WICKED

I had a count down going on our door for days until we got to go to the FABULOUS musical that is WICKED. Ohmygoodness. Here is the background for my love for this musical. My rommate sophomore year, Stephenie, had the soundtrack on her computer and we listened to it all the time before she went to the show in New York over Christmas that year. She LOVED it. And that got me listening to the soundtrack non-stop hoping I'd be able to catch it in Toronto over spring break sophomore year. Nope, no luck with that one, but I still loved the story line and the music, so I continued to listen to the songs--as I drove, as I painted rooms in my house, as I did homework, etc. I memorized the songs word for word. I didn't know it, but soon I'd find out that the musical we'd go to in Chicago would be WICKED!
Joel, the recruiter for the Chicago Semester held a questions/answers session at Dordt this past fall semester, and descretely mentioned something about seeing the play if I was enrolled in the Arts class this semester. Imagine my eyes light up and my face brighten, let out a gasp and whoop of excitement, and later jump and scream for joy as I thought of me finally seeing this play that I only knew the songs for. I didn't really even know the storyline of the play or really how the characters connected. I just loved the songs.
Elated as I was, it took a while before my broadway dream was realized, but the day of realization was Wednesday, March 8, 2006. I took no more than a pen and paper to wrote down my emotions and thoughts as the play progressed...but it was so overwhelming!
As we walked into the Oriental Theatre on Randolph street, you immediately notice the architecture, designs on the walls, and sculptures and carvings around the rooms. It's a classy place and we get our tickets and take our seats right away. As we walk into the theatre, we are up in a balcony, but these seats are probably still around $100 each. There is a dragon machine thing overtop of the stage. The detail of the theatre mask my excitement for just a few minutes. It calms me, awes me when all I want to do is jump around and scream for excitement.l The detail of the inside of the building is amazing. A more gothic style than the Joffrey theatre where we saw the ballet. Mystical creatures, heads, faces watching us from above, dragons, seahorses?, magical, old, height, dark, are some of the words that come to mind. No pictures are allowed to be taken because of the paint in the theatre and the integrity of the show. WICKED starts, and seriously, for some reason I can't stop crying. This is the most emotional I've been in a while...and it's for a play! Hearing the music played live, the actors portraying exactly what I've pictured, the humor, the beauty, the story of love and friendship are amazing and I can't stop the flow of tears. I'm finally here at this show I've only heard about for a year and a half. The songs are word for word and I'm able to finally piece the play together form the music I know and from what I see on stage. The musicians play the pieces so beautifully. I can hear every instrument perfectly even up where we are sitting. The acoustics are amazing. The lighting is undoubtedly the best we've seen this year. Spotlighting, using green as representative of Elphaba, stage lighting underneath characters, etc. Awesome. Everything together is what gets to me.
There are humorous parts, and the audience laughs, and then there are surprising parts and romantic parts and the audience responds well. The surprise at the end is totally unexpected, and it makes me shake my head because there is no leading up to it from the soundtrack at all. But it's such an amazing love story, too. I want to watch it again. And not be crying the entire time. This was by far the most touching and emotional experience I've had here in Chicago. I love musicals and I love the excitement leading up to this one in particular because of my background with it. I am so blessed to have even seen this show, tickets sell so fast, and with the small amount we paid to go to all the arts events this semester, it's basically the price of one ticket to Wicked. We were so blessed to have seen this musical and to have been touched by it, as I was. Amazing. There is no one word that can adequately describe this musical! Again!