My love of musicals/stage shows started pretty young. Our stake would do large productions every four years and while I never got to participate I loved attending them. The Sound of Music and Alice in Wonderland were two I remember vividly. When I was a little older I was able to attend slightly larger productions of Madam Butterfly and thanks to Cindy, Into the Woods.
In the 90’s I remember MTV advertising the Phantom of the Opera.
They had a contest going where you could win a trip to New York and tickets to the show. I was captivated and would hurry and turn the TV up each time they would play the commercial advertising the contest. The music was so different than anything I had heard before. It was opera meets rock-n-roll. When it came to San Francisco there was nothing that was going to stop me from going. I went with my mom and grandma. It was my first time in one of those old magnificent theaters. It was awesome being in a building that had housed so much talent over the years.
After high school I went to several other types of productions; Oklahoma is one I recall that was put on by Chico State. I know there were many more but my memory is failing me. When I came out to Utah Cindy invited me to The Secret Garden at BYU. That is still some of my favorite music. It is so haunting. We also went to the Marriage of Figaro.
I was lucky to marry Paul who was willing and even happy about going to the theater. On his mission he had developed a strong love, maybe even borderline obsession, for Les Misérables . We celebrated our first anniversary by attending Phantom together.
After that we went to Beauty and the Beast and Les Mis. We went back to California after being in Utah for a little while to see the Lion King.
When I learned about Wicked I knew it was a must see for me. I hoped that it would go somewhere that was within traveling distance but somehow we had already missed its first run in San Francisco.
Paul and I were trying to plan a trip so we could use the American Airlines vouchers we earned by getting bumped on the way to Mexico earlier that year. Chicago was thrown out as an idea since the airfare to get there was so cheap. When I found out that Wicked was there that was it. We made it happen. We planned a trip to Chicago in DECEMBER!
It was marvelous. I didn’t know much more that it was what happened before Dorothy came to Oz so I left the theater with a smile a mile wide. I was so in love with everything about the show. You know how when you love something you want to share it with everyone you love? That’s what happened. Sometime in the last two years Emma started listening to the music and looking through my grimmerie and she too fell in love.
We have always tried to take the kids to small theater productions around Utah. I had helped Maggie plan our annual enrichment trips to the Scera Shell to see The Music Man in ’07 and The King and I in ‘08. Emma went with us in ‘08. She was a little wiggly and I think got pretty bored. When I found out Wicked was coming to Utah I was worried about spending that much money but she was adamant so I figured it was time.
In December they had a pre-sell for tickets. We had tickets in our cart and then the site crashed and we got nothing. I wasn’t going to risk missing it. As much as I am morally opposed to this I went to Ebay. There were two different Buy It Now auctions for a total of five tickets for SLC. One was a set of three and the other was a set of two but all the seats were next to each other. I can’t remember the exact numbers but it seemed like the three tickets were the same price as the two. I couldn’t figure that out but I got the green light from my mom and Maggie to buy them. We figured we would add them all up and divide the total five ways. (Since they weren’t all priced the same that was the only fair thing to do) Well there were a lot of problems with this transaction. The set of three tickets was a special favor/price for someone else. I just happened to come in and intercept the tickets. Oops. There was a lot of drama and threats. Tons. I didn’t know if we were going to get to go or not. When it was all said and done we only came away with four tickets and didn’t get to divide it up as many ways as we had planned making each ticket price more than we had expected. I felt really burned when the tickets came and we had paid almost three times the face value. Ouch!
It seemed like we had an eternity to wait until April would come. Finally it arrived and we were able to go and enjoy the show last night. It was phenomenal. I was just in love with it this time and I was the last time I saw it. (Now can you see why I am so militant about wearing matching clothes. I think my eyes are bleeding!)
I have never shared this with anyone before but I get tears each and every time they start an entr'acte. I am so overwhelmed by the talent. The sound is so full and rich and I know I am about to begin a journey that will take me through a myriad of emotions and visual wonder. It's exciting. Last night was no exception. I could hardly hold it together.
I waited anxiously to hear Elphaba. I wondered how she would be. The actress we saw in Chicago was great but they had to alter Defying Gravity’s ending notes for her. It wasn’t very far into the show when I knew that wouldn’t be the case. Donna Vivino played our Elphaba and she rocked it. Glenda was crazy over the top but also had a great voice and made the roll hilarious. I could watch it over and over and over again. I love the story. I love the costumes and the lighting but most of all the music.
We didn’t get home until close to midnight but she declared this morning when we woke up very tired that it was worth it. Emma had a great time and was walking around singing songs from it this morning while wearing her new Defying Gravity T-Shirt. I hope that she too will have the same love that I have for the theater. I also hope that she has some of the singing talent that I am lacking so that she can be on the stage even if it is in some tiny roll. If any of you have a desire to see it, find a way to make it happen.
