Wicked at the Eccles

I took a little break from the Sundance Film Festival (a full wrap-up is coming soon) to see the musical Wicked with my sister.  When I found out that the Broadway at the Eccles 2018-2019 season would include Wicked as an add-on to the season package, I thought that, since I have seen it so many times, I didn’t need to get a ticket.  Then I realized how sad I would be if I didn't see it while it was in SLC and decided that I had to go.  My sister Kristine had never seen it before so I got a ticket for her and she was so excited!  Even though I have seen it so many times I think I was just as excited as she was.  This show is extremely clever at telling the story of what happened to the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the East, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow before Dorothy makes an appearance in Oz.  Not only do I love the story but I also love every single song ("What Is This Feeling?," "I'm Not That Girl," and "As Long As You're Mine" are my favorites), the elaborate costumes, the choreography, and the steampunk set design.  It is such an amazing show!  This particular production featured two of the best actresses I've seen as Glinda (Kara Lindsay) and Elphaba (Jackie Burns).  Lindsay is so funny and is particularly adept at all of the physical comedy in the role, especially in the song "Popular." Every actress I've seen play Glinda has added some little bit of business in "Popular" to make it her own and Lindsay was hysterical with her high kicks!  Burns has an incredibly powerful voice, especially in "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed."   She definitely gave me goosebumps!  The rest of the cast is great and I particularly liked Jody Gelb as Madame Morrible (I love all of the character's malapropisms).  This is a production that I highly recommend (even if you have seen it as many times as I have) and it runs at the Eccles Theatre until March 3.  Most shows have sold out but I have noticed tickets on the ArtTix website.

Note:  I ran into my dear friend Karen in the elevator, I saw one of my current students in the lobby, and found one of my colleagues in the English department at intermission (I got her tickets before they went on sale to the public).  I felt really popular!