Oh man....

I was having a pretty bad day. Way too much to do, too much on my plate in general, a very high stress level regarding my Master's program, and massive computer problems at work. I got home and grabbed the mail. I saw an envelope with the words 'tickets' on them and assumed they were for John Mayer.

Oh no. Not John Mayer. My amazing husband surprised me and got us tickets to go see 'The Drowsy Chaperone' in L.A. I didn't even know it was going to be there! I'm so excited! That definitely cheered me up...thanks so much babe!

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Saturday Night was filled with the joy, giddiness, and eager anticipation that only happen's on a few blessed events. The 1st would be your wedding, 2nd would be opening a new Harry Potter book, and the 3rd would be...musicals! And in particular, Wicked! (Man, how nerdy am I? HP and Musicals. Jeez...)

Jon's parents bought all of us tickets to see Wicked, and man oh man, what a show. This was my second time seeing it, but the seats were better this time, so I actually saw more. Also, I had forgotten a lot of the little things that make this show what it is. I highly urge everyone out there to go see it. Even those people that make fun of musicals. Let me tell you, this will take your breath away. How in the world this didn't win the Tony is beyond me. (Speaking of the Tony's, what was up with this year's nominations? I'm a bit disappointed. Luckily, last year's nominations still have me singing.)

For those of you that don't know the story, I'll give a brief background. Wicked is the story of the Witch's of Oz, before Dorothy dropped into town. It is set at Shiz, a University near the Emerald City. Our story follows Galinda (with a 'Ga') and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and their struggles as roommates (how could this show not be good?). The music is amazing, and I cry everytime during 'Defying Gravity'. The sets are wonderful, and the costumes give you that truly Ozian feel.

This cast is pretty good. Galinda was hysterical, but her lack of soprano singing left me a bit annoyed. Our Elphaba was an understudy, but you would've never know it because she rocked. She had such a beautiful voice and she truly made you fall in love. Fiyero was good, but his voice was so different from Norbert Leo Butz (the original) that it threw me off at first. But I really enjoyed him, and also think that he would make an excellent Franki Valli in 'Jersey Boys'. The soundtrack features the original cast, and is amazing with the talents of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenewith. It's a good purchase.

All in all, I just think people should see this show. So if you ever listen to me, now would be the time. GO SEE WICKED!

Oh What A Night!

You know when people rave about a movie? They just go on and on and on until you finally see it...and are totally disappointed. They built it up way too much. So, because I would never want to ruin Jersey Boys for anyone, I won't do that (even though I really want to). I'll try to make this short and concise.

Oh man, Jersey Boys is amazing! (Okay, I tried...I failed...). Winner of the Tony for Best Musical for 2006, it's not hard to see why. It follows the true life story of Frankie Valli (not 'ey') and The Four Seasons from their start in Jersey to their fame and eventual downfall. Walking into this, I didn't know anything about the Four Seasons, and couldn't even have named a song. However, you find yourself singing along for most of the musical, because the Four Seasons had a zillion hit songs that still play today. Despite all the sorrow, it's surprisingly up-beat (mostly thanks to their catchy songs like "Big Girls Don't Cry").

We saw it in San Francisco at the Curran Theater on Geary St. It's a classic old theater that they're in the middle of restoring. The cast was absolutely amazing, and really nice. We got to meet them after the show and they were so nice and humble and thankful for all the fans. That was really neat. The guy that played Frankie had the best voice, it literally gave me chills. It's coming to LA in a couple of weeks, but I say make the trip up north and see it there. It's worth it and is playing all the way until September 3rd. Also, the guy that plays Nick Massi has been with the show since it opened at the La Holla Playhouse back in 2004. So you get to see an original cast member which is always fun (he's the guy on the far left).

I would gladly go see it again. I already asked Jon when that will be. :)

WARNING: Man oh man, did this show have cussing. I mean, it's about 4 guys from Jersey. It makes Good Will Hunting sound like a Disney Channel Movie. So if you hate profanity, this show is not for you. Beyond that it's not too bad. There is one scene with a couple girls in lingerie, but it's short. As a whole, it's a clean mafia flick with catchy show tunes.