Something Wicked this way comes...

Last night was opening night for Wicked at the Fox Theater, the first of a 4 week stint. I have been searching for discount tickets for weeks for this show (I really hate to pay full price but would've done it if I couldn't get a deal) and came across a new deal site specifically for tickets- concerts, plays, sporting events. So I must make sure my readers of this entertainment blog know about it...www.goldstar.com. You can sign up for their daily or weekly deals newsletter, similar to Groupon. They had a special for $50 Wicked tickets for Wednesday and Thursday only, so I grabbed two and texted the sitter and my bestie, Kim.

I moved from Manhattan in 2003, the year Wicked opened on Broadway, and didn't get to see it then. It has since been through Atlanta one or two times and I was busy with babies or some such. I tried reading the book and only got through about 1/3 of it...it was really dark and just not my thing. Now a few of the songs have made their way to popular culture (Rachel sang, "Defying Gravity" on Glee last season) and the two original actresses in the show have both had guest starring roles on Glee: Kristen Chenowith as April Rhodes and Idina Menzel as Rachel's real mom. But I didn't really know what the show was about.

At it's heart, it's a friendship tale. Elphaba was born green and unloved. Her heart was not wicked, but mostly misunderstood. Her sister, Nessarose, was the favored one and was wheelchair bound, for which Elphaba blames herself. She meets Galinda (who later shortens it to Glinda) at boarding school, who is blond and perky and everything Elphaba is not. She is such a funny character- her made-up words for things had me laughing out loud. (When she got to Oz, she declared it "Sooo Ozmopolitan!") But the two girls end up helping each other and becoming friends and drawing on each other's strengths. Elphaba's strength is her intelligence and natural gift of witchcraft, while Glinda wants to help her become popular (another hilarious song.) Elphaba becomes outraged at the way people begin treating the animals, by putting them in cages and not allowing them to speak, so she travels to Oz to get the Wizard's help. The Wizard turns out to be the one behind the whole silencing of the animals, and so Elphaba escapes and is declared by all of Oz to be Wicked. Glinda stays, lured by the popularity of being the right hand of the Wizard. I won't spoil the rest of the show for anybody who hasn't seen it...but it does such an amazing job with the songs, special effects, and very clever storyline of bringing in the tin man, cowardly lion and eventually the scarecrow too.

In the end, the two witches sing a song to each other called, "For Good" where Glinda says that she doesn't know if its true that people come into each other's lives for a reason, but she "knows I am who I am today because I knew you." And Elphaba tells Glinda that "whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend."

It couldn't be more fitting that Kim and I saw this show together. She was my first friend in our subdivision, we have shared 3 nannies (only 2 of them were crazy), the ups and downs of life and loss and love, and lots of laughs. She is such an amazing person- fiercely loyal to her family and friends- and one of the strongest women I know. When we moved to Texas, Kim and Em were our first visitors and when we had the opportunity to move back, Kim paved the way (how many friends would stand in line for you to ensure your kids' spot in preschool??). I cried with her when she lost her friend to breast cancer, and walked 60 miles with her on the Susan G. Komen walk. When I made the decision to stop working and stay at home with the kids, Kim was so supportive and never made me feel like my job is less important than hers (even though she is so accomplished in her career.) We would do anything for each other, and it feels so good to know that I have her on my side. Like Elphaba and Glinda, she has helped re-write my story by being my friend. (And if we have to pick which is which, she is so the super smart green witch and I'm on the one with a closet full of glittery shoes. :)

So you have almost 4 weeks to go see this show...it makes for a lovely date night but an even better girlfriend night. However you get there, I say just go!