WICKED!!

So, my niece Heather and I went to the play Wicked in Chicago. This play is based off the book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire. OMG - what a fantastic play!! We saw it at the Ford Theatre in Chicago, and this is not a traveling troupe. The props used are much more extravagant than traveling troupes. Right above the stage is this awesome dragon that moves and lights up. Traveling troupes don't get this - I would assume it's too much to take with and make work in other theatres. And Glinda, the good witch, came down on this metal mechanical bubble (that she was harnessed to). I know for a fact the play in St Paul did not have anything like this.

Oh, we had such a wonderful time! I had just read the book before we went, so I followed it quite well. There are some VERY big differences between the book and the play, however. Not bad differences, but I remember thinking "hey, that's not how it's supposed to be." But, they have to make concessions, and change some things so it can just be a 3-hour play.

Heather and I stayed at the Congress Plaza Hotel - very old hotel and very old building. We were impressed with how high the ceilings were - but were completely unimpressed with having to PAY for internet access. Seriously - what kind of hotel charges for internet access anymore? Well, this one did. We thought it was a crock of total crap.

Not trusting the drivers of this city, we took cabs everywhere (which was almost worse...cab drivers are horrible drivers, and we thought we were going to die a few times). This worked relatively well as long as we were in the right places to catch a cab. Holy buckets...not easy right after a play lets out!! We froze our toes off trying to find a cab back to our hotel. Then we took a cab to go to dinner - we picked Bennihana's, a chain restaurant that does teppanyaki cooking (YUM!). Well, there was a parade of lights going on, so there were blocks and blocks closed for driving traffic. Our cab driver got us as close as possible (costing us 50% more than it normally would have taken, of course), and then we found out the restaurant was closed! DAMMIT! So, we hoofed it around, trying to find other places to eat, and ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe.

If you haven't read this book, and like stuff like this, I would highly recommend it. This author takes stories and gives you a different perspective. This story is all about the life of the "wicked" witch of the west, before she comes across Dorothy in Oz. It tells you why she is so keen on getting those ruby slippers. =) It also portrays her as not really that wicked. Very awesome book, and an easy read.

Heather and I are next going to Rent in St Paul in March. I personally have seen this play four times, but she has not seen it. I can't wait!!!