On Sunday, I saw Wicked at the Orpheum. According to my parents, who are so old that they had to go into the side door and sit in the balacony of the Orpheum when it was a movie theater[note: they are black], the Orpheum looks now as it did back then. With a chandelier, wallpaper so opulent I thought it was carpet and a huge seating area with a balcony, a mezzanine, and tons of seats on the bottom, it's an amazing sight. Uniformed ushers guide you to your seat.

The play was very nicely staged. There was a large moving dragon on the top of the stage, athletic dancing monkeys, and costuming that both brought the Wizard of Oz to mind and was original as well.

The story was quite different from the book, but it was understandable. The world of Oz in the book is gigantic, with many different religions, peoples, and beliefs. Having everything connect back to Elphaba and Glinda wouldn't make sense becuse the world is so big. However, the musical has a smaller scale. There's a love triangle, the scarecrow,lion and tin man now all have something to do with Elphaba's[and sometimes Glinda's] actions, and even the Wizard is tied in at the end. There was a popular girl/nerdy girl high school dynamic added as well.

The music was amazing, as well. All in all, worth the ticket price.