return to oz

some people have a strange, extreme and uncontrollable reaction to famous people (and not-so-famous people but those who still somehow end up being classed as 'celebrities'). just because a person is in the public eye, for some people this makes them frightening, perfect or god-like. i'm sure you've seen clips of girls losing balance and crying in a curled up state of hysteria just from coming into view of the beatles.

i witnessed something similar today, when i scored amazing seats (dead centre, front row) for this evening's performance of wicked. due to bad planning on my part, i needed tickets to a show at the last minute and learned that the victoria apollo theatre releases the front row to anyone who queues up in the morning. so there i was with the die-hard fans standing in the cold; hoping to leave with the best tickets.
the pro: which i did.

the con: we ended up sandwiched between one guy who was seeing the show for the 50th time. yes, fifty. that's about £2000 he's spent in his life on seeing the same show over and over again. holy hell. and he was there on his own so he kept talking to me, asking how i was enjoying it, every time said with a desperate hopeful fear in his eyes that i might have found any fault in the show.

on the other side were what i have called "the teenaged wicked cheerleader squad." noisy as a football crowd. after every song cheering and whooping and giggling like they were in a primary school playground and a boy had just waved at them, crying 'that was aMAZing' like daddy had just bought them a ferrari because their horse was ill. pretty terrifying reaction to anything, let alone a song that they've heard a thousand times.

as for the show itself, it was good. a nice bit of escapism, visually and technically stunning with the best costumes i can ever remember seeing. not a bad story and a fun idea creating a prequel to a classic, although i have to say i don't think it worked trying to recreate the wicked witch of the west as misunderstood, rather than the traditional bad guy. that aspect didn't sit very well with me, though the actress playing her was effortlessly fantastic.

i don't remember any of the songs, apart from the fact that one of them was called 'defying gravity.' the only reason i know that is because the cheerleaders wouldn't shut-up about it.

it was enjoyable, just not one i'd see again. definitely can't see myself spending £2000 on future tickets. jeez. avenue q on the other hand....