A Wicked great show.

Five years ago, I had one of the most memorable Thanksgivings I will ever have, for several reasons. It was the first Thanksgiving away from my family, the first Thanksgiving without my aunt Shelley who had passed away that September and.it was my first time visiting London. My friend Kristin and I traveled to London (in first class, let me rub it in) to visit our good friend Jamie. The trip alone was one of the most memorable experiences I will ever have but that Thanksgiving, I will remember forever.

The day before Thanksgiving, Kristin and I were supposed to wake up early and wait in line to purchase student discounted tickets for the amazing Broadway production Wicked.  They were performing in London and the lead was the infamous Idina Menzel, we HAD to see it. Our plan didn’t go accordingly though, Kristin had a few too many the night before and was unable to get out of bed to wait in line… “maybe tomorrow,” we said. Thanksgiving Day, we finally found the place (we weren’t the best navigators, especially in a huge city such as London ha) to buy tickets that were $25 USD, insanely cheap right? Unfortunately, it was Idina Menzel's only night off, most likely to spend the holiday with her family, just our luck... thanks Kristin ;) Oh well, the show must go on and we had incredible seats.



Before we could go to the show, we HAD to find a Thanksgiving feast… somewhere. In London, that is not an easy task. Well, for us college kids, the cheapest place we could find was KFC. Yes, we had fried chicken with french fries because they do not serve mashed potatoes at KFC’s in London… at least we tried.



When we arrived at the theater, we found our front row seats (literally, row A) and sat down with the utmost excitement as the show began. A piece of the set flew into the crowd (that is how close we were) and hit us in the head during the show. Are you surprised? Of course the two clumsiest people in the world would get hit with part of the set (don’t worry, they were only tiny sticks).  We thought it couldn't get better but it did, after the show we rushed to the back entrance and met the entire cast. Wicked is by far the most amazing show you will ever see. You laugh, you cry, you sit in awe of the performers and their incredible voices.  The show takes you back to when you were little and the memories of The Wizard of Oz.



What made me think of that day, was a commercial I saw on TV last night... Are you ready for it?? Wicked is coming to The Bushnell in Hartford and I am beyond excited. Guess who will be the first one to buy tickets? Yes, this girl. I hope it will be as memorable for me as that Thanksgiving five years ago, but if not, I will always remember the special day I spent with amazing friends, when I saw a WICKED great show.

The lead Fiyero

 

Outside the theater in London