ceiling inside the theatre, but then an usher came over and told me I could not take photos inside. Feeling suddenly like I was under interrogation from the CIA with all those clips from spy movies running through my head, I asked him if he wanted me to delete the photos I had already taken, thinking maybe he would even want to confiscate my camera! He said no, and my friends got a good laugh about it. :-)

The show itself was great. I was interested to see how they made that book into a musical, but they did a pretty good job. I felt the second act was rushed since they tried to cram all the political plot and character development in. But the overall message was a good one -- being different is okay and freedom of speech and liberty for all and all that. The songs were good as were the voices, although a bit on the nasally side for my taste. My favorite songs by far were "Popular", sung by Glinda the Good Witch, played by the very funny Megan Hilty and "Defying Gravity" (the song to end Act 1) sung by Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), played by Eden Espinosa. If you get a chance, look up the LA production of Wicked on YouTube.

If you get a chance to see this show, I would definitely recommend it.