I just bought tickets to see Wicked in Atlanta in May and I can't wait! The tickets were ridiculously expensive from a ticket broker but I think it will be worth it. Also excited to check out the new Georgia Aquarium. :)

My husband got a free tour, including a behind the scenes tour, of the aquarium--he worked with them last summer! He loved everything about it.

But dang, I just can't see paying over $100 per ticket when the family has so many people who want to see it. I guess we'll wait and hope it gets made into a movie.

I saw Wicked over Christmas in NY & I loved it.

After seeing the musical though, the book was a HUGE letdown...it was so different.

I think the book was probably really good....but having expected at least some resemblance of the same story between the book & the show I was surprised to find none.

I did really like the whole Nazi Germany motiff running throughout though...

The book left a lot open...

You get a better experience from the book if you read it before you see the musical. I think that you need to consider the book and the musical two different versions of the same story. Just like the book was a different version of the Wizard of Oz, which was a different version of the original L. Frank Baum books.

I happen to looooove both the book and the musical. I read the book in 2003 and then found the soundtrack to the muscial in 2004. I finally saw the musical in NY in the summer of 2005 and practically cried throughout the entire thing, I was so exc ited to see it. I just find the musical very powerful.

I am in the middle of Son of a Witch and can't wait to finish it.

I'm going to see it in July! I got in on a package deal that covers matinee tickets, the bus ride, and dinner for $150. I didn't think that was too bad considering what I COULD wind up paying.

Isn't it sad that Theatre, like sports and other entertainment has priced itself out of the range of many families?

It is a great show.

The lyrics are really really bad. otherwise, it's a fun musical where you don't expect anything but to get entertain. I'll stick with Sondheim's material.

Into the words
that trip your lip,
and fry your brain,
and sprain your tounge.

Into the words,
a cave so dark,
you better bring a torch in.

Into the words,
the what,
the why,
the where,
the how,
the plot began.

Into the words,
more letters then they sell on "Wheel Of Fortune".

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I love Into the Woods! In the words of my grandmother, "You know, Sondheim is very difficult to sing..." We have gone to a community theater with her 3-4 times a year for the last 15-20 years and she says that every time we see a Sondheim show. It has become a family joke.

And I think Wicked has great lyrics. But maybe women will connect with the material more than men....

Ding, Ding, Ding...I think this is it!! I LOVE the lyrics, but my husband thinks their stupid. (But he can't get the "No Good Deeds" melody out of his head sometimes!)

Even my sister who hates musical theater loves Wicked. I think that it resonates with women because we have all felt like Elphaba or Glinda at some point in our lives. The songs really hit home on the feelings women have. The desire to acheive validation in The Wizard and I, the feeling like you are not good enough to be loved in I'm not that Girl, the desire to get to the really good part of your life in One Short Day, the unrelenting push to be yourself in the face of everything in Defying Gravity. I could go on all day.

That's funny. How anyone can sing Sondheim is totally beyond me.

As an aside, Daughter number one is Lily in The Secret Garden here in the Denver area at the moment and her husband is directing. Unbelievably great reviews. The really are doing an outstanding job.

She has played Martha three times going back to high school, and we never realized how much her (matured) voice sounds like Lily on the cast CD.

Got to love Forbidden Broadway. :)

As for Wicked's lyric:

Nessa, Nessa
I have something to conffess-a

Seriously, that is pathetic.

The melodies, on the other hand, will stick in your head for hours. I can't get POPULAR out of my head.

I admit that particular line (and there are others too) is pathetic. But you have to admit that "Popular" is a very clever song.

One of my all-time favorites. (Love Forbidden Broadway, too.)
Technically, though, that's not the lyric:

Uh -- Nessa
I've got something to confess, a
reason why, well --
I asked you here tonight.

Sure, it can sound a little hokey if the singer's not careful, but breaking the lines that way is a time honored method -- from Cole Porter to Sondheim (and Dr. Suess) -- of keeping the rhyme scheme interesting and moving.
That's one reason I love him. His music is challenging to be sure, but also rewarding, both to sing and to listen to.
Very, very cool. Wish I lived closer to Denver.