There’s no business like show business…
I like being entertained as much as the next guy. I enjoy heading to a movie now and then. I can appreciate the sound of live music. Even simple things like watching the good old boob tube or settling into a good read can be a nice way to relax or carve some me time out of the day. But nothing is quite like going to see a live theater performance. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the musical Wicked. It did not disappoint.
I have heard that this musical was terrific, and have been wanting to go see it for years now. When I heard some friends mention that they were going, I thought to myself, I should make a point to go to see it this year. It’s definitely a splurge type item for me. A friend and I had decided to look for tickets, and the best price we could score was $125. That was hard for me to swallow, but I knew it was something I only do once in a great while, and had put it off for a few years, so I decided to go for it. I have lived in the DC area for over a decade, and sadly, this was the very first time that I attended an event at the Kennedy center. Why did I wait so long? (Probably mostly due to having kids–that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it). I was also under the impression that my husband didn’t really care to see plays and musicals, so I never asked him to do such things for date nights. But, when he got wind I was going, he wanted to go too. Hmm. So, we headed out for an evening of fun with one of our dear friends. There’s nothing like vibe that you experience going to live theater. All the people gathering together. Everyone dressing to the occasion (mostly anyway!). It’s just a huge undertaking nearly 2500 people at one time to go to see one event. The building itself is a beautiful, and I particularly love the way it looks at night. Seeing the amazing sets come to life and just being immersed in the performance is like no other. It’s fun too, if you happen to experience a flub or a prop not working to see how the actors on stage handle it.
The story itself is basically a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. Being that I had seen that movie countless times as a kid, and considered it a cherished classic provoked enough interest for me to want to see it. The writing was witty and smart and at times brought the whole audience into great snickers of laughter. I think the lines that they reel off were the best part of the whole show, so I won’t ruin it for anyone that hasn’t seen it. Suffice it to say they are obviously one of the things that has made it such a long running, often sold out show. My biggest take away from their version of the story was that you could actually empathize with the Wicked Witch, and it seemed to show that the only thing she actually did that was so awful was be born green. It definitely made you think and shows that sometimes things are not always as they seem. So my advice for the day, take in a show. Even if you don’t want to splurge on something so expensive, there are lots of options out there that community theater to offer. Exposing yourself to a more dimensional form of entertainment than just the usual TV or movie is definitely worth a splurge every now and then. Get out there and do it!