Thursday, June 16, 2011Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2006 at one of Mattie's favorite museums, The La Brea Tar Pits Museum in Los Angeles. The museum is one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world. Mattie loved watching excavated bones being cleaned and repaired in the museum's laboratory as well as the life-sized replicas of several extinct mammals featured outside the museum.
Quote of the day: Youth offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief. ~ Nicholas Sparks
I spent most of the day at home doing chores and working on Foundation items. Over the next two weeks I will be focused on wrapping up all unfinished Walk items.
This evening, I had the opportunity to see the musical Wicked. Peter and I saw this musical together in 2003, when it first came out. I was very familiar with the show even before I saw it in 2003 because I have the CD. In fact, even Mattie knew the music since we listened to all sorts of musicals in the car together. Peter and I differ on our feelings about Wicked, so I knew he would not want to see it again.
My friend Tina arranged for a group of us to go to the theatre tonight, since this was an end of year event for her daughter's Girl Scout troop. I invited my friend, Christine to come along and we had a chance to catch up with each other. Music and connecting through art with my friends are important to me, and I was happy that Christine was just as happy to have this time and experience together.
Wicked celebrated its seventh anniversary on October 30, 2010. It is currently the 17th longest-running Broadway show in history. Wicked tells the story of the witches from the Wizard of Oz. In essence it illustrates and helps explain how the evil witch became evil and how the good witch became good. In fact, the musical asks us in the beginning, whether evil is something one is born with or simply learns?! Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and her relationship with Galinda, later known as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North is explored. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to the events depicted in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz as a backstory.
Tonight's performance was very powerful. We saw the wicked witch portrayed by Dee Roscioli, who has played this part in more performances than any other actress. Her voice was down right incredible, rich, and frankly you just wanted to continue to hear her sing. She captured her audience with the beauty and depths of her voice. But the plot to Wicked is actually complex. It isn't like a Disney movie where we know the distinct lines between good versus evil. In Wicked the good can be evil and the evil can be good. In fact there is a fine line between these two forces, and as the musical points out sometimes people do good because of the attention it brings them rather than the ultimate desire to do good. To me this play gives one a lot to think about.
I naturally saw this play in 2003 when Mattie was alive and healthy. I wasn't sure how cancer and Mattie's death would impact my viewing of it the second time around. However, I found I still liked it and it makes me think about the motives behind peoples' actions and the bond between friends. Even friends who have diametrical personalities. There are many memorable songs from Wicked, but the one that gets my attention each time is "Changed for Good." I included that song in Mattie's celebration of life video, which we showed after his funeral. To me it is a powerful song about how one person can influence your life and have a lasting impact. Even if the person is NO longer physically present in your life. I attached a link to this song below.
Changed for Good......................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtMN3mXmvqU&feature=related
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