Don't walk, people. Run, drive, or fly.

Everyone needs to go see Wicked right now. Seriously. I would buy a full-price ticket to go back and watch it again tomorrow if I could. So, so fabulous.



First off, the set is amazing. As are the costumes. And the music. And everything else. I got chills the second the music started, and then kept getting them over and over again, which is how you do it, Mary Poppins. At the end I had no hesitations about giving a standing ovation, since it absolutely met the "must be so fabulous as to make me forget where I am and possibly transport my soul from my body" criteria.

I have never been in a better or more excited audience. When the curtain went up everyone went completely wild and started clapping and cheering and whistling. And then every time someone new/famous came on stage everybody went nuts again.

Idina Menzel . . . there are no words. None. She was amazing. Anyone who can make it to London to see her needs to do so, now. In January someone else takes over the role, and will be fine I'm sure, but still. Go now.

Goldilocks and I sat next to these two adorable English teenaged boys who are total Wicked groupies. They were wearing the t-shirts and had all the gear and evaluated whether the people onstage were doing it right. ("Too English." "Too American--definitely." "Hasn't quite sold me yet, we'll see how she does in the second half.") I think that last one was about Glinda, who grew on me as well.

Pretty much all the characters have UK accents now, with the exception of Elphaba and the Wizard. It works.

There was only one disappointment: In the big Defying Gravity number Elphaba is supposed to rise up into the air in this big dramatic moment, but something went wrong and she didn't go up--just stood in the middle of the stage and finished the song. I sat there thinking, "Okay, now she's going to go up. Or now. Aaaaand here she goes. Wait. . . she's not going up. Why isn't she going up???" But still, if you didn't know it was meant to happen you probably wouldn't have noticed because your jaw would be hanging open at her singing.


I was so glad finally to see Goldilocks after two months of us both being holed away with dissertations and madness. Only hers is due at the beginning of October so she's still hard at work, so everyone please send good vibes her way.

We did some other fun things in London as well:

• Tate Britain to look at Pre-Raphaelites for Goldy's dissertation
• Lunch at Wagamama, where I had coconut ice cream w/mango sauce and toasted coconut shavings
• Walked along the Thames & got some great pics, including a video clip of Big Ben chiming
• Discovered the South Bank Book Market, which NO ONE EVEN TOLD ME ABOUT BEFORE.
• Experienced sardine-tin conditions and horrible delays on the Tube
• Sprinted to the train station, attracting the unfortunate attentions of a group of drunken football fans who started running alongside us and shouting things, which resulted in some regrettable and uncharacteristic language from me. Please remind me never to open my mouth when I'm about to die from an exertion-induced heart attack.
  
• Weren't let on our train and had to get on the next, where we didn't have seat assignments.
• Sat in First Class & didn't even get narked on. Had a sob story at the ready about how we were trying to get away from the drunken football fans. I volunteered to be the one who cries, since I already had the hyperventilating down. But no one even checked. First class is nice, y'all. Got my breath back and read my Wicked program like the geek I am.
  

It was a gorgeous day and the perfect way to say goodbye to my beautiful London that I love. It was a little bit easier this time because I no longer have to get all panicked and think, "Okay, this is it. I may never come back here again." Now I accept that it's a matter of when rather than if.