leighblack (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
leighblack) wrote2005-05-19 02:21 pm
leighblack) wrote2005-05-19 02:21 pm
Entry tags:
Look out! It's another circle.
My boss is out today, so that makes it a fine time to write up my recap of my Wicked weekend. I would normally include photos, but I didn't take very many, so I haven't gotten my film developed. I can post them later, I suppose.
Friday, May 13th
Our day started out rather early, as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
duckduck (henceforth, 2-L) and auroram (henceforth, Aurora) picked me up around 8:30 and we headed over to taylorea's (henceforth, uhhh, Bren) house. We packed up 2-L's Explorer and headed on our way to Chicago. I'm really not used to traveling with people in the car. I usually make that drive by myself, singing show tunes and such on my way across Wisconsin. I didn't really think about needing to entertain the troops, but Bren had it covered. She brought Cranium Hoopla! along and several games were played.
We stopped at the Hearty Platter in Mauston for lunch, which is a truck stop I normally get gas at, but have never eaten at. They have a small buffet and it was scary. Not the buffet itself, but the large amount of uncommonly large people who were bellying up to it were very frightening. I was happy to leave. I took over driving duties from 2-L at that point, and we continued on our way. Aurora popped Bend it Like Beckham into her laptop and proceeded to get some really bad motion sickness. That sure didn't look fun.
We finally made it into the Chicago suburbs, and my MapQuest directions took us on some really wacky voyage. And told us to turn onto this road we never did really find. Thus began our first circle, as we drove around the area of our hotel, without being able to figure out how to get to it. We eventually figured it out and settled in at the Residence Inn. Oh my! What a great place! Our room was SO big!! There was a small kitchen and a huge living room when you walked in, then a bedroom branched off each side. Each bedroom had a queen-size bed, a closet, and a full bath. Definitely enough room for five people. I'd certainly stay there again.
cyberwuzzle (we'll call her Anya) called just as we arrived to say that her plane was delayed because of bad weather. Not a big deal. I touched base with xiolablux (that would be Julee) about our plans for the evening, then we headed over to IHOP for some dinner. Some very, very crabby, bitchy people were at the table next to ours and I felt very sorry for the waiter. I shot them very mean looks. Bren & I went back to the hotel to get ready for the evening, while 2-L & Aurora wandered over to Target.
After we finally heard from Anya that she had arrived, Bren & I went to pick her up at O'Hare. Other than changing flights there, I haven't been to O'Hare since I was 12. So that was a bit of an adventure. I'm not used to driving 2-L's big ass SUV, but I think I did okay, considering the amount of traffic. Bren jumped out of the car, pushed Anya into the back like we were kidnapping her, and we headed back for the hotel. This was were the trouble started. There was so much road construction that I got really confused about where we were supposed to go. Our exit was closed, and there was no detour, so ended up going in two big circles before we finally got turned the right way to go back to the hotel. By now, I had a pretty good grasp on the area, from seeing so much of it.
We dropped off Anya's stuff, picked up Aurora & 2-L, and headed out to meet Julee &littleweirdgirl (AKA Stef) at Hala Kahiki. Which we passed on our first and try and had to turn around and go back. Introductions were made and we all gathered around a really huge table. It was a little weird having my home friends and internet friends collide, but it all worked out fine.
The idea of Hala Kahiki is that it's a tiki bar, and you order a bunch of really sweet, sugary drinks. One at a time. And very slowly, as they take the drink menu away from you after every order. Everyone seemed to really enjoy their first drinks, but the second drinks were only so-so. I had a Raspberry Colada, and then something with Rum and Chocolate. Bren & Anya shared a drink that was on fire. It looked cool, but wasn't all that great to drink. I caught up with Julee & Stef since I haven't seen them in a while and we made our plans to meet up the next day.
We managed to make it back to the hotel without going in even one circle. =)
Sat, May 14th
As soon as I woke up the next morning, I knew I was getting sick. I decided to deny it and just blame the sore throat on my allergies instead. We had planned on going to the aquarium in the morning before the show, but ended up getting up way too late for that. Instead we mosied our way along to breakfast. I'm used to doughnuts and bagels, but they had a huge spread. Eggs, potatoes, cereal, fruit, toast, pastries, etc. You could even make your own fresh waffles! Yum!
We finally got dressed and organized and headed into the city. I drove again, as 2-L is a little leery about city driving. We did pretty well until we got downtown and there was more construction. And we ended up in a circle again. But I figured it out pretty quickly and we ended up where we needed to be without much fuss. We parked in this lot where a rather scary Russian man insisted on parking the car for us, because I'd never be able to back into the spot he wanted us in.
We decided to just wander around downtown until we needed to be at the theater. I took some geeky photos of the Oriental Theater before the crowd started to form. Where do five book geeks go? Why, the huge Borders, of course. We were happy to see that they had several of Anya's books in stock. (this should probably be where I pimp AnyaBast.com) She spent some quality time cleaning up the bay that held the Ellora's Cave books, and facing out her books. ;) She ended up signing them for the store, which totally made me want to grab some random books and say I was the author so I could sign them. I picked up the new Susan Squires, Angela Knight & one other book (which I can't remember right now). Sometimes I really miss being at B&N all the time. But not very often.
We made our way to Starbucks then went to hang out in front of the theater. I was just a teensy bit antsy at that point and nervously bopping around. We got into the theater and saw that Kendra's understudy, Katie Adams, would be going on as G(a)linda. I was okay with that, as I'd heard Katie was really good. I would have had words if Stephanie wasn't on though. I adored her when I saw her on Broadway in The Boy From Oz and was really looking forward to seeing her as Elphaba. I spent quite a lot of cash at the OzDust Boutique (buying a hoodie, a tour T-shirt and a program) then Aurora & I said goodbye to everyone as they made their way up to the balcony and we sauntered onto the floor.
Our seats were SO fab! We were a lot closer than I thought we'd be. We had a lot of glee about that. The theater itself was really beautiful. I was essentially buzzing with excitement as I looked all around. I've been waiting to see Wicked for sooooo long!! Aurora & I were pretty happy that our seats were away from everyone else so no one would be able to see us bawling through the show.
I could go on a song-by-song recap, but I'll spare you that pain. Just a mini-recap instead:
- The sets! They're so amazing! There's so much movement, and so many details! It's really grandiose.
- The costumes!! OMG! They're so lush!! And pretty! And there's boys in skirts!! *squee* All in all, they're just spectacular.
- Stephanie!! I was a little disappointed that she didn't hit the high G in "Defying Gravity," but that's my only complaint. She was so perfect as Elphie! I was completely mesmerized by her.
- The rest of the cast was great too! I could gush about them all for a long time. Carol Kane as Madame Morrible = perfection
- I have no shame. I was already crying by "The Wizard and I." And I was visibly shaking, yes shaking, all during "Defying Gravity." That song just means so much to me. *sigh* And I was uncontrollably weeping all through "For Good" and the finale. Even though I knew all the plot twists. Even though I knew there would be a happy ending. Still, unabashed, uncontrolled weeping. Worse than when Angel dies in Rent, if you can believe.
- A special mention for "No Good Deed," which is probably my favorite song after DG. *guh* It was so great! Stephanie really nailed it.
After I composed myself and fixed my sparkly green makeup, we met up with everyone (for those keeping track thats me, Aurora, Bren, 2-L, Anya, Anya's friend Amy - who had to leave after the show, Stef, Julee, her boy John, her sister Michelle and her boy Tony) and headed to dinner. We ate at La Cantina in the Italian Village and it was goooooooooood. At dinner, Stef informed me that because I was away from teh Internets for the weekend, I had missed the news that Faster Pussycat had been added to the Blackboard Jungle show at The Whisky. *major squeeage* I finally get to see my boys after almost two years!! I really miss my Chaddy. So, happiness abounded at dinner.
We made our way through the cold wind back to the theater and parted ways. Hugs & goodbyes were shared. We found our way out of the city without much problem, then I wasn't paying attention and went East on 94 instead of West, and we had to go in a circle again to go in the right direction. D'Oh! We got back to the hotel and didn't really have any plans after that. Bowling was mentioned, but there wasn't a lot of motivation. We ended up watching Big Wolf on Campus on Aurora's laptop. My cold finally caught up with me and I fell asleep in a chair around 10pm. Ugh. Sometimes I'm a real loser. Everyone else went into the bedroom to play Hoopla and I curled up on the couch and went to sleep.
Sun, May 15th
Unfortunately, I woke up around 2:30am and didn't really get back to sleep for more than 10 mins at a time. I was pretty miserable. But I got myself up & ready so that we could take Anya to the airport around 7:30. We had to go in a circle once again to get back to the hotel, but it was because of the construction and not really my fault. Bren & I hit the breakfast buffet when we got back, then showered and packed. Before we all left, we went to Target once again so I could get DayQuil and throat lozenges.
I figured out how to get to 94 from our hotel, which entailed us going in one more big circle, and we were on our way back to Wisconsin. We had decided to take the long way home through Milwaukee so that we could hit a couple of 'Sconi's finer attractions.
First up was a stop at the Jelly Belly warehouse. Yes, we rode the train around the warehouse and learned all about Jelly Belly's. Yes, we wore the paper hats. Yes, we got free Jelly Belly's. I kind of wanted to take a nap in the car, but I went along with it. Money was spent on much sugary goodness in the gift shop. Then we went over to the Mars Cheese Castle to have lunch and, uhh, buy cheese. (Carly, you have no idea how much I wanted to call you while I was there!) They really do have the best.cheese.ever!
The rest of the drive home was rather uneventful. Ann called to say hi and was jealous that I had gone to the Cheese Castle. Bren & Aurora played Hoopla and napped. I drove until I was exhausted, then gave 2-L back her SUV and napped myself. I also made it through a good chunk of the new Katie MacAlister book. We got home around 7pm and I got back to my place in plenty of time for the Crossing Jordan season finale. Which was my goal. ;)
So, all in all, Wicked was fabulous and I really, really, really can't wait to see it again. And The Legend does a pretty good job of planning girl's weekends. =)
Next up, LA in two weeks! YAY!!! There will be much Jager to be had.
Friday, May 13th
Our day started out rather early, as
duckduck (henceforth, 2-L) and auroram (henceforth, Aurora) picked me up around 8:30 and we headed over to taylorea's (henceforth, uhhh, Bren) house. We packed up 2-L's Explorer and headed on our way to Chicago. I'm really not used to traveling with people in the car. I usually make that drive by myself, singing show tunes and such on my way across Wisconsin. I didn't really think about needing to entertain the troops, but Bren had it covered. She brought Cranium Hoopla! along and several games were played. We stopped at the Hearty Platter in Mauston for lunch, which is a truck stop I normally get gas at, but have never eaten at. They have a small buffet and it was scary. Not the buffet itself, but the large amount of uncommonly large people who were bellying up to it were very frightening. I was happy to leave. I took over driving duties from 2-L at that point, and we continued on our way. Aurora popped Bend it Like Beckham into her laptop and proceeded to get some really bad motion sickness. That sure didn't look fun.
We finally made it into the Chicago suburbs, and my MapQuest directions took us on some really wacky voyage. And told us to turn onto this road we never did really find. Thus began our first circle, as we drove around the area of our hotel, without being able to figure out how to get to it. We eventually figured it out and settled in at the Residence Inn. Oh my! What a great place! Our room was SO big!! There was a small kitchen and a huge living room when you walked in, then a bedroom branched off each side. Each bedroom had a queen-size bed, a closet, and a full bath. Definitely enough room for five people. I'd certainly stay there again.
cyberwuzzle (we'll call her Anya) called just as we arrived to say that her plane was delayed because of bad weather. Not a big deal. I touched base with xiolablux (that would be Julee) about our plans for the evening, then we headed over to IHOP for some dinner. Some very, very crabby, bitchy people were at the table next to ours and I felt very sorry for the waiter. I shot them very mean looks. Bren & I went back to the hotel to get ready for the evening, while 2-L & Aurora wandered over to Target.After we finally heard from Anya that she had arrived, Bren & I went to pick her up at O'Hare. Other than changing flights there, I haven't been to O'Hare since I was 12. So that was a bit of an adventure. I'm not used to driving 2-L's big ass SUV, but I think I did okay, considering the amount of traffic. Bren jumped out of the car, pushed Anya into the back like we were kidnapping her, and we headed back for the hotel. This was were the trouble started. There was so much road construction that I got really confused about where we were supposed to go. Our exit was closed, and there was no detour, so ended up going in two big circles before we finally got turned the right way to go back to the hotel. By now, I had a pretty good grasp on the area, from seeing so much of it.
We dropped off Anya's stuff, picked up Aurora & 2-L, and headed out to meet Julee &
littleweirdgirl (AKA Stef) at Hala Kahiki. Which we passed on our first and try and had to turn around and go back. Introductions were made and we all gathered around a really huge table. It was a little weird having my home friends and internet friends collide, but it all worked out fine. The idea of Hala Kahiki is that it's a tiki bar, and you order a bunch of really sweet, sugary drinks. One at a time. And very slowly, as they take the drink menu away from you after every order. Everyone seemed to really enjoy their first drinks, but the second drinks were only so-so. I had a Raspberry Colada, and then something with Rum and Chocolate. Bren & Anya shared a drink that was on fire. It looked cool, but wasn't all that great to drink. I caught up with Julee & Stef since I haven't seen them in a while and we made our plans to meet up the next day.
We managed to make it back to the hotel without going in even one circle. =)
Sat, May 14th
As soon as I woke up the next morning, I knew I was getting sick. I decided to deny it and just blame the sore throat on my allergies instead. We had planned on going to the aquarium in the morning before the show, but ended up getting up way too late for that. Instead we mosied our way along to breakfast. I'm used to doughnuts and bagels, but they had a huge spread. Eggs, potatoes, cereal, fruit, toast, pastries, etc. You could even make your own fresh waffles! Yum!
We finally got dressed and organized and headed into the city. I drove again, as 2-L is a little leery about city driving. We did pretty well until we got downtown and there was more construction. And we ended up in a circle again. But I figured it out pretty quickly and we ended up where we needed to be without much fuss. We parked in this lot where a rather scary Russian man insisted on parking the car for us, because I'd never be able to back into the spot he wanted us in.
We decided to just wander around downtown until we needed to be at the theater. I took some geeky photos of the Oriental Theater before the crowd started to form. Where do five book geeks go? Why, the huge Borders, of course. We were happy to see that they had several of Anya's books in stock. (this should probably be where I pimp AnyaBast.com) She spent some quality time cleaning up the bay that held the Ellora's Cave books, and facing out her books. ;) She ended up signing them for the store, which totally made me want to grab some random books and say I was the author so I could sign them. I picked up the new Susan Squires, Angela Knight & one other book (which I can't remember right now). Sometimes I really miss being at B&N all the time. But not very often.
We made our way to Starbucks then went to hang out in front of the theater. I was just a teensy bit antsy at that point and nervously bopping around. We got into the theater and saw that Kendra's understudy, Katie Adams, would be going on as G(a)linda. I was okay with that, as I'd heard Katie was really good. I would have had words if Stephanie wasn't on though. I adored her when I saw her on Broadway in The Boy From Oz and was really looking forward to seeing her as Elphaba. I spent quite a lot of cash at the OzDust Boutique (buying a hoodie, a tour T-shirt and a program) then Aurora & I said goodbye to everyone as they made their way up to the balcony and we sauntered onto the floor.
Our seats were SO fab! We were a lot closer than I thought we'd be. We had a lot of glee about that. The theater itself was really beautiful. I was essentially buzzing with excitement as I looked all around. I've been waiting to see Wicked for sooooo long!! Aurora & I were pretty happy that our seats were away from everyone else so no one would be able to see us bawling through the show.
I could go on a song-by-song recap, but I'll spare you that pain. Just a mini-recap instead:
- The sets! They're so amazing! There's so much movement, and so many details! It's really grandiose.
- The costumes!! OMG! They're so lush!! And pretty! And there's boys in skirts!! *squee* All in all, they're just spectacular.
- Stephanie!! I was a little disappointed that she didn't hit the high G in "Defying Gravity," but that's my only complaint. She was so perfect as Elphie! I was completely mesmerized by her.
- The rest of the cast was great too! I could gush about them all for a long time. Carol Kane as Madame Morrible = perfection
- I have no shame. I was already crying by "The Wizard and I." And I was visibly shaking, yes shaking, all during "Defying Gravity." That song just means so much to me. *sigh* And I was uncontrollably weeping all through "For Good" and the finale. Even though I knew all the plot twists. Even though I knew there would be a happy ending. Still, unabashed, uncontrolled weeping. Worse than when Angel dies in Rent, if you can believe.
- A special mention for "No Good Deed," which is probably my favorite song after DG. *guh* It was so great! Stephanie really nailed it.
After I composed myself and fixed my sparkly green makeup, we met up with everyone (for those keeping track thats me, Aurora, Bren, 2-L, Anya, Anya's friend Amy - who had to leave after the show, Stef, Julee, her boy John, her sister Michelle and her boy Tony) and headed to dinner. We ate at La Cantina in the Italian Village and it was goooooooooood. At dinner, Stef informed me that because I was away from teh Internets for the weekend, I had missed the news that Faster Pussycat had been added to the Blackboard Jungle show at The Whisky. *major squeeage* I finally get to see my boys after almost two years!! I really miss my Chaddy. So, happiness abounded at dinner.
We made our way through the cold wind back to the theater and parted ways. Hugs & goodbyes were shared. We found our way out of the city without much problem, then I wasn't paying attention and went East on 94 instead of West, and we had to go in a circle again to go in the right direction. D'Oh! We got back to the hotel and didn't really have any plans after that. Bowling was mentioned, but there wasn't a lot of motivation. We ended up watching Big Wolf on Campus on Aurora's laptop. My cold finally caught up with me and I fell asleep in a chair around 10pm. Ugh. Sometimes I'm a real loser. Everyone else went into the bedroom to play Hoopla and I curled up on the couch and went to sleep.
Sun, May 15th
Unfortunately, I woke up around 2:30am and didn't really get back to sleep for more than 10 mins at a time. I was pretty miserable. But I got myself up & ready so that we could take Anya to the airport around 7:30. We had to go in a circle once again to get back to the hotel, but it was because of the construction and not really my fault. Bren & I hit the breakfast buffet when we got back, then showered and packed. Before we all left, we went to Target once again so I could get DayQuil and throat lozenges.
I figured out how to get to 94 from our hotel, which entailed us going in one more big circle, and we were on our way back to Wisconsin. We had decided to take the long way home through Milwaukee so that we could hit a couple of 'Sconi's finer attractions.
First up was a stop at the Jelly Belly warehouse. Yes, we rode the train around the warehouse and learned all about Jelly Belly's. Yes, we wore the paper hats. Yes, we got free Jelly Belly's. I kind of wanted to take a nap in the car, but I went along with it. Money was spent on much sugary goodness in the gift shop. Then we went over to the Mars Cheese Castle to have lunch and, uhh, buy cheese. (Carly, you have no idea how much I wanted to call you while I was there!) They really do have the best.cheese.ever!
The rest of the drive home was rather uneventful. Ann called to say hi and was jealous that I had gone to the Cheese Castle. Bren & Aurora played Hoopla and napped. I drove until I was exhausted, then gave 2-L back her SUV and napped myself. I also made it through a good chunk of the new Katie MacAlister book. We got home around 7pm and I got back to my place in plenty of time for the Crossing Jordan season finale. Which was my goal. ;)
So, all in all, Wicked was fabulous and I really, really, really can't wait to see it again. And The Legend does a pretty good job of planning girl's weekends. =)
Next up, LA in two weeks! YAY!!! There will be much Jager to be had.