Backstage with Melanie

as i was going through emails making sure i got everyone on my list for WICKED group tickets, i came across this email i sent out after my trip to denver to see wicked several years ago.  if you LIKE wicked and know the soundtrack really well, you’ll enjoy the read.

dear old shiz,  (i mean friends),

just thought you’d like an update of my WICKED trip to denver.  it felt like ONE SHORT DAY, but it was filled with a LIFETIME OF FUN.

for those of you who don’t know, my WICKED little friends and i went to denver this past weekend.  it was WONDERFUL.

we flew out friday afternoon.  suzy was practically strip searched at the airport.  (head’s up: avoid taking fingernail scissors in purse, wearing tons of silver jewelry and silver accessories)   while they searched through everything of suzy’s, kelly and i stood off to the side laughing and saying, “glad I’M NOT THAT GIRL”

we arrived in denver, rented our car, (afterall, not everyone can travel in a BUBBLE!) and found the hotel without problems.  then…..SOMETHING BAD was happening in OZ. (i mean our room)  we were just talking when suzy opened her mouth and screamed, “OH”  she just sat their frozen with her mouth gaping open and her hands in the air.  after what seemed like forever, she said, “i locked my suitcases and left my key to open them on my key ring at home!”   once again, kelly and i started laughing and said, “glad I’M NOT THAT GIRL” (reprise)

the hotel couldn’t help us so we set out on a MARCH OF THE WITCH HUNTERS (i mean bolt cutters).  in the parking lot we met a guy that worked at the hotel, named chris.  he was WONDERFUL, we called him WONDERFUL.

we all loaded up in his car with suzy’s luggage in tow and headed to ace hardware.  chris gave us a tour of the city on the way which was really fun.  the guy at ace was NOT wonderful.  he refused to cut the locks unless suzy bought the bolt cutters!  $20.00 later we were on our way back to the hotel with open luggage and a really pissed off gay guy driving us.  (did i mention chris was gay?  that’s why we all hopped in the car with him.  cute.  dressed amazing and knows how to accessorize! not to mention he was so fun to chat with)

anyway, chris is a big wig at the hotel and was furious at the way the ace guy treated us, so he said he would get him fired.  he talked about customer service and how NO GOOD DEED goes unpunished.  he swore the entire way back to the hotel and couldn’t believe what a jerk the ace guy was.   it was quite the colorful car ride.

we raced back to the hotel, got dressed to the nines and made it to WICKED before the dragon clock struck 8:00pm.   THANK GOODNESS!!!!!!!

my review of WICKED?   better than i expected and i expected A LOT!  everyone had said it was awesome, good, best show, yada, yada, yada.  no one told me how FUNNY it was.  we laughed, we cried, we loved it!  for those of you who HAVE seen the show, how come you never mentioned how funny it was?  that was the biggest surprise for me.  maybe that’s why you didn’t tell me, so i’d have some surprises.  galinda (the GUH is silent) was sooooooo funny.   elphaba delivered her lines with perfect comedic timing.  pause, pause……wait for it……….BLONDE!!!!!   so great!

going into it i THOUGHT i knew every spoiler, song, storyline, etc.  the dialogue in between the songs was brilliant.  it was all new material to me and i loved every minute of it.

the next day was just as fun.  we went shopping all day long.  i bought my first pair of knee high leather boots!  after shopping we went back to the hotel and got dressed up to go out to dinner.  (like i’d ever do that at home!)

as we walked down the street to dinner all dressed up, i kept thinking…..WHAT IS THIS FEELING, so sudden and new?  then it dawned on me…..CONFIDENT.  whey you are dressed like that and look good on the outside, you feel good on the inside.  i felt like i could have done anything at that moment without failing.  including DEFYING GRAVITY (i think i floated down the street instead of walked.)  i was DANCING THROUGH LIFE (or at least on the way to dinner) and loving it!

i felt beautiful, classy, rich and POPULAR!  i think i’ll start wearing that outfit more often.  grocery shopping, soccer games, pta meetings.

we went to dinner at the CHEESECAKE FACTORY-duh!  yes, it was delicious and yes we went twice.  we went for dinner and then brunch the next morning.  double-duh!

we raced to the airport and missed our flight because our check in agent was a jerk.  if he would have been a SENTIMENTAL MAN at all he would have checked us in quickly and we could have made our flight, but he said we didn’t have a chance of making it and he refused to even try.  RUDE!  guess he doesn’t realize NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED.   get nice=receive nice.

FINALE:  after two days of happiness, we spent the entire day on standby at the airport.  let’s say we were SUPPOSED to be on stand by but they forgot to roll us over from full flight to full flight.  so everyone else kept getting on the flights before us.  when we realized this, customer service took over and we ended up on a different carrier to come home.  we didn’t get home until 8pm!

the hardest part of the day was dragging $150.00 worth of cheesecake from gate to gate all day long.  we each bought a cheesecake to bring home and they are frozen and heavy!  we even had several offers to buy them from us!

even with the little bump in the end of our fun, it was all FOR GOOD and i’ll never forget it.

DRAW CURTAINS (end of story)…….THE WIZARD AND I have some shopping to do!

Melanie & Morgan at Capitol Theater

i fell in love with broadway shows when i was a teenager.  a few years ago, i realized how many of my friends see shows too and started putting together large groups for the shows that participate with broadway across america.  since then, i’ve shared my love for broadway with hundreds of people and introduced many more to this fantastic world!

when i received a green, black and white postcard in the mail i wasn’t sure what it was.  it had the above poster on it with the words reading:  pssssst…..you’re invited!   i immediately got goose bumps!

who wouldn’t want to attend the VIP WICKED brunch?  it’s a bit embarrassing, but we were so excited we showed up 45min. early!  i guess i drove a bit fast on the freeway.  my bad!

as we walked up the street, i could see the lime green table clothes and black witches hats in the lobby.  they’re “really sharp, don’t ya think?  you know BLACK, is this year’s PINK!”

i literally skipped through the cross walk to get to the theater, singing the entire way!

i was really surprised they had a brunch for wicked.  it’s not like they’ll have a hard time selling the show, right?!  believe it or not, there are actually people out there who have not heard of wicked!  I KNOW!  i thought it was a requirement in schools across america to learn about glinda and elphaba!

as we walked in the theater, i couldn’t contain my happiness.  yes! i actually did a little hop, skip, jump thing when i saw where we were sitting.  the entire stage was lit with green lights and they had set the chairs up ON THE STAGE!

we had the opportunity to hear from a producer of the show, have some Q & A,  then hear elphaba and galinda sing.  remember the “guh” is silent! when donna hit the last note of the “wizard and i” from two feet away, i almost burst into tears!  it was something i will never forget!  we also got to hear “for good” which is such a beautiful song.  the girls were so sweet to take photos afterwards and sign our books.  i hope we get to see them on tour in salt lake city.

coolest story ever!  this is the REAL glinda wand!  a girl who loved broadway (that wasn’t me!) was on the tv show deal or no deal.  glinda came on as part of a DEAL, offered her the wand, 3 walk-on parts in wicked on broadway, the grimmerie and tons of wicked swag!  oh! and 50,000 dollars!  YES! she took the deal and was kind enough to let us kiss, hold, caress and wave the wand!  “she really didn’t have to do that, but that’s what makes her so nice!”

YES! i am still wearing the black hat.  i could have had a BAT on my head that day and not cared.  i was so giddy, i kept saying, “NOTHING’S GONNA BRING ME DOWN”.

after a wicked fun morning, we even got swag on the way out!  it’s great to be part of the in crowd.  or should i say, “it’s great to be POP-YOU-OO-LER!”

can’t wait for this tour to arrive.  it’s gonna be TOTO-ally OZ-some!

one final NOTE: wicked WILL be made into a movie, but it’s 7 -10 years out.