We were so lucky to be able to attend "Wicked" at the Orpheium Theater in San Francisco. We has been wanting to see it for a long time and patiently waited for for it to come our way. Our patience paid off. We bought tickets in November.
Although I knew most of the story line, I was even surprised by some of the 'extras' that I didn't know about. It surpassed my expectations. It was a flawless performance and the girls jumped up at standing ovation time!
What was fun was talking to Madison and Payton about it afterward. I asked them who they would like to be if they were in a production of "Wicked". Oh course my strong spirited, free thinking (and often perceived to be misunderstood) Madison said Elphaba hands down. I wasn't quite sure how Payton would go. She is known for caring for the less fortunate, and poor Elphaba fits that bill. Elphaba also frees a caged lion cub and tries to do several other 'kind' deeds which I thought would also be appealing to Payton.
There wasn't any hesitation in Payton's voice either, "Glinda" she said. Glinda is portrayed as a happy, people pleasing 'popular' girl. "I think I am the most like her and she has curly hair." It made me smile. She also loved Glinda's clothes, songs, etc, etc, etc. So sweet.
What was also interesting to me was how difficult it was for Payton to reconcile "Wicked" (the other side of the story) with how the Wicked Witch is portrayed in the "Wizard of Oz". I find it fascinating to watch how kids process information. That whole 'two sides to every story' mentality is difficult to grasp. A bad person is always a bad person aren't they? She is working on it, but it is a process. Some people struggle with it their whole lives. It is definitely a major step in understanding people and the an important step in compassion.
2 comments:
I wonder if Payton would get a kick out of reading all 14 Wizard of Oz books? (the originals by Frank Baum, not the ones by people trying to ride his coattails to success) There is a lot of political commentary in them, symbolically written of course, about what was going on in America in the 30s & 40s. Plus you get to find out all sorts of things about the characters in Oz regarding what their lives were like prior to Dorothy's original visit via tornado.
Great suggestion. She listened to a couple of them on CD a couple of years ago but I think it would be fun for her to read them now! Thanks!
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