A civilized evening: Wicked at the Pantages

April 25th 2001 is my ATM card Anniversary-- we celebrate it every year. Seriously. Six years ago this week marks my first time having my very own ATM card, and upon receiving it my bubbly high-schooled self said "MOM! THIS IS SO EXCITING WE SHOULD CELEBRATE IT EVERY YEAR!" Little did I know that my ATM card Anniversary would literally be remembered each April 25th, and that this year it would mean tickets to an incredible musical. My mom rules. :)
My sister, brother, and my brother's girlfriend Lindsey joined us, and we ventured into Hollywood this past Wednesday. Our first stop was Miceli's, my favorite Italian restaurant. Now, I've been to a lot of Italian in my lifetime, and this one is the best because along with the food being delicious and authentic, the waiters double as the entertainment! Ours sat at the piano and sang opera at one point. They sporadically burst out in song. It's such a great environment-- very lively and very...real. Mmmmm.

This reminds me of New York. *sigh*
There was so much great color everywhere! Including Heather's necklace! I just adore the color that sits in LA.
You are SO cool Ryan. ;)Aww. Fam.

Such great ideas were threaded throughout the musical-- it tells an interesting back-story to the Wizard of Oz, focusing on the growing up experiences of the witch and the good fairy. The story explored good and evil, and forced me to challenge my pre-supposed perspectives. To look deeper. To see beyond the obvious. Does the fact that someone has green skin mean she's not beautiful? NO! no no no no no. There was so much wrapped up in the prejudices we have-- mostly due to our own ignorance or fear.

A lot of really intriguing ideas about freedom and fear arose for me. The people of Oz are controlled by fear. The leader himself lacks courage-- he hides behind power with his huge mask and a booming voice but in actuality is frail and timid. There is this one scene where a teacher, who happens to be a goat, loses his ability to talk and eventually loses his intelligence. His freedom is taken from him, and all of the animals in Oz become caged and unable to talk.

There was of course the obvious questions of "was she born wicked or did it happen because of her life experiences"-- but I think the bigger questions are along the lines of what we actually SEE as wicked. What do we think of as good? Are we perceiving the good correctly? Do we misjudge the good...as well as evil? I'm not sure if this will all be helpful if you haven't seen the play... so you'll just have to go see it and then come back and read :)

The cast was interesting because they seemed to be a bit more understated than they could have been. They were modest in their performances, which gave a certain delicacy and quietness to what they were saying. For me, it made things click better than if they had belted every line at the top of their lungs. They weren't forcing things down our throats. Thank you, cast of Wicked. It was beautiful. You were bright lights in my week. Your story taught me more about the world.

And thanks mom for the incredible anniversary! I had a lovely evening.