Defying Gravity

The wicked witch is dead.

Sorry Dorothy, but not according to Broadway. Actually the wicked witch is one of the most popular characters on Broadway.

Everyone has seen, or atleast heard of The Wizard of Oz. It is a timeless classic. But has anyone ever wondered how the Wicked Witch came to be wicked, or how Glinda came to be the good witch of the North? Probably not, but Author, Gregory Maguire, wrote a book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West", detailing how these two characters came to be. You could almost call it a prequel to the movie, and from this book comes the popular musical "WICKED"

I have seen this musical twice and absolutely love it. My knowledge of WICKED before seeing the show came from the music itself. My voice teacher loved the music, so therefore I studied the songs in her lessons. The music is incredible, listening to Idina Menzel, the original wicked witch, belt Defying Gravity gives me goosebumps. I tried to emulate the Tony award winning Menzel in my singing, but once you hear her sing you know that is not possible. Unfortunately I was not able to actually see Idina play Elphaba in WICKED when it came to my town. But I was lucky to see the talented Jenna Leigh Green perform this role. Some of you may know Green as Libby from Sabrina: The Teenage Witch.

WICKED is a very exciting show and sheds some light on The Wizard of Oz. Mike Trobiano of TheMinaretOnline best described the show as "a series of deleted scenes from the movie". And that is exactly what it feels like. In this show you learn why the wicked witch is green, where the red slippers come from, and why the cowardly lion is a coward. For those who the love the movie this is a great addition.

Besides the great story line and the awesome special effects, the show also asks a question that makes one think, "Are people born wicked? or is wickedness thrust upon them?" Galinda asks this question in regards to Elphaba, the Wicked Witch. It is also a topic that has been discussed and argued about for centuries. The show does not answer this question, but it does call into question the common assumption that the witch is "naturally" wicked. Most assume that she is just plain wicked, because that is how the movie portrays her. WICKED on the other hand complicates this view. It leaves you wondering whether she was as wicked as the Munchkins made her out to be or did her morals and values drive her to make the decisions that she did.

I already mentioned how amazing the music is to this show. Melissa Cabrera of AOL Radio Blog listed WICKED's soundtrack as #1 on her list of 10 Best Broadway Musical CDs. I could not agree more. If you never see the show, atleast listen to the music. Stephen Swhartz, who I mention in my blog Spark of Creation, is a master at writing and composing music. I am always moved by his songs. But I strongly encourage you to see this show. WICKED is currently playing at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, formely the TBPAC. I sadly do not have the time to go, but highly recommend going to see this musical, you will not be disappointed.

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

As a child I was shy and timid. I was an only child and spent much of my time growing up surrounded by my parents and their friends. This is where I was comfortable. But I felt awkward when interacting with children of my own age because I did not feel like I could relate to them. So of course I was less than happy when my mother registered me for a summer theater camp. I was not interested performing in a play, actually I was terrified. But my mother, with all her wisdom, thought it would be a good thing for me. And in the end, as always, she was correct.

My first day at The Performance Project was the start of a new life for me. I had never been so nervous, and my fears were only reinforced when I saw that everyone knew each other. But of course they did, they had all been doing this their whole lives. And here I was with no experience at all. To my relief though, I was accepted rather quickly. One thing you learn in theater is that everyone is a family and we all look out for each other.

After introductions were over, I thought I had gotten through the worst part. Oh no, certainly not the case. The director had everyone sit in a circle, and then informed us that everyone would get up, sing a solo and perform a monologue. Now I was sweating. These people were nice, but having to sing and perform in front of them was not something I was ready to do. The singing came first. The song we were singing was "Tomorrow" from Annie, since this is the show we were putting on. Luckily I knew the song cause I had seen the movie. I waited patiently for my turn, listening to these other kids. Some were really good, like the girl who got to play Annie, and others were dreadful. I was praying hard that I would not be one of the dreadful ones. Then the moment of truth came. I got up in front of everyone and the director told me what lines to sing. And I sang, rather softly, while she played the piano. I sat down and listened to the rest of the kids. When everyone was done I thought we would move on to the monologues but the director called me up again. She said that she wanted to hear me sing, but louder. I was beyond nervous, but I did my best to push that song out louder. The director informed me that I was belter, girls are categorized as a soprano or alto, which basically means I can project my voice when I sing.

I was so happy when that first day had ended and my mother arrived to pick me up. But to my horror the director pulled my mother aside. I was waiting for her to say that I had to no talent, but instead she told her that I had a lot of potential and would like to have me as a singing lesson student when the summer was over. I was surprised and even more surprised when I was given one of the leading roles in the play, Grace, Daddy Warbucks' secretary, for those of you who know the show. And so began my passion of theater.

After that day I spent the next several years with The Performance Project. I went to camp, took voice lessons, interned, and performed in the adult shows when I was older. Being involved in theater definitely changed my life for the better. I was no longer shy and timid, but confident and outgoing. I was doing something that excited me, because nothing is more thrilling than getting in front of those stage lights and singing your heart out for the audience. This became not only my hobby but my joy. I felt at home when I was performing. Unfortunately I had to start working and put my interests aside. But I still hope to pick it up again someday soon.

Spark of Creation

When I was deciding what shows to write about I could not quite decide where to start. So to make things easy I decided that my first post on this particular subject would be about my favorite show that I performed in, and this would be Children of Eden. It is not a show that has been on Broadway, so not many people have heard of it. I actually had never heard of it when I auditioned. But it is popular within the theater community. Before I begin, the titles of my blogs will be songs from the show I am writing about.

Children of Eden was the not first the show that I performed in. But I consider it the first major production I did. The theater company I was with, The Performance Project, worked out of a warehouse that my director had turned into a small theater. Up until this show, I performed on the small wooden stage in this warehouse that sat maybe sixty people and the rest standing room only. It was sometimes difficult performing here cause one would feel like they were dancing on the people in the front row, that's how close they were to the stage. And the lights were so close to the stage that we would sweat all of our overdone makeup off. It was also very difficult to put on large productions in such a small place. Luckily, our director started working with The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which is equivalent to our Tampa Bay for the Performing Arts Center. This sounded very exciting to me, to have the chance to perform on a large stage in front of hundreds of people and to have a dressing room like the professionals, although I did share it with other people. At fourteen I was starstruck at this idea, so I auditioned for the show and made it.

Children of Eden is of course based on the book of Genesis from the Bible. The first act depicts Adam and Eve and the second act of Noah and the flood. I felt familiar with the show before I read the script since I had been in christian schools for most of my life. The music and lyrics were written by the amazing Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame), and I am sure the theater community would agree with me on this opinion. He has written some of the most famous songs to grace the audiences of Broadway.

This show certainly brings the Bible to life, and also makes it interesting for those who do not know the stories. The music in this show is amazing and also very emotional, due to the nature of the story. If anyone has seen this show they what I am talking about. Watching God sing about how His creation disappointed Him can be very powerful. I was always moved when performing some of these numbers and I am sure it had the same effect on people in the audience.


I thought it was also a very meaningful show. There are themes that the audience can relate to, like consequences of disobedience and learning to let go of something you love. Even though this show is based on the Bible, there were obviously creative liberties that were taken. This is drama. Brigham Young University recently showcased Children of Eden and the schools blog site (BeyondTheUniverse) has a post concerning the show. The writer of the blog discusses how Steven Schwartz did not portray these stories exactly how they were told in the Bible. I agree with her that this is not "a Sunday school lesson", a point that needs emphasizing since so many people watch this show and believe that that is how it happened or they are offended because it is not true. People should just enjoy theater for the art that it produces and not look too far into the meaning of things.

Children of Eden is a beautiful musical and I encourage anyone to see it if they have the chance.

Center Stage

Blogging is something I never thought I would do. Not because I have anything against it, but because I do not express myself through written word. Writing does not come naturally to me, no matter how many writing classes I have taken. What does come natural to me, what I find a passion in, is performing. This blog will be about incorporating my passion into writing.

One of my favorite plays, The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, has a line that always stuck out to me, "memory...is the diary that we all carry about with us". For me, this line has always been true since I loathed the idea of keeping a diary. My memory is all I have to look back on when I want to recall my days of performing, or of a night at the theater seeing my favorite musical. Now that I think about it, it would be nice to have written down these experiences that have shaped me into who I am now.

Wikipedia describes blogs as an online diary. So, a diary is what my blog will be, or atleast what it will be for me. I will use this blog as a forum to recall, write down, and discuss my favorite shows, specifically musicals. I understand that this is not an interesting topic for many people. When it comes to musicals you either love it or you hate it, not much room for inbetween. But those who love theater, also love to talk about it. I am one of those people, and though I might not be able to discuss theater on the level of say New Yorkers who frequent 42nd and Broadway, I do believe I can relate to other bloggers who share the same regard for theater as me.

Like I said, I do not have an affinity for writing. But writing this blog about musicals that I have seen and that have meant something to me will hopefully produce something I will enjoy. People may read this, or they may not. I will write for those who love theater, but I will also write for me.