This has been a week of culture: Taiko exhibit opening and then (partial-- oops!) concert, then Wicked! And ten million comics in between!

I can't recommend Wicked enough. The more I see it, the better it gets. Spectacular songs and acts, great sets and a novel story. The show hits on some pretty sensitive issues regarding friendship and who we are and how our actions define us. Wicked is adapted from the book of the same name and expands on the characters from Baum's Oz books and the MGM movie, "The Wizard of Oz". The characters are fleshed out and given histories, motivations, feeling and emotion. Suddenly the story's no longer black and white-- just shades of grey (tinted green!). Just imagine any story that can make both Glinda AND the WWotW into heroes by the end of the show-- it's just great!
This show is a HUGE hit with young girls, but anyone who's ever felt alienated or different or just confused in friendship and growing up will love the show. Elphaba/Wicked Witch of the West is a masterwork of characterization. Like "Daria" crossed with Judy Garland. The cast is terrific, though none can compare to Chenoweth (the original Galinda). And this is one of the few musicals that I've seen people dress up in-theme for (usually green and black). Just amazing stuff!
I think the show's next stop is Seattle: Steve, Tracy, Gene, Sarah: I HIGHLY recommend that you guys call for tickets ASAP: I think you'd love the show and it was the hottest ticket in town (L.A.)-- first time in ages that a show has sold out its entire run! Scalpers around here were getting upwards of $300/ticket, if that's any indication of how hard it was to find tickets. If you like musicals at all, you'll really enjoy this!

I can't recommend Wicked enough. The more I see it, the better it gets. Spectacular songs and acts, great sets and a novel story. The show hits on some pretty sensitive issues regarding friendship and who we are and how our actions define us. Wicked is adapted from the book of the same name and expands on the characters from Baum's Oz books and the MGM movie, "The Wizard of Oz". The characters are fleshed out and given histories, motivations, feeling and emotion. Suddenly the story's no longer black and white-- just shades of grey (tinted green!). Just imagine any story that can make both Glinda AND the WWotW into heroes by the end of the show-- it's just great!
This show is a HUGE hit with young girls, but anyone who's ever felt alienated or different or just confused in friendship and growing up will love the show. Elphaba/Wicked Witch of the West is a masterwork of characterization. Like "Daria" crossed with Judy Garland. The cast is terrific, though none can compare to Chenoweth (the original Galinda). And this is one of the few musicals that I've seen people dress up in-theme for (usually green and black). Just amazing stuff!
I think the show's next stop is Seattle: Steve, Tracy, Gene, Sarah: I HIGHLY recommend that you guys call for tickets ASAP: I think you'd love the show and it was the hottest ticket in town (L.A.)-- first time in ages that a show has sold out its entire run! Scalpers around here were getting upwards of $300/ticket, if that's any indication of how hard it was to find tickets. If you like musicals at all, you'll really enjoy this!