Wowed By Wicked

It was a much awaited day today when Scott, Grandma Dorothy and Olivia journed to the Apollo Victoria theater to see Wicked. Olivia having a good understanding of the plot of the Wizard of Oz, she had no problem following this backstory as it developed. But even more amazing were the sets, the costumes, the music and the dancing. She is definitely a convert to the art of theater. The theater experience itself was interesting in a couple of regards. First, since Laura and I had seen Wicked in New York in August, I could compare and contrast this production. At least one cast member was the same but most were London actors, and as a result, the program was slightly harder to follow because all dialogue and music was spoken/sung with a British accent. I hadn't realized how much of a difference that makes. Second, there were very slight variation in the sets and dialogue which did nothing but add to the production, and finally, in my personal opinion, the American cast was simply better loolking, although they had nothing on the amazing singing voices of the Brits. Other notable difference were the lack of any program at the London production--something standard in American theater and the omnipresence of food, liquor and beverages in the theater itself, which was certainly different from the slam-it-down-at-intermission approach to refreshments of Americans. Brits must think we are wildly uncivilized when they attend theater in York. Oh, and don't worry about us leaving the little girls behind: they will by Avenue Q with Mom on February 27.