Tonight I got to head out to the theater once again to see a production of Anastasia. This used to be one of Brianna's very favorite movies when she was young. Weirdly, although she watched it a hundred times with me, I didn't remember much about the plotline. I remembered, of course, that it was about the Romanovs and the daughter who survived the attack on her family, but beyond that I hadn't held onto the details of the story. I think Bree and I watched it so often that I got bored by it and blocked it out. The show has some pretty dark moments, but lots of comedy, too. I thought the actors were all very strong, especially their singing voices. Unlike when I went to see Waitress last month, I didn't have any trouble understanding the lyrics during the musical numbers. What was really incredible, though, was the digital sets. I don't think I've ever seen a show that relied so heavily on projected scenes, but the detail and quality were so beautiful and intricate that it definitely enhanced the production in a very different way than a traditional set might have. I would imagine that a traditional stage set for a production like this would be incredibly expensive and difficult to transport, but the projected screens allowed for a lot more flexibility. Done poorly, it would have detracted from the experience, but the quality here was stunning. Couple that with a charming date, and it all made for a very lovely evening indeed!
When we first heard the Broadway in Fresno schedule for this season last fall, the show everyone was talking about was Wicked. It was one of the biggest reasons we decided to buy season tickets this year. Bree's been wanting me to take her to see the show in San Francisco or L.A. for a few years now, but finances and timing kept me from being able to do so. Doug and I were also thrilled at the idea of getting to see the show, and eagerly anticipated it all year long.
The show did not disappoint. It's a big, beautiful spectacle, with the set almost as much a character as, well, the characters. The sets were just gorgeous! The costuming was amazing as well. We actually saw it on a night that the understudy for Glinda (or Galinda) performed, but the talented actress was spot-on; I did not miss having the principal actress there at all. The actress, as well as the actress who portrayed Elphaba, fully inhabited their characters, breathing vivacity and humor and conflict into their performances. I loved Elphaba's droll sense of humor and felt her pain at being ostracized. I adored Glinda's sass and spunk. 
I was a little concerned that the plot line might make it difficult to have sympathy for Glinda, who is somewhat vacuous in prep school. How could they manage to make her likeable by the time Wicked's plotline caught up to the adored character she is in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Similarly, how would they manage to make the heroine of Wicked fit comfortably with the image of the Wicked Witch of the West from the beloved classic? Suffice it to say, they did. Rather, Gregory MacGuire, author of Wicked, did. The author, whose book was adapted for the musical, did in fact manage to draw the connections and parallels between his imagined precursor to Baum's world of Oz in clever and sometimes unexpected ways. The production manages to sift through all the meticulous detail of the novel and pare it down to a mere three hours' production that brings its audience beautifully and seamlessly by curtain fall to the the beginning of the story that we all know and love. 
Bree and Kathryn 
Pat, Jimmy, Jennifer, Rosa, Jeffrey, me, Doug, and Michele
Bree and Skye
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