Wicked!!!

I saw Wicked at the Oriental Theater in Chicago. We got to the theater about 30 minutes early, because we had special tickets that got us into this exclusive room where there were private bathrooms and free drinks and snacks. Then 15 minutes before the show started, we went up to the gift shop. I spent 176 dollars. I bought a shirt for me, a matching one for Erin, a shirt for Grandma Nina, a souvenir program, and a Grimmerie (sp?). Then we went into the show. The stage was amazing. The Time Dragon was at the top and the curtain was a map of Oz. There were "permanent" set pieces that looked kind of like cogs in a clock. Then the play started. It started with a number about how the Wicked Witch of the West is dead called No Mourns the Wicked. One of the Munchkins asks Glinda, "Is it true you were friends with her" (or something of that sort)? And so the story starts. It chronicles Elphaba's first day at college and shows her sister Nessa Rose (the Wicked Witch of the East). It shows how she is shunned because of her green skin. It follows her relationship with Glinda from hatred to friendship. You watch as she falls in love with Fierro, meets the Wizard of Oz, and transforms into the Wicked Witch. You are shown that she really isn't evil, and why she wants the shoes so bad. You see Dorothy come and you see the fight Glinda and Elphaba have after Glinda gives the shoes to Dorothy. You see Fierro caught and turned into the Scarecrow. It shows Elphaba "dying" and then blows you away with the fact that she isn't dead and the she and Fierro are running away to our world. You also find out that Glinda still cares about them and that the Wizard of Oz is Elphaba's father. The play was very different than the book because in the book Elphaba does die, also the book is less about Glinda and Elphaba's relationship and more about Elphaba's life in general. I really liked the play. I would probably go again. The songs were very good Elphaba's especially. I think my favorite was Defying Gravity. I will blog about High School Musical 2 on Saturday or Sunday.