But here's the story of Wicked.
I love Wicked. Hard.
If you've never seen it, it's the story of the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Because no matter how single dimensionally she was portrayed in the original movie, the green witch has a story too. The musical Wicked took the best parts out of the book and set them to music. It's pretty great.
The first time I saw Wicked was with Doss at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Because I was with Doss, the show was romantic. It was all about the green witch finding love. We sat in the second row. It was awesome.
When I heard Wicked was coming to Birmingham, I wanted to see it again. Because Wicked. I know they're making a movie of it, but that won't be out for THREE YEARS. That's just... no. But I didn't want to see it with Doss. I mean, I always want to see it with Doss. But this time, I wanted to see Wicked as the story of a green girl coming into her own. Girl power, using your talents, fighting for your happy ending... that whole thing. If I saw it with Doss, it would be a love story. I don't know why I work that way, it's just how it is. But I wanted the experience of the story of the girl, not the couple. Because I'm still fighting to keep the Dark at bay, it's what I felt I needed.
I scored a great deal on some seats in the fourth row and I decided to invoke the powers of the Make a Wish to get a buddy to go see it with me. It's amazing what you can get away with after you have cancer.
So off we went. And it was so good! The best Galinda I've ever seen. Yep. And those fourth row seats turned out to be front row. So good.
But here's the thing... I had considered bringing Emi with me to see it. I mean, what's more girl power than a mother/daughter duo? But her behavior hadn't been... exemplary. So I decided not to risk bringing Miss SassyPants on the three hour drive to the theater. Until I saw the Playbill. The two main characters were played by actresses named Amanda and Emily. Our names. It was a sign. So I tracked down a couple of super cheap tickets for another night- in the very back row of the highest balcony. And it was every bit as awesome up there as it had been up front.
During intermission, I texted Doss and found out that our favorite neighbor knows the stage manager for this touring company. Most little girls wouldn't be completely psyched to meet a stage manager. But this is my kid. And the stage manager is, to her, THE most important person in the show. Because the stage manager gets a clipboard.
I know.
Whatever. After the show, thanks to Alonzo's whimsy, we got to meet the stage manager. But she didn't have her clipboard with her.
Then we, Emily and Amanda, met the two main performers of the show, Emily and Amanda.
And then the girl slept in the backseat for the whole three hour drive home.
Totally worth it.
