Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a lovely day! Yesterday I spent the morning working, editing my LinkedIn, things of that sort. In the afternoon, I took a trip to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. I spent the entire afternoon exploring he Serpentine Gallery, The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, and surrounding statues and memorials in the park. It was such a beautiful day that I didn't even need a coat! I was taking the central line back to my flat when the train stopped at Oxford Circle, as there was a passenger incident at the next station, and the line would be stopped until the investigation was finished. Knowing that this would take ages, I stepped off the train and began walking to my flat. Though it was a bit of a long walk, I really enjoyed being able to walk in the sunshine and stroll down Oxford Street.
Last night I didn't post because I got back quite late from seeing Wicked at the Apollo and Victoria Theatre. I loosely knew the premise of the musical, but was quite unsure what to expect. The play is about the early life of Glinda, The Good Witch, and Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West, from the film The Wizard of Oz. The plot is set within the "world" that was constructed by the film and has a significant overlap in characters. The play is a view into how Elphaba and Glenda met, how their relationship evolved, and the history of Oz before Dorothy comes along. The plot was overall good, though there were a few plot points that strongly clashed with the film, but I won't tell you, as that would absolutely ruin the plot for my lovely fashionators who have yet to enjoy this production.
The set was one of the most elaborate I'd seen, only being surpassed by the interactive set of The Drowned Man. I was very impressed with the way the set changed quickly and seamlessly. Costuming was phenomenal and incredibly detailed. The costumes were strongly constructed (easy to see from the fourth row of the stalls), elaborate, and had a variety of textures in each costume, which made them absolutely delicious to see on the stage. The lighting and visual effects were obviously the by-product of a generous budget and lots of technical skill. An orchestra provided the gorgeous music scores and many sound effects.
The decent plot and strong visuals were great, but were nothing compared to the talent of the main two actresses. Elphaba was played by Willemijn Verkaik, a Dutch actress. I'm not sure I can even describe her performance without resorting to elementary phrases such as "incredible", "beyond words", and "you simply need to see it for yourself to understand", but unfortunately, there are literally no words to captivate how moving her performance was. In a large, flashy production like Wicked, only good actors- not great- are needed to attract an audience. Fortunately, Elphaba was played by an incredible actress. Her understanding of the character and her commitment to every aspect of Elphaba was beyond believable. I don't know if I have ever seen such a believable performance- I felt like I really understood Elphaba as a person when I left the theatre. Her singing voice is naturally beautiful, but she captivated so much emotion and power when she sang. Her vocals are easily better than all the artists on the Billboard Hot 100 list right now. In the number Defying Gravity I had chill bumps all over (in a stuffy theatre) and was emotionally tired after experiencing that moment with her. Her performance was one of the best I have ever seen.
Glinda (the good witch) was played by the stand-by actress Sophie Linder-Lee last night. I wouldn't have thought of her as an understudy if I hadn't gone to the website and looked today. It actually never crossed my mind that the Glinda I saw last night was not the actress who played Glinda every night. Her sass and dazzle made the character of Glinda, a blonde and ditzy young lady, an entirely adorable and lovable character. With the wrong delivery or energy, Glinda could easily appear to be an evil, spoiled brat who is a shallow and self-centered. She had a gorgeous soprano voice that beautifully carried through the theatre. She performed her musical numbers with amazing energy and many touches that made Glinda very personable and kept the audience giggling. Glinda also had an amazing shoe collection while at University. It has nothing to do with the plot, but it made me love her even more, because shoes make everything more enjoyable.
Speaking of shoes, I spent my day in the most wonderful way! I was in a meeting all day with Upper Street. Sounds terribly corporate and dreadful, right? Absolutely not! I had the most splendid day with an amazing group of women. We ate vanilla fairy cake and sipped tea, enjoyed a lunch of pizza in the back garden, took group photos, and learned how to spread our fairy dust to keep improving ourselves and the company. It was one of the most inspiring experiences I've ever had. I left my camera at work (oops), but will be posting photos tomorrow of my... uhm.... outfit for today. I got a bit of help from Julia accessorizing!
I would love to post the rest of my photos from my trip to Paris, but as I just stated, I left my camera at the office and kind of need it to get the photos. Oopsies! I guess you'll just have to check the Fascinator tomorrow! Have an amazing Friday- it's almost the weekend!
xo
BJordan
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