Wicked

A few weeks ago I got a phone call. It was Jesse- one of my friends from the Dental Hygiene program back in the days at ISU. She had 2 extra tickets to Wicked, which she'd bought in advance MONTHS ago.....she was going with her husband and another couple. But the other couple couldn't go anymore and so she wanted to know if I'd want to buy them. 65.00 a piece. HECK YES! Those tickets were going for almost 200 dollars a seat at that point.
Now I have to say....I can't BELIEVE that I've lived my life without seeing this play, or even hearing the music. I actually consider myself a musical buff- bu it turns out I've REALLY been missing out on this one.

I asked Parker if he wanted to go. Now please note: in 3 weeks we have tickets to see Les Miserables in Salt Lake City. We also got these tickets WAY in advance.....like 7 months ago. And Parker (who was raised listening to the music, just like I was) has never seen it. The poor soul. ;) Anyway he's super excited to go. And wouldn't you know....it also happened to fall on the weekend of our anniversary. Nice. So anyway. When I told him about the Wicked tickets, he replied that he didn't want to go, because he wanted his first broadway musical to be Les Mis. Hmm...... Really? I guess I get that. He's only wanted to see it for his entire life. But. This was too good of a deal to pass up. I told him if he's not going then I'm going with my mom.

I informed Parker before I left that I would be buying the soundtrack while I was there (fully knowing that I'd love it and want to listen to it every day). I packed the binoculars (a MUST-HAVE at all broadway plays) and mom and I went to a nice dinner beforehand:
Only having been there one other time (also with my mom). I have to say....to do dinner AND dessert, be prepared to be stuffed. But so good. Rediculously expensive, but it also takes like an hour and a half to eat. It's more of an experience than just a meal. But talk about DELICIOUS! I really do want to go there with Parker one of these days.

This picture is JUST dessert. Whoo! Very good. We had all 4 courses. Which included a cheese-dip appetizer, salad, entree (which had chicken, steak, and lobster), and THEN un-do your pants for dessert. :)

Ok. So Wicked. We found our seats. About 1/3 the way up the balcony on the right side. As we're sitting down, I feel a SLAP on my arm. "Ouch!" I was about to say. Then when I turned around to see who would do such a thing, we saw the Kjar family! (members in my mom and dad's ward). Sitting RIGHT behind us. How fun! I let them use our extra set of binoculars, since I brought 2 and mom had one as well.

I was SOOO impressed. The voices were flawless! The music was amazing. And the storyline was quite intrguing as well. I just loved it. At intermission, I was gonna go buy the soundtrack, but sister Kjar suggested I download it on itunes. Oh yeah! The CD was selling for 25 dollars that evening. I decided to wait. I wanted a program too....but I resisted. Besides, I actually spent the entire time at intermission standing in line to go to the bathroom. Then once into the door (maybe 15 people in front of me) I heard the chime that the play would be starting in a few minutes. No way was I getting locked out when it started again. I left the line and made it back to my seat. Turns out I COULD hold it. :) The play ended late. 11:00 PM. Mom and I couldn't stop yawning. But it was totally worth it. I loved, loved, loved it! When I got home I downloaded the soundtrack. 11.99 for the album. Less than HALF the price. I'll take it. It downloaded in less than 2 minutes. Sync to the ipod took like 10 seconds. And I was listening. Oh yeah! Listening to the soundtrack is almost like re-living the experience! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this music! It's all I've been listening to. I really can't even pick a favorite song. There are SO many that I like. Please. Take a second and watch this video. You'll want to see it to!

Thank you Jesse SO MUCH for calling me!