So Wicked

"We can't all come and go by bubble!"

I totally missed out on the first wave of the broadway musical Wicked. I remember my friends going in high school and being jealous after they recounted how wonderful it was. So when I read that Wicked was coming to the Fox in its North American tour I immidately jumped on going. There is no other person in the world who would appreciate it with me and make it as fun as it could be by going with me than my mom! We purchased the tickets mid-summer and I counted down the days till September 17th! 

Mom and me before we left for the night. Miguel chose to get the garage in the background instead of the pretty flowers to the left because of my mom's UGA flag. (rolling eyes) 

Mom and I  have tried multiple times to eat at a little mexican restaurant in Virginia Highlands. However, we've somehow always missed the ball on that one. So we decided to go there before Wicked. The reason we've wanted to eat there was because they have these delicious jalapeno margaritas. Mom enjoyed hers! 

Mom with her jalapeno margarita!

We finished dinner pretty early. As we were walking towards the car we were trying to decide what to do to kill some time before headed over to the Fox. That's when I realized I locked the keys in the car. We called AAA and they gave me a 90 minute estimated wait time. This was not going to work with our all-of-a-sudden, rapidly, decreasing timeline. I calmly explained that we had theatre tickets and asked them if there was any way someone could arrive sooner. They said they didn't know. God however, loves us and our hero, the locksmith, came to our rescue in only ten minutes! We kept thanking him profusely for coming to our aid so quickly. He told us he was about to take his break but came to help us out first. I think it really helped that I remained calm on the phone when speaking to AAA. They were more willing to help us. Again, we kept telling him how thankful we were and my mom said something like, "wish we could buy you dinner or something for rescuing us so quickly". To which he responded, "okay, yeah that'd be great". Haha! Caught both mom and me off guard. We obviously didn't think he was allowed to accept things like that from customers. However, my mom, being the generous lady she is, did give him some money so he could go get some dinner. Oh, I forgot to mention the parking lot we were in had an attendant and he thought our predicament was rather funny. That helped add to the joy of the panic you feel when you realize you have locked your keys in your car. Anyways, the whole ordeal didn't last very long and before we knew it we were on our way to the Fox!

Mom while waiting for the AAA man

I feel that I should also mention that my mom was really cool with everything. These type of mistakes can often ruin the mood of what should have been a fun night. However, my mom didn't act mad at me for my mistake and I really appreciated that! Also, Miguel and my dad were also going to drive all the way from Peachtree Corners down to Virginia Highlands to give us a spare key. Luckily, they didn't have to get too far thanks to the quick arrival of the AAA guy. But we greatly appreciated our men being willing to come rescue us!

Let me just say that going to any event at the Fox Theatre NEVER gets old. I get that tingly feeling pounding in my chest every time I walk in those doors and hand my ticket over! I really, really enjoyed the play! It is a happy, redemptive story that has a good message. There were so many quick, smart lines that you couldn't help but crack up at! The Wizard of Oz has never been one of my favorite movies. Like everyone else, the flying monkeys always scared the hell out of me! But after seeing this play unfold I like the collective story much better! I completely understand why this production has had such a long life! Although, interestingly enough, when it first opened in New York City in 2003 it received awful reviews from important critics. Just goes to show that most critic's self-satisfied opinions are pretty meaningless.

Love the Fox!

I do however, have to complain about one thing. In all the many productions I have seen, whether it be a play, musical, or ballet, whether in Atlanta, NYC, or London, have I ever been surrounded by such bad, awful behavior from the audience members. Understand please, that I am not exaggerating in my description of events here. I believe that when the lights dimmed and the first scene began only about 1/3 of the patrons were seated. My mom and I practically jumped out of our seats after the first number ended as we were startled by the stampede of people rushing to their seats. I think my hair was waving by the wind created by the storm of people. At first I thought it was part of the production. But after seeing the absurd number of people participating I realized that was impossible. Seriously, it was like a giant foot stepped down from the amazing star filled ceiling and stomped on an ant pile. My mouth must have been dry from keeping it open so long. Mom and I exchanged whispered comments of shock and then tried to focus back on the actors... but we couldn't even hear what they were saying. It was unbelievably RUDE! As if that were not bad enough... this continued for the first 30 minutes of the first act!!!!! AND after intermission half the theatre did it again! What's more is that people were using flash photography, answering cellphones and getting up, disturbing other patrons as they tried to step over them to leave the theater all throughout the night! WHERE did these people come from!?!? 

But overall the night was fantastic and I wish I could go see Wicked again and again! I have been listening to the soundtrack ever since and definitely count it as one of the best nights I've had this year! I also couldn't have spent it with anyone more fun!