For Laura’s birthday in October I had gotten her tickets to the traveling show of the musical “Wicked,” which is supposed to be the untold story of the witches of OZ. The show started at the Peace Center last week, and our tickets were for Sunday evening. It turned out to be an absolute blast!
The weather was a concern. With the season’s worst snow/ice storm just finished, we still had solid ice everywhere when we woke up. In fact, I got in some great sledding earlier. However, by afternoon things had started to clear and we were able to head out.
We started with dinner at Liberty Tap Room. It was the first visit for both of us, and the meal was excellent. I had she-crab soup and a steak-pasta dish that suited the weather perfectly, and Laura had roasted chicken.
As for the show itself, it’s hard to describe without sounding trite with superlatives. Totally fun and totally fantastic will have to suffice. Apart from the amazing performing talent and staging, one of the things that impressed me most was Stephen Schwartz’s very clever lyrical writing. Glinda the Good Witch singing “I don’t know if I’ve been changed for the better, but I’ve been changed for good, ” is just one example. The show-stopper is the signature song “Defying Gravity,” which closes the first act.
Now I want to go back and read Winnie Holzman’s original book. I definitely want to see the show again, and may even consider buying the soundtrack. What I WON’T do is ever watch “The Wizard of Oz” the same way again.