#177 - wicked

i just went to see the musical WICKED at keller auditorium in portland. it was awesome! WICKED is based on the novel of the same name, by gregory maguire. it tells the story of the wicked witch of the west from wizard of oz, before and how she became wicked. it's a very creative and interesting idea and gives me a new appreciation for the movie.i read the book maybe 6 months ago, when i learned that the musical was coming to portland. although it's not for everyone, i really enjoyed it. the book is very dark and i wondered how they would make it okay for family audiences. so when i saw it the other day i learned - they changed it a lot. the general plot and story was the same but there were many important changes from the book that i won't go into. i am still trying to figure out if i am okay with those changes. before i went to see WICKED i listened to the soundtrack endlessly and really enjoy all the lyrics and melodies. watching it finally i was able to tie together the songs and it was pretty fun. the acting was awesome as well, i really enjoyed watching the actors.in the original production, idina menzel (RENT) was the main character elphaba. that was one of the draws of WICKED for me, being a huge RENT fan and knowing her voice. although she was not in the traveling group that i saw, she is on the soundtrack.

if you have a chance to go see WICKED, do it! it's a fun musical and story. the costumes were pretty awesome too. i'd totally recommend the book if you are into dark stories that put a twist on what you think you know. it totally gives you empathy into wickedness and you know why she wanted those damn ruby slippers!