Wicked, the musical (Don't read this, Tami Allen)

Kathy and I went to see Wicked this week on opening night. The seats were awesome...best I've ever had. I love musicals, and it is always great to get out on the town for a night. But, this one wasn't my favorite (sorry, Tami). The music was fine, and the costumes were pretty cool and colorful. However, the script seemed like a combination of Legally Blonde and Beauty and the Beast, in a pretty-predictable way. All in all, I think they just tried too hard...too hard to be funny, too hard to be sentimental, too hard to link everything logically, but with a twist, to the Wizard of Oz.

My only prior Broadway-type musical experiences were Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, all of which I loved. With Wicked, I kept waiting for the deep, thought-provoking lessons of life. Sure, they tried to put them in there, but it all came across too forced for my liking. Clearly, the ladies on either side of us, however, were having a very different experience. One kept shrieking, as if she were a 10-year-old at a Hannah Montanta concert. The lady on the other side was in tears a few times and swayed with the music...a lot.

It was still a fun night, and I've got a few of the tunes stuck in my head. Maybe I was expecting too much after hearing so much hype from coworkers and friends. Oh, well. At least now I know how the Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow came to be (and all this time, I thought Dorothy imagined them into her dream because they were her uncles and friends).