www.wickedthemusical.com

"So if you care to find me, look to the western sky.
As someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to FLY!
And if I'm flying solo at least I'm flying free-
To those who'd ground me, take a message back from me:
Tell them how I'm defying gravity..."












So sings Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West, in "Wicked" which is quite possibly THE best show I've ever seen on Broadway. I was completely entranced for all 2 hours and 30 minutes, mouth gaping in awe of the talent before me. I had wondered if listening to and memorizing the entire soundtrack would spoil it for me. Not a chance. And the ending! I'm not going to give it away but when it happened I was like a little kid, hands clapping in joy and then pressed to my face in delight.

I realize that for a select few of us, musicals make perfect sense. Of course I'm going to break into song now, in the middle of this street, to express my happiness! And I will be joined by others who will dance around me in perfect unison. Of course I will slip into a corner and sing a song of wistful envy and no one else will be able to hear me. Of course I will finish my story with a heartstring tugging song that eloquently sums up all my thoughts.

But why do they capture me so? I think I just am able to slip off into that imaginary world more easily than some. It has never been hard for me to put myself into the shoes of another character and feel their feelings. Musicals tell grand stories. Stories of hope, love, anger, bravery. The characters may be real or imaginary, but the musical itself captures the essence of those stories. And those are stories that we live out day to day. John Eldridge would also say that those stories remind us of the Gospel-of a fall and a redemption. Combine all that with my adoration of music and voila! A lover of musicals am I.

I realize that this is now the second entry about things of Oz. Let me assure you that I am not completely obsessed. But, it is part of my own personal definition of a Drama Queen. A Drama Queen is passionate. She feels things deeply and is not afraid to express them. And my friends assure me that this is indeed who I am.


"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn.
And we are led to those who help us most to grow,
If we let them and we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you...
So let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I learned from you,
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend...Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."