Wicked!!!!!!!

Last night Tim and I went to see “Wicked” at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Minneapolis.  It was AWESOME!

We even dressed up (which is a rare thing for us) and were able to take a nice photo.  (This was the other dress that I found at the dress barn when I went looking for a dress for Luke & Krista’s wedding.  That’s why that trip was such a smashing success–I found not just one but TWO dresses!!! This one is the same length as the other one (just past my knees) which is nice, and I thought it was fun and versatile–in the winter I could wear a black cardigan over the top and it would work.)

We made our way downtown and proceeded to look around for cheaper parking (the closest parking to the Orpheum was $15 and that was just too much to spend on parking).  We finally found a garage that was only $5 and made our way toward the theater. We were a tiny bit lost after we parked because the parking ramp was a bit off of the main road, but we eventually made it to our destination.

The theater is breathtaking.  The ornate details and colors on the ceiling and walls are just beautiful.  And the building itself looks deceivingly tiny from the street which, I think, adds to the mystery/drama of the theater.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to bring my camera into the theater so you’ll just have to take my word for it.   🙂   We made our way to our tiny old fashioned seats and were pleasantly surprised at how close to the front and center we were.

And then the show began.

Everything was larger than life.  The set was perfect… the costumes unbelievable… the dancing delightful… the orchestra awesome… and the singers outstanding.  And everything all-together created a wonderful immersion into the fairy tale world.  I found myself so wrapped up in the story that I barely moved; I didn’t want to disrupt the magical creation unfolding.  And the singers… ah, the singers…   The main role of Elphaba (or the wicked witch of the west) was sung so well that it sent shivers down my spine.  There were times that I wanted to simply applaud, and other times I could feel the tears welling in my eyes.

Now all of that said, I’m not sure it was necissarily a children’s show even though it seemed like 1/3 of the audience might be kids.   It was a bit spooky at times (I mean she doesn’t get the name wicked witch for nothing) but it was hard to really tell how old many of the kids were.  I find as I get older kids seem to look younger and younger to me…  🙂

But I was reminded how much I enjoy going to performances.  It has been a long time since we went to a professional production.  Over the past few years I’ve attended a handful of community theater or school plays but this was a different caliber.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I do thoroughly enjoy the smaller plays and musicals but Tim doesn’t quite as much, which means I usually have to go alone.   So this was an extra special treat to go together.    But more than that, I love being drawn in and wrapped up completely in a really good musical.  I forget that the people are real people and that the stage is really just a stage.  I love how much more the characters can express their feelings by putting it into a song or duet.

Now, maybe I’m just easily entertained, but I’m not convinced that is a bad thing.  I enjoy the simple things in life: dressing up, a star filled night sky, and holding my husband’s hand.

It was a great night.