a WICKED kind of night

As the hour struck 8 pm last night, I was quickly transported into the land of OZ, and back in time to learn the tales of two very different, yet similar witches. This was of course the musical "Wicked".
For my first musical, I have to say that I enjoyed myself more than I anticipated. Though I am not a huge fan of musicals, I am a very huge fan of live performances, and this is really where it's at for me.
The set was beautiful, and at times I found myself (being the technical person I can sometimes be) fascinated by the fluid movement of the huge sets, and actors on cue, transitioning scene to scene. Everything about live performance is captivating. From the element of mistake that cannot be undone, to the sheer creative aspect of human performance.
Whether it's musicians, or actors, live performance is just captive of my attention and heart. The story was cool too, dont get me wrong. But for me, I am focused more on the performace of human beings, telling a tale to the audience, expressing themselves for our enjoyment.
During some of the lengthy songs, I found myself wandering to the sets, wondering how did they do that, watching all the mechanics of the actors footsteps, knowing exactly when to turn. With about 15 people on stage, it's very fascinating the way lights, sound and acting come together to form a huge choreographed scene. It's not only the dance routine that is taking place, but every aspect of sound, and lights to form a beautiful, enchanting performance.
OF course the element for mistake is there, and a good actor will not let you notice that mistake, however, Glinda was not one of those actors last night, and chuckled after tripping, and breaking her character a few times.
In summary, the story was great, and the company was superb to make my first musical a success.