Wicked: Defying Gravity

I wasn't kidding when I said that Friday was magical.  I started the day by getting up at 6:30 and going for a run at 7 AM.  I ran for 40 minutes and it felt sooo good.  I also discovered how close some monuments and sights truly are to where I am staying.

When I got back I had breakfast, threw on some pants and myself and five other girls went and stood in line for discount Wicked tickets.  If you don't know what Wicked is, it's a musical about the untold story of the witches of Oz.  It's basically a prelude of sorts before The Wizard of Oz.  We were second in line and ended up getting front row seats for £25.  That's an extraordinary deal.  The tickets are usually between £38-£60, and we were FRONT ROW.  I don't know if I can stress this enough.  My ticket said Row A set 19.  Best seat in the house.

Needless to say we were feeling pretty sweet about our tickets, and we were all in a great mood as we left for our Indian lunch.  Our program took us down to Brick Lane to enjoy or at least experience the unique cuisine.  The curry's were really good.  I sampled some chicken, pork, and veggie curries and loved it.  The appetizers and my drink weren't as great.  The appetizer was like a big chip that you break up and dip into various sauces.  I just wasn't the biggest fan of the sauces.  Don't even get me started on my drink.  I ordered a Salty Lassi.  A lassi is a sort of yougurt drink and for some reason I thought a salty one would be worth a taste.  I was wrong.  It tasted like sour milk.  Don't try it.  I powered through it as much as I possibly could, but only made it halfway.

After lunch a few of us went on a walk down Brick Lane towards the old Truman Brewery and then back towards Spitalfield market.  Brick Lane has a lot of Indian, Thai and oriental food places.  All the owners are out on the street trying to get you into their restaurants even if they see you leave one.  On our way we passed a church and stopped inside.  It was very white and ornate.  Then we passed through Spitalfield market.  I would take my Mom to Spitalfield market.  It's got some good clothes shopping.  After that we found a tube station and headed home.

The girls before the show!

Before I knew it, it was showtime.  When we arrived we discovered first hand how amazing our seats were.  I had never seen the show before, but it's safe to say that this is one of my favorite musicals of all time.  I am slightly obsessed with it right now, singing the music and replaying the show in my head.  The show was simply incredible.  There were even points in the show when I forgot I was watching a play.  I was sitting on the edge of my seat with my mouth wide open, waiting for what was going to happen next.  The woman who played Elphaba (the "wicked" witch) was so good, words can't describe it.  I couldn't believe it when I found out that we is the Standby for the usual star.  I can't see how anyone could top her voice or ability to play that part.  Seriously, she was the single best player I have ever seen.  At the end of the show I stood, along with the girls I came with, but I was upset that the whole of the audience didn't.  It was definitely a show worthy of a standing ovation.  Apparently standing-Os are not customary here.

The orchestra pit.

We left the theatre in such a good mood, and since we couldn't possibly top that, we went to bed.
My next update will be over this past week.  This weekend I am going to Rome.  I leave tomorrow and I will be there for two days.  Be ready for some awesome pictures.

Pip Pip Cheerio!