For hubby’s birthday, I took us to Hollywood to see one of the last productions of Wicked. It’s about 80 miles from our town to downtown and in traffic it took almost 90 minutes to get there. Our prepaid parking pass was next door to the Pantages and we only had one hour to find dinner and be back. The parking attendants were our local tour guide and they sent us directly to a Japanese restaurant called Katsuya. Architectural modern phenomenon, in my humble opinion. Big, giant red lips are painted on one wall, the rest surrounded by mirrors, the bathroom was a sight to be seen with mirrored glass doors to each stall and flat FLAT sinks. I sat there and examined how the water was draining before I washed my hands! For dinner, we had small plates that included crab, avocado and raw fish, roasted lobster with mushrooms, sashimi with fried rice, and one main dish of Teriyaki style beef. For downtown LA, we were surprised at how reasonable the prices were (expensive- but not over the top) and how attentive the staff was. All in all, I’d give that place a 10!

In all my married years (9 next May), I have been to Los Angeles to see a show less than five times. I’ve seen a dance production of Alvin Alley, The Lion King, and several classical productions at Christmas time. And in my 37 years of life, I have NEVER seen a show this good.  No movie, no show, no concert, no performance of any kind could compare to this production!

Eden Espinoza and Megan Hilty had the most stunning voices and they brought the house down. Eden plays Elphaba and Megan is Glinda pronounced by her “Gaaaaaaalinda”. The story is basically the behind the scene look at what happened before the Wizard of Oz. Eden has been born green and is a disgrace to her family and her sister is born with twisted legs and is in a wheel chair. Nesa is the beloved daughter of the two sisters and Elphaba’s main job in life is to care for her. The story begins at a school called Shez (spelling?) and Elphaba is in your face with the lovely Galinda (confrontations begin here).  Galinda plays the beautiful girl who is in love with herself. She arrives at school with an entourage of suitors and she uses them all to suit her selfish needs. The story follows the life of Elphaba and Galinda through school, to the Emerald City, to the creation of the future characters: Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion and answers all the questions you might have had in what happened before the Wizard of Oz.  Even if you aren’t or never were a fan of Oz, this production is amazing.

The music in my mind made the movie. I was riveted in my seat from the first note to the last. The sets, costumes, lighting, voices, acting, ALL of it were amazing.  From what little I know about the actual production, there have been two Elphaba’s Eden (she was Idina’s understudy) and Idina.  Below is Eden singing “Defying Gravity”.  And it just barely scratches the surface of how good she is and how good she is on stage with the whole cast and crew singing their hearts out!  I loved every song, bought the CD and would absolutely LOVE to see it again.

Thoughts on the show, anybody?