Wicked

I always do something special with Erica for her birthday, but seeing as she’ll be in Mississippi and I’ll be in California come March, I decided to give her an early present yesterday. We went to the historic Pantages Theatre in Hollywood to see Wicked: The Musical. It was awesome.

We drove down Sunset Boulevard on the way, through Bel Air and Beverly Hills, and stopped for a little window shopping on Rodeo Drive. But since we couldn’t afford any windows, we took a few pictures instead.

Of course, we checked out the handprints and footprints in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

And the stars on the Walk of Fame.

Eventually, we had dinner at Mel’s Drive-In – not the original from the movie, American Graffiti, but a direct descendant. Turns out to be a surprisingly affordable and tasty place to eat dinner in Hollywood. Finally, we made our way to Pantages for our show.

My three favorite things about the show itself:
#1: Megan Hilty as Glinda. She was incredibly funny.
#2: The “Defying Gravity” number just before intermission. I hate to say that the entire second act was anti-climactic, but after such an amazing ending, how could it not be?
#3: The storyline. Let me just say that if we can imagine the Wicked Witch of the West as a real person worth loving underneath it all that the message of Jesus has a fighting chance.

Of course, my favorite part of the day was spending it with Erica. And that she seemed to enjoy it, too.