"Everyone deserves the chance to fly."

Another week gone by. Next week I’ll have been here a month, which just seems unbelievable as it has flown by.

Work was good this week. I really feel like I know what I’m doing and so far I’ve been keeping busy, lots of stuff to do, multi-tasking. It can be stressful but it’s what I like for the most part. I still have moments of “what am I doing here” and “what was I thinking," but it's only temporary, and it was my decision, after all.

Of course, this was before a client asked for chamomile tea, which I said we didn't have, he then haughtily informed me that any herbal tea is chamomile. First, is it really? Because I was under the impression that chamomile was a specific kind of tea. But I mean, could he think for a second that I’m an American, tea is much less of an integral part of our culture than it is here, so maybe consider that I’m trying to learn your customs, and cut me some slack. I mean, I very well could have said something like, “This is the reason we threw your tea in the harbor, bitch.” But I didn’t.

Luckily this was an isolated incident, and everyone else has been incredibly nice and I’ve talked to a lot of people this week and felt very welcomed.

But the highlight of this week was seeing “Wicked” on Thursday. A large part of why I love London so much and why I wanted to come back was the theatre. In the drama class I took here last summer, our professor told us that after learning to examine plays critically in his class, we’d never be able to just see one and simply say “I loved it” or “I hated it,” that we would be much better equipped to critique and analyze what we see on stage. That’s why whenever I see a play I’ll write about in here, more for myself than anything else, because I like to examine what I saw and remember every little detail.

I knew only a few things about the play before I saw it. I knew it was about the witches in Oz “before Dorothy dropped in,” that it was based on a book, that Karey loved it, and that Idina Menzel starred in it. I like knowing enough about a play that I’m not shocked when it starts, but also not knowing enough so that there are still nice surprises. I also knew none of the songs, so that was interesting as well.

First, the sets were spectacular, some of the best I’ve ever seen. They were elaborate and beautiful, while not overpowering the stage or the actors. I thought they portrayed the Emerald City beautifully, with every shade of green imaginable. The actors used every part of the stage, and everything just blended seamlessly.

Second, the actors. The woman playing Glinda was good, though a bit annoying but I know that’s the part. She had a good voice, a little too operatic at times, but she was good at what she did. But the voice did get on my nerves because whenever she and Idina sang together, you always heard hers above all else, and I thought the harmony could have been better. Adam Garcia, aka guy from Coyote Ugly, was also in it, and while his voice wasn’t that strong, he moved incredibly well, just a great dancer and I really liked him in the part. And of course, Idina. As soon as she came on stage, the whole audience went nuts. And throughout the show she got the most cheers and applause nearly everytime she did anything. Her voice is so powerful, so beautiful, and I can’t believe when I first listened to her voice on the Broadway recording of Rent, that I didn’t like it. I plead temporary insanity I suppose. But she is just a great actress and was great playing funny, angry, love-sick, and sad.

Third, the music. It actually took me maybe three or four songs before I got into them, but once I did they were wonderful. My favorite was “Defying Gravity” at the end of the first act, I think, and also the one about how no one mourns the wicked. I also liked any of the ones where Idina belted it out and the audience went crazy. That was also an amazing part of the show, how into it the audience was. There was a great energy, which I don’t always feel at shows but that I felt at this one, that everyone was into it, everyone was excited, and that everyone was being touched by what they were watching.

Finally, the actual story. I thought it was cute how there were subtle allusions to “The Wizard of Oz” thrown in throughout, it helped make the connection between the story everyone knows, but id it without beating you over the head. I liked the plot, about standing up for what you believe in, no matter how different it is, and challenging authority. The program featured a piece by the author of the book on why he wrote it when and how he did, about seeing things in society you don’t agree with, about challenging social norms and the status quo, especially if those in power are helping to perpetuate it. I love plays that have a message, that can be written or take place years ago, but still resonate today, and do so in a non-preachy, sneaky in a good way.

Next entry I’ll answer the questions from the last entry, so if you have something you want to know but haven’t asked do it now!