Wicked and Cheesecake

Blog No. 125: David's Grand Choir Trip Adventure

"For the first time in my life, I feel... WICKED!" --Elphaba making out with Fiyero in the woods. XP

The day started out like normal, in frustration. You'd think I'd wake up in a pleasing mood at least one time. It did not help that I had to report at ARC to catch the charter bus that would inevitably take me back to the high school right down the street of where I live to perform...

Honestly, I think Dr. Hughes likes to torture his students... XP

We all arrived by bus to Natomas High School, where both choirs sung each set for those high schoolers. The Chamber Singers sung their set first, and already I could tell this concert was going to be a flub because the audience itself was chatting away during the songs. I figured that if they didn't care about us, then why should we care how we sound to people who won't respect the performers on stage, which made me not nervous. I guess it paid off not to care, seeing as the stage there had no grand piano or risers for the singers... Heidi's hands were not meant to perform on keyboards! DX

Then we took the long bus ride to the bay area. First we arrived at the Mission Dolores, or, the oldest building in San Francisco.

Dr. Hughes showed us how the acoustics of a room affect the tonality of the choir. Seeing as the inside of the church was huge and stony, the sound bounced off the walls more easily, making our singing that much more resonant. It was a pretty neat experience. The Chamber Singers sung their Italian sex song in the smaller church nearby, and during that time they apparently messed up a bunch of times. 

We also went to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where Ray Zhou goes to school now.

That's him! XP

We first went to the theatre there, where we got an idea what that college offers and how it came to be and whatnot. The theatre itself was meant to have a wall between the stage and audience, where the audience would've been the ballroom and the stage would've been something else. Apparently that old wall had supported the building, but the school still forced the architects to work that out. The floors above the theatre are apparently hanging, which prevents sound from travelling in and out of the rooms...

Ray performed an awesome guitar piece, again, for us. I guess he doesn't mind playing for us a whole bunch. He always has an audience with the Choir. XP

Then it was tour time!

Ray Zhou, that super awesome guitarist, was out tour guide for the school. The Conservatory was about 8 or so stories high with a couple of theatre spaces, loads of practice rooms, artwork, lounging areas, and a musical library.

This was at the library on the top floor of the school.

Then we had our free time in the big city. Our Choir group decided to split up to go different places. It was funny because the further the Choirs walked down Market street, the more the group broke off. I was with the first group as I traveled with Taka and some of the Chamber singers, including Piper, JT, Dictator Roze and Sergeant Pepper, among others.

We walked about 15 blocks, 10 of which was spent getting lost due to Zack's brilliant tour guide skills, to the Cheesecake Factory on the top floor of Macy's.

San Francisco is weird. It feels like the city gets cleaner the higher off the ground you get...

The Cheesecake Factory was amazing! I had a fettucine chicken pasta dish that was very delicious, which made me not regret staying behind with King, Difuentez, and Parkarr at a Burger King. XD

The downside of the Cheesecake Factory was that we spent all of our free time there. So when we all finished, we walked back toward the theatre...

But not without having a little fun along the way! XP

There were some photo oportunity moments that, if I had my actual camera, I would've taken. I was walking behind the group with JT and an alto I'll call Poncho, mainly because she always wears a red knit poncho to the choir concerts. She was telling us how she apparently dodged death a couple of times, including slipping off of limestone during a wall climb. I've got to hand it to her, she's a tough cookie! A red sugar cookie! XP

Then we sped to our seats in the Orpheum Theater.

I got balcony seating, which made sense because I had not paid my fees yet... But I still saw a bunch so I was fine with it!

Anyways, here's a review:

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Musical Review: Wicked

The story is about the tale of Wizard of Oz, but told in the perspective of the two witches. It basically explores mainly how Elphaba came to be who she was, just like in The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. However, to die-hard book fans, it does not match up with the story structure of the book it's based off of. From here on in, I have to warn you about spoilers, so skip to the score if you don't want to read it!

Elphaba was always singled out for being a little different. While attending Shiz University with her sister, Nessa, she found a teacher she could connect with, who was part goat. He told her how Oz was apparently going through a change that would make the animals of the world no longer able to have free will. 

Along the way, Elphaba ends up being forced to get along with the preppy popular girl, Galinda, with whom they share a mutual relationship of loathing. That was all taken away when Galinda made an unintended kind gesture of giving Elphaba the "witch hat" and invited her to the ball. Galinda did not realize that Elphaba had talked with the professor in sorcery to have Galinda attend lessons as well, which was what she wanted. When Elphaba arrived at the ball, Galinda felt guilty when everyone else had mocked Elphaba, so Galinda joins her in her fairly unique dance that ended up being the hit of the party.

The rest of the story you'll have to see because it gets a little more involved with its twists and climaxes, but it is indeed worth it! It really shows how history can really be knawed away just by looking at it only one way. 

The actors played into their parts extremely well. The person portraying Galinda really was the over-the-top popular girl, just as the person portraying Elphaba 

The musical itself was pulled off very well. It has a very comprehensive stage set up to accomodate the ver foreign storyline. There was one moment in particular, during the end of the first act, where I have to give major kudo points to the stage directors. I'm talking of course about the scene where Elphaba is actually "defying gravity." It really showed off Elphaba's amazing power and feelings with the use of lifts and angled lights. It really pulled off the end of the first act, making me sit down at the edge of my seat for more.

The storyline really sewn up how all of the things in the Wizard of Oz connects. However, some people might say, "Well it doesn't explain everything, like why the witch melts, or how'd Dorothy interacted with the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion!" 

To that I say, "If you'd think about the previous dialogue up to the Elphaba's death, you'd see how those comments explain that a story/history can lie if you only look at it one way" (There's a reason I highlighted that statement in green). I mean come on! Fiyero saw through the green skin to see his love for Elphaba. If you'd look behind the bubble of the Wizard of Oz story, you'd see that that story is what's interpreted for the Ozians to explain why the Wizard left and to end the tyranny that was caused because of him, as well as glorifying the "heroes" who in actuality never crossed paths. History is the story told only in the perspective of the winners, which is why we have the association of heroes and villains.

Some Other Cons: I also wondered what the reason was for the giant dragon on top of the stage. It occasionally moves and lights up during some action moments, but that was it really. There isn't a dragon in the Wizard of Oz, nor did it tie in with the story of Wicked, so I couldn't help but spend some time questioning why...

Overall, Wicked is a successful and entertaining reinterpretation of the Wizard of Oz for a reason. If you thought you knew Oz, you haven't seen anything yet! XP

4.75 Out of 5 Thumbs Up--->An AWESOME experience if you are familiar with the Wiz. XP

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After the show, we hopped back on to the buses and headed home. The inside of the bus was lit up in dim, lime green lights, which was very festive for the night's events. XP

Then, when we arrived back at ARC, JT took me home. XD