Defying Gravity – Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth from Wicked
I saw Wicked a few days ago, thanks to a friend who had (literally) front row tickets. I expected to enjoy it, but was blown away by just how good it was. I’m no theater person by any means, but I’m having a tough time remembering any show I’ve ever been to that I enjoyed this much.
As much as I don’t really have any idea how to talk about music, I have even less clue how to talk about a musical, so I’ll just say that the effects were fantastic, the actors were great, the story far better than I expected, and the music numbers were a little kitschy but quite enjoyable. It’s convinced me to go buy the book and put it at the top of my reading list.
It was especially interesting because it was the traveling show (which makes me curious what the actual Broadway show would be like – though I have a hard time imagining meaningful improvements), and they had been staying at the same hotel as us for the previous couple weeks. It was pretty cool to see them up on stage and think yeah, that’s the person who lives two doors down from me.
Anyways, I heartily recommend seeing it if you get the chance, and maybe picking up the soundtrack while you’re at it.