My "Wicked" Birthday Weekend

I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday aside from spending it with Arvin and watching my favorite Broadway show -- Wicked. So, when the cast was announced for the LA Production in November and I found out that it was going to be Eden Espinosa and Megan Hilty, I immediately got tickets to the show for my birthday.

Dropped Jack at the kennel last Thursday and then off we went to LA. We took the ultimate driving machine for a long drive as well on this trip. I drove part of the way. The car's too fast. I normally just go maybe around 75 mph to about 80ish max on the freeway. With this car, I think I went over 100 mph and was cruising along at an average 80 mph while watching out for the CHP -- I don't want to end up with a speeding ticket! The handling is awesome with this car. Clearly, it also has the power. Having a GPS navigation system in the car is great! We're not familiar with LA but we were able to go where we needed to go. It rerouted us based on the traffic conditions and when we took the wrong turn, it told us how to get back on track.

So last night, we went to see Wicked on my birthday. After the show, I was telling Arvin that I really really want to see Wicked from the front row. You can only sit there is you win the Wicked lottery -- you put in your name 2 hrs before the start of each show and they draw the winners. If you get picked, you can get up to 2 tickets for $25 each. Anyways, I think he knew how much I wanted to see the show from the front row so he agreed to go try the lottery today. We went and played the lottery for the matinee performance. Arvin's name got picked!!!! So we were able to get tickets for the front row today! I keep on telling him that he's my lucky charm. I've tried the Wicked lottery in New York so many times already and I have never won. He kept on telling me that I picked well. He gave me my heart's desire -- to watch Wicked from the front row and the big plus was Eden and Megan were the ones performing!

I'm going to focus more on today's show since I got to see it from the front row. Our seats were almost dead center on the front row. You had to look up a bit from were were were sitting since we were so close to the stage but it wasn't such a big deal. I can't explain how awesome it is to watch your favorite show with your favorite performers from the front row. I absolutely LOVED it! The cast in LA is so much better than the cast on Broadway. I really liked this cast a lot. They're all so talented. Eden was amazing! I absolutely love seeing her perform. She has the best facial expressions and she absolutely rocks when she's on stage. She knows how to suck you into the story and makes you feel how she feels when she's performing. I've seen so many shows and not a lot of performers can actually do that. Seeing her fly in Defying Gravity from where I was sitting was just breathtaking. That scene never fails to give me goosebumps. Megan was wonderful as well. She really knows how to work the crowd and her comedic timing is awesome. Eden and Megan are still my favorite duo in Wicked. I've seen the show so many times but I still got really teary eyed when they sang For Good. I could see how sad they both were while singing that song and they were even crying so what can I say, I got carried away.

As of today, I've seen Wicked 7 times and I have seen 15 shows this year (Wicked 3x). I'm probably going to skip Wicked for a while even if I end up in NY again soon. I'm not too thrilled with the current Broadway cast-- they pale in comparison with the LA cast. We'll see once the cast changes if there is a compelling reason for me to go watch the new cast. It's too bad I don't really get to go to LA for business. I would love to see the show again as long as Eden and Megan are still in it.

I'll never forget this birthday weekend. I really couldn't ask for anything more. It really meant a lot to me being able to see my favorite show with my favorite performers from the front row with Arvin.

Wicked in LA

They finally announced the cast for the LA production of Wicked. It's Eden Espinosa and Megan Hilty for the role of Elphaba and Glinda!

I am sooooooo happy!!! They're my favorite pair. I've seen them perform together twice on Broadway earlier this year.

I was waiting for the casting news before buying tickets to the show. I was hoping it was going to be both of them or even just Eden. So, naturally, after I heard who was in the cast, off I go to buy tickets. :) Hubby and I are going to watch Wicked in LA on my birthday next year. That's 7 months from now (opening night February 10, 2007) but I couldn't risk not having tickets or not having good seats for the show. Anyways, I managed to get 10th row left of center orchestra. I am soooo stoked. This it that one birthday that I am actually looking forward to. heheheh.....

Anyways, I managed to find video clips of Eden and Megan singing at Universal citywalk today when they announced the LA cast. Stephen Schwartz (composer) is accompanying them on the piano. Can't get better than this! Enjoy!

Eden - Wizard and I
Umm... need I say more? She's awesome!

Megan - Popular
She's hilarious. She's definitely Glinda in the flesh. Love her!

Eden and Megan - For Good
Awww... the end of this video is just so sweet. They both actually look happy singing this song together. The first time I watched Wicked and I heard the two of them sing this during the show, I was crying.

Wicked

I have a new favorite Broadway show! It's called Wicked! :) So move over Lea Salonga and Miss Saigon...

I was planning to watch maybe 2 shows during my trip. I wasn't too sure what to watch plus I didn't really keep up with what's on Broadway ever since I moved out to SF several years ago. I watch shows once in a while here in SF but the experience is just different. I get a different feeling when I'm watching it on Broadway compared to when it's on tour. I never regretted moving west but if there is one thing I miss by moving out to SF, it's Broadway!

My short list consisted of the following: The Light in the Piazza, Avenue Q, and Mamma Mia. Wicked was not even on my list. Thanks to my fellow Dreadnaughts on the Judith McNaught Bulletin Board, they recommended that I watch Wicked. A lot of them chimed in that they love it so much and tickets are hard to come by, blah blah blah... Well, I was easily convinced and I decided to get a ticket for Wicked based on their recommendation and someone mentioned that there will be a new actress taking over the role of Elphaba and that she is fantastic. I had no idea who she was. Nor did I care much about it. All I really wanted was to watch a show. This was about 2 weeks before my trip.

Fast forward to 1/17/2005 (or is it rewind from this day?). OMG! OMG! The show was amazing. Eden Espinosa who is playing Elphaba is SENSATIONAL! She's pretty darn good. Eden IS Elphaba for me. She had my attention from the moment that she walked on stage. Even when the spotlight was not on her and she was on stage, you could feel her presence. Very good actress. Very powerful voice. She gave me the chills when she sang Defying Gravity. It felt like she was trying to blow the top off the Gershwin Theatre. After listening to her sing that song, I knew I just had to watch it again. I went back to the hotel and looked on Ticketmaster to see if I could get tickets before Saturday. I also bought the Wicked Original Soundtrack off iTunes and just kept listening to it. Up to this day, it's still playing in a loop on my iPod. I also found the libretto for Wicked online and read it.

Now for Thursday (1/19/05) night's performance. I had a great seat! 4th row center orchestra, towards the righthand side of the stage. I was so happy about the seat. Elphaba stays at the right side of the stage most of the time. It was great that I was able to see the facial expressions. Eden's facial expressions where amazing. She brings out so much emotion to the role and makes Elphaba seem so real -- so HUMAN. She's so convincing in that role that she made me believe that she (Eden) IS Elphaba. She just blew me away. Her voice is so powerful and it was such a joy listening to her sing. I really enjoyed watching her a lot. It was worth every penny getting the tickets for the second time just to hear sing and watch her act. Megan Hilty (Glinda) played her role to perfection as well. She has the best lines in the show! Such a versatile actress with a lot of personality. She just cracked me up. I love both of them! I never knew who they were until I watched the show but they sure have made a fan out of me. I will definitely watch both Eden and Megan on any show!

I did the stagedoor after the show. Eden and Megan signed my stuff. They were both very nice. Eden is such a sweatheart. She seems very down to earth. Megan was, well, Glinda personified. It felt like you were still talking to Glinda. Well of course my camera decided not to work. I would've had a picture with both of them. Oh well... maybe next time. I guess I will just have to watch it again! :)

I wish I can go back to NYC in the next few months. I definitely will watch it again if Eden and Megan are still on the show.