Wicked – August 12, 2011
Yesterday was probably one of the highlights of my summer. At around noon, I loaded up and took a 3 hour drive to go and see the musical Wicked. I have wanted to see it live ever since I first heard the cast recording in 2003 and have had to wait until now for it to come on tour to where I can easily get to it. And let me tell you – it is everything I had expected. In fact, out of the musicals that I have seen on tour (Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, Annie, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Wicked) I would have to say that Phantom and Wicked are the best. I loved them all – but those two stand out in my mind as ones that I would go and see over and over again (if only I had the money to do so).
As soon as I walked into the theatre, it felt like I was transported to Oz. On stage, you could see a huge map of all of Oz with the Emerald City lit up in green (of course) and above the stage was the Time Dragon. The overture of the show started and there was flying monkeys dancing around the stage! It quickly turned to the map being raised and munchkins coming out from both stage left and right and starting to sing “No One Mourns The Wicked”. As they were doing this, Glinda (Natalie Daradich) came out of the rafters – in her bubble! I had seen video of the opening before and had wondered if they would have the bubble, but I wonder no more!
The opening number is full of energy and quickly leads into a flashback to when Glinda and Elpheba (The Wicked Witch of the West) are just arriving to their first day of university at Shiz University. It is here that we first get to see the way that Glinda used to be before she encountered Elpheba – shallow and self-absorbed. The first act moves at a extremely fast pace and it is soon that we learn about the trouble the animals (who speak) are having – losing their voices and being placed into captivity. Elpheba and Fiyero (prince of the Arjiki tribe in the Vinkus) run off into the woods and set free a lion cub who had been placed in a cage (a new invention in Oz) – and it is here that they first develop feelings for each other. At the end of the scene, Elpheba receives word from Madame Morrible (headmistress at Shiz University) that she has been invited to see the Wizard! Her and Glinda end up going together and the Wizard does see them, but has a trick in mind. He has Elpheba turn his monkey servent, Chistery, into a flying monkey so that he can spy on subversive animal behaviour. This enrages her and she runs away, barricading herself in the attic of the palace. The Wizard sends his guards after her and as this is happening, Elpheba enchants a broom to fly, asks Glinda to fly away with her, Glinda says no, the guards break in, and Elpheba flys!
The second act flew by just as quickly with as many plot twists as in the first. By the end of it, many people in the theatre were in tears as Glinda and Elpheba sang “For Good” and after the show – the entire audience gave everyone a standing ovation.
There is a lot more that I can say about this show, as I have always really liked it – but the biggest thing to say is – even if you don’t normally go to musicals, and you have the chance to see one – see this. It will completely change the way you think of The Wizard of Oz (Wicked is a prequel to the book/movie). I read the book Wicked prior to seeing the musical, and while it is more difficult to get through then the musical, it is also well worth the read.
Bridalquest – The Musical I Wrote
Here are a few snippets from the show….
I went to an interesting college. And a lot of the things there just lend themselves towards being a musical. So, even though I am not done writing…I thought I would share some snippets from what I have written so far.
Counsellor: Right. Here you are Gary. (pause, look at paper) You’ll be living in Brygmann Hall. Just remember….Brygmann Hall is on fire for Jesus!
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Kelsie: Ya I am. I was supposed to be in Whit, but they moved me to LA.
Gary: They’re making you live in Los Angeles?
Kelsie: No…Lewis Apartments. What dorm are you in?
—–
Mark: Welcome all. This is going to be a pretty fun year. We have a few little rules to go through, but I’m pretty sure most of you have already read your student code things in the dorms right….(pause; wait for people to say yes or nod; nothing happens) okay then….well, I’d suggest you do so. And one other thing…
ENGAGED?
As you may well know
Bible College is a place
To grow in your faith, to grow as a person
But it is also a place to meet someone
Someone you can spend the rest of your life with
But before you go and get engaged
I suggest you think long
You think about what you want
And before you decide to ask that question
Before you even know you’re going to do it
I suggest you talk to me
Greg: Wait? You want us to ask you for your advice about getting engaged before we know we’re thinking about it?
Mark: Yes.
Greg: Okay then. (aside) That’s weird…
—-
Dawn: Hey everyone. Welcome to Briercrest. We’re gonna have a lot of fun this year. I’m here to talk to you about something very important – Joe’s Place. What’s that, you may ask? Well, it’s a youth drop in centre in Moose Jaw. Yes you can laugh if you want – it is a funny name for a town. But Joe’s Place is serious. If you are thinking about taking field ed, and you all should be, I’m going to encourage you to spend some time at Joe’s. It’s an amazing place and you will be changed there. See me at the back if you want some more info.
—-
Greg: I don’t want to be a buzz kill, but its 10:50. Isn’t curfew 11?
Kelsie: You’re right , it is. Let me think about this for a second…I know there is a way we can get out of hours….
Wanda: Chloroform?
Matt: We got lost coming back from Boharm?
Leah: Doesn’t going to Boharm mean something?
Tyler: We got arrested for preaching on the corner?
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Wanda: It was a little weird. My roommate likes to talk in her sleep, and all that she could talk about was this guy she had met the other day….
Kelsie: (interrupting) I told you that might happen…it doesn’t mean anything.
Wanda: Sure it doesn’t….
Tom: (walking by) Blackout!
Kelsie, Leah, Wanda: We’re not worthy….
—-
Jason: And then there was the time that we had our bear skull stolen by LA. See, we had always spent a lot of time planning ways to ask them out on dorm dates; so of course, they had started to expect that. A couple years ago, some of the guys must have decided they didn’t want to do that anymore. So, they just basically walked up to LA, sort of grunted out something like “You go out with us. Friday.” That didn’t turn out too well. The next time we had open dorms, which was the next day, our bear skull went missing. No one really knows where it came from or why we had it, but we had got used to having it around. Eventually, we realized that LA had it and when we went and asked them about it, all they would say was we needed to atone for how we’d asked them out. We got together, found a couple guys with guitars, and went over to LA, stood in the courtyard, and serenaded them until they finally gave us the bear skull back. Ever since that day, we have always made sure that we asked them out in a proper fashion.
On that note, we plan on kidnapping them next week to ask them out. Who’s in?
—-
Greg: Oh, you know…still getting into the grove of school again. (Jason sneaks in and puts a toque over Kelsie’s head)
Kelsie: What on earth….
