For those of you who do not know about this amazing Broadway musical, please inform yourself. Really. Now. Go do some research. Start here.
The first time I heard the soundtrack to Wicked was my senior year of high school - so some time between Fall '04 and Spring '05. I read the book, by Gregory Maguire, somewhere in there and was a bit disappointed. Thankfully, in my opinion, the musical is the sugar coated Disney-fied version of the book (though Disney has no association with the musical, as far as I know).
The story is simple. A girl is born green, has a penchant for magic, and ends up befriending a WASPy blond and a lazy, but oh-so-handsome rebel. There's a love triangle, more magic, an Emerald City, and at the very end, a young girl and her little dog, too. See? Simple.
This story could be described as the prequel to The Wizard of Oz.
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| The Original Broadway Cast. |
But the part that gives me chills and literally brings me to tears is the music. Such was certainly the case when the hubs and I went to see this amazing show last week. (And it was Kevin's first time seeing it!)
When Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, blasted out "Defying Gravity" at the end of the first act, I was squeezing Kevin's leg and trying to keep the misty tears in my eyes from ruining my make-up. (You see, I spent an hour primping for the show - fancifying myself and all - and didn't want to leave with Kiss-like streaks down my cheeks.) Every time Elphie let loose, belted out, let 'er rip I got chills.
Even though she far out-shined the rest of the cast, in my oh-so-humble opinion, there was more about Elphie that caught my attention than her phenomenal pipes: she is a strong, confident woman. That character owns the stage from the moment she stomps onto stage. This assurance of self is even more palpable when it is tempered with moments of true vulnerability, visible even from 200 feet away.
This speaks to both the actress and the character. Together they created a girl I want to emulate. My goals may be different, as I'm not very magically gifted and I don't think I can help the talking Animals, but that confidence - that willingness not to care about other's opinions - I want that. I am that. Sometimes, anyway.
That's why, even though I had said I probably wouldn't have time, I shaved my legs and underarms (happens less than I'd like to admit), donned my going away dress (the first dress I've worn since my wedding day over four months ago), and very carefully prettified my face with my favorite make-up products. I even tried some metallic green eye shadow to match my black dress (must sport the Wicked colors, you know!) and wrap. I even attempted to do something interesting with my hair! (And I really only know two styles - up and down.)
When I looked in the mirror, I felt sexy. When my husband came home a few minutes earlier than I expected and could barely get out a clear sentence when he saw me, I felt even sexier.
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| Work...................................................Wicked. |
So, that glaringly honest admission gives you an idea of the singularity that is me getting all dolled up.
Moving along: I felt sexy and confident the whole night. Even though my neck had broken out in the last week for no apparent reason, my thighs stuck together due to sheer hugeness, and my wide-ass (sorry, Mom) feet refused to fit properly into little strappy shoes (even though they are technically wide shoes) - I felt more than content with my body, with myself. Even though I am still fighting discouragement about my weight plateau, even though my goal weight seems centuries away, and even though I silently envied some of those tiny actresses on stage, I was able to remember my worth, my progress, and my gratitude that I have the means to fight this weight battle.
This feeling made it even easier to relate to Elphaba as I watched her find her footing and bravely stand up for her beliefs. Her confidence grew, the actress' charisma shined through, and I really wanted to be Elphaba up there.
[Funny side note: The actress playing Elphie shushed/seated the audience after the curtain call. She then told us that this was the very first performance for the gal playing Glinda, an understudy. Then she said that wasn't the only reason she wanted to talk to us. For a brief moment, I thought I might get that chance to be her. I actually imagined her saying, "And now, I would like to invite Nicole to the stage to join us in an encore number!" Umm... it didn't happen. I felt a little (okay, a LOT) silly when she then told us about the Broadway's event to help fight AIDS and HIV and asked that we each make a cash donation at the door... A girl can dream, right?]
I may not have gotten to sing on stage with that amazingly talented cast, but I walked away feeling as exhilirated as though I had.
Where was I? What is my point anyway? Hmm.
In an effort to sum up:
- Go see Wicked someday
- It gives me chills
- I want to play Elphaba on stage one day
- I love getting dressed up and feeling sexy
- I want to translate that confidence to my everyday norm of teacher clothes and harried schedule
- My boss needs some tact lessons
If you got any of that out of the rambling, congratulations! You are gaining skills in how to understand this crazy ginger! :-) And now you also have an idea of how amazing it is that Kevin not only understands, but can usually know what I'm going to say before it's out.
And, that's all I have to say about that.
So tell me: What is your favorite musical? When do you feel sexiest? What do you like to get all dolled up for?
I love the music in Wicked too, always gives me chills. I still think my favorite musical might have to be Light in the Piazza, probably more because of the music and I think Clara would be a dream role for me (though I'd happily take Glinda too) =)
ReplyDeleteI always think you look beautiful, but I will say the dress/get-up looks fabulous on you! It is always so fun to have a reason to dress up, spend more time doing hair/makeup, etc. Don't know why I don't put more work into my look on a daily basis...Heath would probably appreciate it lol.