I Couldn't Be Happier.....

So last weekend I was in NYC again. Lani and I saw the Saturday matinee performance of Xanadu (see her review below) which was fantastic! So after the show we wandered around the theatre district and decided to head to the Gershwin to say hello to our favorite green girl (Julia Murney). She was just coming out of the stagedoor....as friendly and charming as always and wearing a cool hat!
Since we didn't have a show to go to that night we decide to enter the WICKED lotto. Why not?!! There were a ton of people there that night.
We wrote our name on a green piece of paper and hoped for the best......only 20 front row seats were raffled.....at 6 pm they announced the winners..........AND what a great surprise! I was one of the names called! I got front row seats for Lani and I.....seats 109 and 110!!!!!!! They were right smack in the middle just behind the conductor!!!!!
We were right below Ozwald the dragon and very close to the map of Oz. The actors onstage were just 10 ft away! Amazing!

Here's the view of the house from our seats.....with part of my eye in the pic he he he!
The conductor's charts for the show
We were wondering what the WIZARD button was for..... The amazing musicians in the pit. They were very friendly as I was waving at them during intermission and they too waved back! But what a tight space that is......
Our Glinda.....Kendra Kassebaum. In the several times I've seen the show I've never gotten a pic of her since she leaves out of the stagedoor too fast.....until this night!

Some highlights of seeing the show from the front row:

• you hear the actors natural voices when they sing (and not the amplified mic voices) --> amazing!
• you hear specific instruments during the score that I've never heard before
• nice to see the details of the costumes upclose.....specially the Elphaba Act 2 dress
• you hear the little conversations that the ensemble have during scenes
• Julia's head bob during Defying Gravity is priceless up close
• the nuances, hand movements, facial expressions Julia gives to Elphaba even if she's only in the background during scenes
• and lastly........Julia's eyes up close (she acts so much with her eyes).......with tears welling up as she sings Defying Gravity ---> I've never seen that before sitting in the mezz or back orchestra section (even with binoculars)....it gave me goosebumps

Julia throws herself into this charater with reckless abandon and fully inhabits this role that you're overwhelmed when you witness it! What an amazing night! The theatre gods were kind to us.......It was just perfect we got to see our favorite green girl one more time before she left the show next week!