Defying Gravity

Today is a huge day. It's a day I've been waiting for since early November of last year. The tickets have been bought, the dress has been selected, and my date arrived last evening.


Today, I get to see my first off-Broadway play.


Today, I get to see "Wicked."

This is my "OHMYGODI'MSOEXCITED" face.

I was a senior in college when Wicked first hit the stage. Like all successful musicals, the Broadway stars made their rounds to all the daytime talk shows, to promote the show. I watched Kristin Chenoweth sing her brains out on the Rosie O'Donnell show. I saw both Kristin and Idina Menzel belt out "Defying Gravity" on award shows and late night talk shows. I vowed to see it on Broadway, in New York City, before it ended.


Last fall, Brian and I were watching Jeopardy, eating our dinner, and minding our own business when a commercial, announcing Wicked was coming to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, came on the screen. I squealed. I cried. I jumped up and down. And I begged Brian to take me.


We bought the tickets as soon as they went on sale.


I've been patiently counting down the days on my Donnie Wahlberg calendar while harmonizing with Kristin on "Popular." And the day has finally arrived.


About 2 months ago, Brian made it plain that he wasn't interested in going to see the show. (He's not into musicals. I know, he's a crazy person.) His response to my excitement? "I'll go if you can't find anyone else who wants to go."


So I offered the ticket to the one person in the whole wide world who I knew would be just as jazzed as I was by all the jazz hands. Brian's Aunt Tina.

The first time I met Tina, we all climbed into my car to go out somewhere. My huge CD book (remember those?) was in the backseat. As we drove through the little town of Boone, headed toward our destination, Tina flipped through, checking out my taste in music. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "You have the soundtracks from Little Shop of Horrors, Annie, AND Oklahoma!!?!! You're the ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD that I've ever met who has all three. Well...except for me."


We've been thick as thieves ever since that moment.


And so, tonight we will pretty ourselves up. We will brave the traffic and drive to the coliseum. We will be there earlier than anyone else, and we will stand in line singing "Popular" and "Defying Gravity" and "I'm Not That Girl." We will bounce up and down in our seats until the house lights go down. We will take in every single aspect of the production, from lighting to costumes to staging to props. At intermission we will giggle like school girls and relive all the wonderful moments we've just witnessed. We will race back inside the theater as soon as the bell dings to signal the end of intermission. We will sing along with all our favorite songs. We will cry when Fiyero dies, and when Elfie takes to her broom, and when Glinda mourns the loss of her friend. 


And when it's all said and done, we'll get in our car, drive back home, and talk about the show for the next 3 weeks to anyone who will listen, and to some who won't.


Today is a huge day.

Today, I see Wicked.

Why Brian Really Needs Ear Plugs Around The House Lately

My life has recently been overtaken by Broadway.


Does that mean I've been walking around singing show tunes at the top of my voice, breaking into tap dances at inopportune moments, and overuse of jazz hands?





Yes, in fact, that is exactly what it means.


There are two very big reasons why Brian now has to suffer through my very bad vibrato...and I'm here to share them with you today.


Reason #1: Smash
If you've ever been remotely interested in theater life, this show on NBC will rock your socks. For a woman who was once a little girl who dreamed of becoming Little Orphan Annie so I could bring down the house with my rendition of "Tomorrow,"  this show isn't just another television show. It's like musical theater crack. 

Every single episode is filled to the brim with intrigue, scandal, and artistry. The cast (Katharine McPhee! Megan Hilty! Debra Messing! Jack Davenport! Anjelica Houston!!!!) is fantastic. The music (all totally Broadway inspired numbers about Marilyn Monroe's life) is fantastic. The story line (sex, intrigue, dream-chasing, infidelity, competition, all culminating in typical theater fashion) is fantastic.


Guys. Are you hearing me? This Show Is Fantastic.


For me, the key to a FANTASTIC musical show, be it in the theater or on screen, is that you walk away from it singing the songs. And I've been humming the songs from Smash now since it started  8 weeks ago. 


Seriously. I don't even know half of the lyrics and I'm still belting out "History is Made At Night" in my shower on a daily basis.




SO GOOD!!!


I can only make it so clear, people. Let me just say that I've already gone back and watched the entire season again On Demand. And I loved every single bit of it the second time through. I've already cleared a space on my DVD shelf for this series when it comes out on DVD. And as soon as NBC releases the songs from Season 1 on iTunes...I will be listening to it All. The. Time.


For now I have to wait until Monday nights at 10 o'clock on NBC to find out what happens next. In the meantime, I'm going to keep singing the lyrics I know, and humming the lyrics I don't. Loudly. And Badly.


Reason #2: Wicked
This famous musical about the Wicked Witch of the West, based on the book written by Gregory McGuire, is one that most people have heard of already. It made its debut on the Broadway stage WAAAAY BAAAACK in 2003, and the music and characters are easily recognizable by most.


In fact, the original Glinda (Kristin Chenoweth) and Elphaba (Idina Menzel) have been featured characters on GLEE. Several of the songs from the soundtrack have also been belted out by Rachel, or Kurt, on the show as well. You can't get any more famous than that, am I right?


So why am I so currently obsessed with all things Wicked?

Because the traveling Broadway show is coming to Charleston in April. And guess who has tickets?!?!?!?!?!?!


(That would be me.)


I've wanted to see Wicked since it first became nationally known, and to finally have the chance to go and see it on a big stage, LIVE...well, I'm just really excited about it. If you can't already tell.


My new life's theme song is "Defying Gravity." It is my new ring tone. And when I'm not singing songs from Smash, I'm belting it out on a regular basis.





Sigh. I cry every time I see it. So powerful!


Also, I want to be Kristin Chenoweth when I grow up. Just sayin'.


I simply CANNOT WAIT to see the show in its entirety next month. And so, in preparation, I've been listening to the soundtrack practically endlessly. So, I will be ready to sing the songs all the way to the theater, all the way through the show, and all the way back home again.


What? That's totally normal.


I can't think of a conclusion to this blog that is witty and funny, and so I'm just going to be completely honest. I'm going to go spend hours on You Tube now, looking for videos from my two new favorite musicals. Have a nice day. Bye now.