Happy birthday to my all time favorite musical, Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches in Oz. It is still mind blowing to me that on this day, my favorite musical of all time will turn ten years old. I’m sitting her, typing this, listening to the OBC recording for the umpteenth time this month, and all I can think about his remembering all the other times I listened to this album-back in my childhood home in elementary school, in the homes I’ve lived in since then, and now, in my college dorm. Wicked is a magical little show that I’ve carried with me for all these years, and my life truly has been made better for it. There was the time I wouldn’t go anywhere without wearing my Wicked ball cap, seeing it for my eighteenth birthday with my best friend, watching my idol and inspiration Idina Menzel in concert and meeting her afterwards, singing a medley at my senior voice recital that my teacher and I put together, my Mom bribing me with the Wicked pop-up book, freaking out my first time in New York whenever I walked by the Gershwin theatre, writing a fan letter to Stephen Schwartz and receiving a personal letter and a signed copy of the 5th Anniversary recording in the mail (Was it really five years ago?), singing “For Good” at my senior Variety Show to say goodbye to all of my friends and mentors, and so many more. The music to this show has been the soundtrack for the happy times in my life, and a rock for me during the rough times. To every person who laid a hand in making this show happen day after day, year after year, I wish I could give each one of you a hug. But a special shout out to all the Elphabas, especially MY Elphabas-Stephanie J. Block, Dee Roscioli, Carmen Cusack, Vicki Noon, and Christine Dwyer. You ladies always reaffirmed my belief that different is good, and that I can be brave and stand up for myself and make a change in my world, that I’m not defined by other people’s limits.
