The Theatre, The Theatre (or My Wicked Awesome Mother’s Day Present)

So, first off, I have to apologize for my absence here at urbanmoms over the last few months. As some of you may know, my second son was born April 19. Coincidence as far as my absence goes?  I think not! Anyway, adjusting to life with two boys under 3 has been both wonderful & difficult.  And as most of you know, there is just not enough time during the day.  So, watching a movie, even though I love to do so, has been pushed to the backburner (sleep, anyone?).  I know there are people who blog with new babies, 5 kids, 2 dogs, a cat, & a rat, all seemingly with one hand tied behind their backs.  Not I.  If it comes down to a choice between sleep & writing, sorry folks, but sleep wins every time!!  I admit it…I’m selfish!!  So, Jen & Kath here at urbanmoms.ca have been wonderful to give me the time I need to get back into the swing of things & keep the Movie Mom blog going with guest bloggers until I can take the reins again.  I plan on writing here, when I can, over the next 2 months or so & hopefully return to normal (ha ha, what exactly is that?!?) by September or so.  Please keep checking in every week for the fabulous guest bloggers.  Thanks all for your patience & support.

Well if you couldn’t guess by my terrible pun in the title, my hubby took me to see Wicked for Mother’s Day.  Wow, is all I can say (well, not really, because that would be sooo out of character for me).  We went to the matinee showing while my hubby’s parents babysat the boys (thanks G-Ma & G-Pa, by the way) & then out to dinner afterward with 2 other couples.  What a gloriously wonderful day!  Except for that whole incident with a breast-pump, valet parking, & windows that are not quite as tinted as I thought they were.  I’ll spare you the details.

If you don’t know about Wicked, it is a Broadway musical based on the Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  We follow the lives of young Elphaba (said Wicked Witch) & Glinda (say it with me folks who have seen it…."Ga-Linda") the Good Witch, as they intersect at school & beyond.  What follows is a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum’s classic tale with the common theme of not judging a book by it’s cover.  The story is truly clever & will have you saying "a-ha" as this tale is told parallel to the original Wizard of Oz story.

As far as musicals go, this one is right up there with the greats.  Although the music may not have the grandeur of say a Phantom or Les Miserables, the lyrics are just so witty, funny, & poignant, you will have a hard time not singing them for weeks afterward.  A big stand out is the song "Popular", which literally had us in stitches with laughter.

What really elevates the musical are the two female leads.  We had the pleasure to see Teal Wicks as Elphaba & Erin Mackey (above) as Glinda.  Wicks is a tiny thing with a great, big voice that just about blows the roof off the theatre & Mackey has the comedic timing of some of the greats (think Lucille Ball or Carol Burnett) combined with a voice that ranges from "pop-y" to operatic.

Wicked has a legion of fans around the world, so frankly I seem to be a little late to the game, but hey, better late than never.  It would be a great idea for a girl’s night out or fabulous to take your daughters, grand-daughters or nieces to see.  The LA production plays through Jan 2009 & the touring production is currently in Buffalo, NY.  The tour will be in Ottawa Aug 13-31 & in Detroit from Dec 10-Jan 4.  For more 2008/2009 dates & cities, check out the official Wicked website.