CHESSNOID

How do you like that title! A little more exciting than my cookie cutter categories line + stock market summary. Anyways, I just had the most wonderful experience with my wife and went to a musical called Wicked. I saw it at the Pantages theater in Hollywood. Even though it was a Sunday night, it took us 2 hours to get through 45 miles of freeway. I haven’t driven in Los Angeles a long time and it certainly has changed very much. There were no worries though because I gave us ample time to compensate for any traffic delays. It was rush hour traffic from door to door.

I love to watch musicals and don’t watch them as often as I would like to. Previous musicals I have seen and loved were Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Les Miz was my all time favorite, but this show was a treat and ranks up there. The storyline for Wicked is the untold story of the Witches of Oz.

I had listened to the CD before I went to watch this just to be more familiar with all the songs. For me that helps to appreciate the music that much more. I listened to it in my car on my way back and forth to work. Today was the payoff.

My wife got us amazing seats in the orchestra section. For me whenever we got seats that weren’t close to the stage, my experience isn’t as enjoyable. I don’t mind paying more to get the best experience as possible. I have had nose bleed seats at these musicals before and binoculars just don’t cut it. The singers who played the witches were Eden Espinosa as Elphaba the wicked witch, Megan Hilty as Glinda the good witch. Also in the play were Carol Kane as Madame Morrible and John Rubinstein as the Wizard. The singing by Eden and Megan were magnificently impressive and were better to me than the Broadway singers on the CD I listened to. However, that might be because I heard them live with a live orchestra.  I am sure the Broadway singers live would have been absolutely wonderful to listen to. The rest of the cast was great too. Overall, my Wicked experience was extraordinary and filled with great singing, uplifting dancing, well put choreography, excellent special effects, and just an overall awesome cast. If you haven’t watched a musical, I would recommend this one if it comes to your area. This is one of those great memories I will appreciate and cherish forever and am extremely happy that I was able to share it with my wife. I can still hear the music playing in my mind.

When we got home, we saw the Dexter finale and were saddened that it was the last episode for the season. Good news is at the end of the show, Showtime does announce they will be back in 2008 for season 3. Sweet! What a way to end a great day.