Wicked thoughts

Got your attention??? :)

We arrived in Chicago for a little souvenir shopping around 4pm. Now dressed in our theatre clothes, and it was chilly outside, the chaperones weren't really up for much wandering around. Instead, we ducked in to the Rainforest Cafe long before the kids were to arrive there for dinner and enjoyed some sinful beverages. My drink was called the Margarilla and was the most delicious frozen orange margarita ever. Dare I say...Yummo!

Soon the kids came in and we shared a family style meal together. Shhh... It was a good thing too... four of us had been drinking on empty stomachs!!

From dinner it was off to the theater. I just had to tell y'all about the production of Wicked that we saw that night.

I have yet to be truly astounded by a musical theatre production since the first time T and I saw Le Miserable; in Phoenix at the ASU GammageCenter. It remains my all time favorite musical.

Sure, Wicked was much lighter fare, but the voices and the staging were just marvelous. The story development is clear and not difficult to follow even if you've never read the book (and I hadn't, but I will now!).

I can't express how beautifully the characters and voices of Elphaba and Galinda blended together. The sound just soared through the stunning rafters of the Ford Center Oriental Theatre. Which was good because we were in the not-quite-nosebleed section smushed like canned sardines! But we were HAPPY sardines!!!

When it came time for the song "For Good", sung by Elphaba and G'linda, I heard the first three notes and my mind was transported elsewhere.

This was the song that Avivah and one of her very closest friends, Drew, sang the duet in... backed by a full choir, directed by V's dad, in front of a crowd of 3,000 at their High School graduation last June.

Here I was in Chicago, almost a year later and I lost it completely. Tears streamed down my face as I fell prey to the attack of those sneaky villains - music, lyrics and memory.

And Gods, I miss my girl, who has definitely changed my life for the better.

For Good

GLINDA: I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn and we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them and we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you.
Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you I have been changed for good
ELPHABA: It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I learned from you. You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart and now whatever way our stories end I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.
Like a ship blown from its mooring By a wind off the sea Like a seed dropped by a skybird In a distant wood Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But, because I knew you,
GLINDA: Because I knew you,
BOTH: I have been changed for good.
ELPHABA: And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I've done you blame me for,
GLINDA: But then, I guess we know there's blame to share,
BOTH: And none of it seems to matter anymore.
GLINDA/ELPHABA: Like a comet pulled Like a ship blown From orbit as it Off it's mooring Passes a sun, like By a wind off the A stream that meets Sea, like a seed A boulder, half-way Dropped by a Through the wood Bird in the wood.
BOTH: Who can say if I've been changed for the better? I do believe I have been changed for the better.
GLINDA: And because I knew you,
ELPHABA: Because I knew you,
BOTH: Because I knew you... I have been changed for good.