"Wicked"

This week I got to see the musical “Wicked” for the first time! It was so amazing. The musical had actually come to Salt Lake earlier this year, but it was during the time when my husband lost his job, and we couldn’t afford to go.

Since I’m writing a musical right now, I just really wanted to see it, so I looked online and thought I’d see where it was playing. It was playing in Denver Colorado. My sister happens to live there, and I hadn’t ever seen her place before. I was amazed when I decided to see how much tickets cost. It ended up being cheaper to fly to Denver and watch it there, than it was to have watched it in Utah. We decided to make it a special get away, and my husband and I both went, leaving our 7 children, in the hands of my very capable mother-in-law.

I loved it. I already had all the music memorized. I studied it, sung it, listened to it and played it before I ever saw it. I remember when I was first introduced to it. My sister-in-law invited me to come over to a friends house and just sing. We took turns playing the piano and picking songs. I was so blown away by the music. I went and bought the CD, that very week. My kids and I like to listen to the music when we’re cleaning house. They all sing, and it’s very fun.

It was fun to come home and retell the story to my kids. There’s quite a bit that you can’t guess from just listening to the music. I feel bad that if my kids are ever able to see it, I’ve ruined it for them, but it was so fun!

A couple of things I learned that I want to incorporate in my own musical– Amazing orchestrations. I’m not sure how I’ll accomplish that one yet, but hopefully someday.
I also need to simplify, there’s a lot that a smart audience can just figure out on their own. I don’t have to spell everything out, plus it makes it shorter!

Two things that really helped me were the fact that I don’t have to underscore the entire musical. “Wicked” didn’t, and it worked fine. Also, if your musical is character driven, the sets aren’t such a big deal. I did love the sets to “Wicked”, but they didn’t compare to like “Phantom of the Opera”. When I went away from that one, that was all I could think about. That and the music.

So anyway, just some thoughts I thought I’d share. You’re welcome to share your opinions…