Okay so I was supposed to do this like two days ago but I am a busy girl...sue me. Let's rewind, backtrack to Thursday which started out normally; woke up, did the morning routine, went to work, ect. The day seemed to crawl, of course, but I clocked out at 4 and got ready there at the salon. I got changed, had another stylist do my hair, and did my makeup with some sick Urban Decay colors, black, gold, and the most prominent one a bright, sparkly green in dedication. It looked kick ass, I should have taken pictures for my portfolio. Anyways, I drove over to Kellie's and upon entering her room she looked up at me, blow dryer in hand, and uttered a desperate "help me!"

Sigh.

So I got her hair fixed (which looked fabulous btw) and we were off to dinner at Tina Tapas. We sung along to the soundtrack of 'Wicked' as we drove out to Tampa and parked for $10 just to eat dinner because there was a hockey game that night at the forum. Go figure. (Bah, the Lightening suck anyways.) The restaurant was delish; Tapas is a Spanish concept meaning 'small dishes' or 'small portions' so Kellie and I ordered a bunch to share. The Ahi tuna was awesome, as was the baked crab fondue-like dip, but the cheese freak in me devoured the baked goat cheese and especially the manchego and mango quesadillas. Incredibly yummy.

We left from the restaurant and headed to the PAC which was packed. If I'm not mistaken the show sold out so we got in, got drinks, and made our way to our seats. We sat dead center in the front row of the gallery but the PAC is a smaller theater, one of those ones that no matter where you sit you see everything, so the seats were actually perfect.


The lights went out and the show started. I was immediately enthralled, especially since I have not had the chance to see a play since I saw 'Footloose' on Broadway. It's quite funny now, looking back, that I had predicted and knew that I was going to get emotional...but realizing right off the bat just how emotional I was going to get...grrr. When Elphaba (the wicked witch) ran out onto that stage for the first time I immediately teared up and went 'oh shit, this is going to be a lot worse than I originally thought." As I said previously, I hate crying. I have to say though, I didn't start actually crying until she sang "I'm Not That Girl," but then "Defying Gravity" (the epic end of the first act) had me balling. Put it this way...I had Urban Decay running down my face....URBAN DECAY!! You can't touch UD, or MAC for that matter, those two just don't budge until you make them...I managed though, that's how bad I was crying. Kellie just laughed at my black & green face. Hmph.

There, of course, was a 15 minute intermission and then onto the second act. I made it about halfway through before I started tearing up again at the reprise of "I'm Not That Girl," all through "As Long As Your Mine," and back to full on crying during "No Good Deed" and "For Good." Oh yea, and I almost fell off of the balcony when I stood up too fast for the standing ovations at the end of both acts. It's slightly disorienting leaping to your feet in the dark, on the top balcony, when you've been sitting for the last hour and a half.

Donna Vivino, who played Elphaba, was a phenomenal performer and had a seriously impressive voice and range. The girl who played Glinda was great too, a little bit of over-acting on her part, but she performed one of the best and the damn funniest "Popular" I have ever seen. The little quips and the sheer wit of the play was fantastic. In one scene Elphaba comes home to her sister and Nessa asks, "Elphaba, what are you doing here?" to which Elphaba replies, "Well, there's no place like home." It was one hell of a show, I can tell you that much...highly, highly recommend it!

And that was that. We drove home with me riding shotgun, emotionally drained and tired, yawning every few seconds even though it was barely after 11 o'clock. I'm starting my saving now for the next time it comes around because even though I saw every bit of of the play clearly from the gallery, I want the orchestra experience more than anything now. Though next time, I will remember to not wear such intense makeup.