Wicked

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I was just wondering who here has seen the Broadway musical Wicked, if anyone. I just saw it this past weekend (12/17/11) and LOVED it. I especially loved the song Defying Gravity so much I'm listening to it as I type this. XD XD XD XD XD XD.

saw it twice. sang "defying gravity" and another really pretty song with a good meaning, "i have been changed for good" with our local chorale. it's amazing that a musical that offers and alternate explanation for the events of the wizard of oz can make you cry. this musical is a wonderful tale of friendship.

Yeah those were my two favorites. I can't stop listening 2 Defying Gravity. lol. u got 2 sing I Have Been Changed for Good? Lucky!! !! !! ! lol. Also, without a doubt. It also answered a lot of questions about the original Wizard of Oz.

I haven't seen it but I watched a clip on YouTube out of curiosity. I'm not a big fan of musicals. But anyway, the books are wonderful. Wicked Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men and I'm waiting to get Out of Oz from the library. It would be easy to discount the books based on the subject but they are not frivolous at all. Elphaba is a definite possible aspie.

No. I've read it, thought it was okay.

The books, from what I know (I've never read them), are very different from the musical. I've seen it twice, both times in London. It's tied for my favourite musical. I certainly can identify with Elphaba: the way she's misunderstood and an outcast, her idealism etc.

I only saw the one clip, but musicals are usually rather lighthearted and the books are anything but.

i might take my mum for her birthday

Thank you everyone for responding. Now to reply to your comments in order:

Aimless: What clip did you watch? I didn't know there were other books out about the world of Oz. Also, I didn't even think of Elphaba possibly being an Aspie. Definately something to wonder about. Thanks for that idea.

Ambivalence: Having only seen it, I can't talk about the book. What I can talk about is how cool all the special effects were, especially doing my favorite song Defying Gravity. Youtube that song to see what I mean if you want.

AstroGeek: You're lucky you got to see it in London, with Idina and Kristen?! I sware I would have died to see it there and with them, although seeing it in Hollywood with different people was cool too. Like you I also could DEFINATLY identify with Elphaba wanting to be her own person, do things for herself and not caring what anyone else thought, as that's how I am.

Aimless: Ok I will say that it was kind of lighthearted and kid appropriate, there were also times were such when you learn how the tinman, scarecrow and lion came to be that way, where it got kinda dark (& I'm not talking about the lighting lol).

OneStepBeyond: I say go for it if you can. If you enjoy musicals, it's a MUST. I'd actually see it again if I could. Being as I can't I'm settling for the soundtrack...and any clips I can find online.

Once again, thank you everyone for replying and letting me know what you thought about it, be it positive or negitive I don't care. Everyone has a right to their own opinion.

Actually re: the darkness aspect, I grew up on the original Frank L Baum book and now that you mention it, the explanation of how the Tin Man became the Tin Man was pretty gruesome. Baum wrote more Oz books too btw.

I just got the last book "Out of Oz" from the library and it gives a plot summary of all 3 previous books. The book is always more involved than the play or the movie, otherwise the play or movie would be too long. But reading it I found out something shocking about Elphaba's paternity that I somehow missed. Maybe Maguire referred to it metaphorically and I didn't catch it.

But the Maguire Oz books are definitely worth a read, especially after the first one when he starts expanding his idea of Oz. I really really suck at describing books so I won't try. Call them an epic sociopolitical history of Oz, only more.

Someone talking about musicals! Musical Theatre is my biggest obsession.

I've seen Wicked three times. I saw Kristin Chenoweth's final performance as Glinda in New York, and I saw the tour twice in Toronto.

And as for musicals not usually being dark, I love the darker shows. Look at some of Sondheim's stuff. Sweeney Todd. Into The Woods (spoiler: A lot of people die.)

Sondheim was actually abused by his mother as a child. She actually once said to him, "My one regret is giving you life." I think this carries over into his work, a lot of his musicals have strong female characters - using the two Sondheim shows I've already mentioned, for example Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, or the Witch in Into the Woods. In Into the Woods, the witch even is accused by her daughter of doing a horrible job bringing her up, and the Witch counters with "I was only trying to be a good mother." This line usually gets some laughs because of the way it is presented, but if you think about it, it really is quite dark.

And I'm going to stop monologuing about Sondheim in a thread that was definitely not meant for it now.