A magical night: Wicked

I am experiencing an immense amount of excitement as I prepare to write this post! The totally magical assortment of emotions are flooding back to me in full force.

Last Wednesday night I went to the Lyric Theatre here in Brisbane to watch the one and only, Wicked.

Wow, wow, wow. I was and still am completely and utterly speechless as I try to string together the right words to describe this play in order to do it the justice that it absolutely deserves.

The musical, Wicked, unravels the untold story of the Witches of Oz. It is centered on the two witches, Glinda the Good and Elphaba; the Wicked Witch of the West.  It tells the story of the unlikely friendship and profound bond between these two witches. It reveals how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West through a tale encompassing love, friendship and deception, ultimately highlighting how there really are two sides to every story.

The funny thing about me seeing Wicked was how oblivious I have been to the brilliance of this stage show. Growing up The Wizard of Oz film gave me nightmares. I was petrified of the Scarecrow, Lion, flying monkeys and Tin man for some unknown reason. Due to this I never really paid any attention to Wicked, no matter how many people told me it was the best stage show on the planet.

I am a huge lover of stage shows so when my family told me we were going to Wicked, there was no way in the world I could turn it down, even if I did have a unfortunate run with The Wizard of Oz. I was determined to love Wicked and it honestly wasn’t difficult to do so.  A few weeks before the show I listened to the soundtrack and I was immediately hooked and addicted. I was struggling to contain my excitement on the night of the show; I thought that I might have melted! (Shameless reference)

This musical is absolutely phenomenal; from the costumes, to the set design to the glorious music, everything about it was perfection.  I was amazed by how much thought and precision was put into each and every aspect of this stage show, which really added to the feeling of it being totally out of this world. All of the characters had voices that were breathtaking. I was completely and utterly astounded by how beautifully they sung every song and how they could carry and vary their voices throughout the entire performance. I am not only speaking for the main characters, but for everyone who was in the performance.  I had goose bumps every single song. Hearing ‘What is this feeling?’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ live was one of the most exciting things. I felt like SUCH fan girl, but as I looked around the audience, there were so many people singing along that there was no reason for me to be ashamed of being excited!

 We had wickedly good seats.  We were seated on the ground floor right in the centre. It was the perfect spot because we were close enough to see the entire stage and all of the characters incredibly clearly.

After the play we ended up hanging around with a few of the other members of the audience who were waiting to meet Glinda the Good and the Elphaba.  They were both really lovely and were happy to take photos with everyone. I sadly lost my photo with Elphaba! She was my favourite in the show; seriously her voice is in indescribably beautiful.  When I went back to look for it on the camera I couldn’t find it…perhaps my dad forgot to press the capture button, I have no idea!

If you ever have the opportunity to see this play, I URGE you to see it! I have been listening to the soundtrack on repeat since the night of the concert. Something crazy actually happened to me today as I was listening to the soundtrack walking along Elizabeth Street in the city; the actress who played Glinda the Good walked passed me! I was so surprised. I noticed her straight away because of her platinum blonde hair and wicked bag. I wonder how many other people she walks passed who are jamming out to ‘Popular’. Gosh, who knows! Seeing this play is something once in a lifetime.  It will leave you speechless and with the single, relentless desire to see it again and again.