Wicked!

I went to see Wicked on Broadway Tuesday night with Lori, and it was spectacular. The untold story of the witches from the Wizard of Oz strikes me as a musical version of the way The Mists of Avalon tells the story of the women behind the legend of King Arthur. It was funny, charming, and a visual cornucopia, especially the flying effects at the end of Act One ("Defying Gravity"). I had checked out the soundtrack from the library months ago and put it on my iPod, not intending to listen to it until I'd seen the show, so I listened to it on the train ride home - how's that for instant gratification?

The songs are really starting to grow on me, and you can hear them online at the Web site's Music Player. One duet at the end of the show has a particularly poignant lyric that makes me think of Tara and what we've been through the last four years - the song is called "For Good" and the first part goes like this:

I've heard it said that people come into our lives
For a reason, bringing something we must learn
And we are led to those who help us most to grow
If we let them and we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true,
But I know I'm who I am today because I knew you

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
Because I knew you I have been changed for good.