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My life has been changed for the better!  I have a new favorite musical and its name is Wicked! (A Broadway show based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) On Friday, I saw the Los Angeles production performed at the Pantages theater. Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West from the perspective of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. In addition to Elphaba and Glinda, Wicked focuses on 6 other characters and also has a few numbers that require the use of a large ensemble cast otherwise known as The Citizens of Oz.  I loved everything about Wicked from the wonderful costumes to the casts’ magnificent voices and fabulous performance.

We took our terrific, front-stage seats in the Pantages shortly before 8pm and fell under the magical spell of the show from the moment we sat down. The complex set captivated me even before the stage lit up. Wrought-iron looking staircases appeared at either side of the stage and the rest of the set had an enchanted look to it.

The show opened with Galinda and the Citizens of Oz enacting a stirring version of "No One Mourns the Wicked." I’d never heard such good sound quality during a musical before. The instruments and the voices of the Ensemble rang out loud and clear.  We could see all of the actors faces and they all seemed dedicated to entertaining the audience.

From the moment she appeared on stage, Megan Hilty (Galinda/Glinda) delivered an awesome performance. Megan has played the role of Galinda at the Pantages since Wicked opened in 2007 and before that she played Galinda both on Broadway and the National Tour. Her performance was bubbly and cheerful and completed by her curly blonde hair and valley girl accent! She did a great job of bringing the spoiled, self-centered Galinda to life. I really enjoyed Hilty’s interpretation of "Popular" even though it is not my favorite song in Wicked. She reminded me a lot of Amy Poehler’s obnoxious Saturday Night Live pre-teen character, Kaitlin. She also had some of the best looking costumes of the evening although some were a little risque and there were a few times I worried that she might pop out of her dress!

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