New York: The Wicked Lottery

I have desperately wanted to see the musical Wicked ever since 2006 (when my dear friend slipped me the soundtrack and we listened to it repeatedly on a car trip).  I almost died of jealousy when Carter got to see it in London two years ago.  So getting to the Gershwin Theater on Broadway to see Elphaba, Glinda, and the rest of the gang was high on the list of things I wanted to do in New York. 

There were some difficulties to overcome, though.  First of all, Katie's not a big fan of musical theater.  In fact, she had not been to a proper Broadway show in the two years she's lived in Manhattan (she's been to exactly one play: she saw Jude Law as Hamlet).  It wasn't easy to convince her that this was something she HAD to do before she left.  Also, I didn't realize this beforehand, but as soon as you step foot in New York, you begin to hemorrhage money.  My budget was close to completely blown by the time our schedule allowed us some time to get to the play (and the only available tickets online and at the theater were going for $150 to $350--waaaay too much!).  The best option was to try for the lottery.  And again, because of the way Katie and I had planned the weekend, we had one shot and one shot only to win.

The lottery, as I learned, is where you line up outside the box office two and a half hours before curtain to put your name into a hat.  When it's exactly two hours before the play starts, they draw out 13 names and those lucky people can buy 1 or 2 tickets for the show for a deeply discounted price ($26.50, which in NY is like your diet coke tab at dinner).  And they're not just any tickets.  They are FRONT ROW tickets, right above the orchestra.  It's cash only and you have to stick around in the hot, hot heat the entire time (all in all it takes about an hour, but it feels longer).  Katie and I decided to give it a go.

We showed up at the theater to discover a long line had already formed (we were there a half an hour before they started taking names--a full three hours before curtain).  My heart sunk.  It sunk even further as I watched people line up behind us.  Every second our odds got worse as more people showed up.  Katie went to buy us drinks while I stayed in line and worked on opening the second pocket of my new dress (one pocket was inexplicably sewn up--it seems silly but picking out that thread was a good distraction).  When she got back, we looked around us and decided Wicked probably wasn't going to happen.  So then Katie went down the street to price tickets and figure out show times at Mama Mia (my second choice musical--because suddenly I felt I couldn't leave NY without seeing a show and Katie, being the good hostess she is, was willing to make it happen). And then we waited in line some more.

 Katie in line

 Kelly in line

Finally it was time to put our names in the hat.  I wrote my name first and then waited for Katie to do the same.  I joked with Katie that I was glad I was with her because she is always very, very lucky.  I told her if one of our names was called, it would DEFINITELY be hers.  She thought that was funny.  We began the waiting game for the drawing.  We took some pictures.  We noticed that Katie Rose Clarke was still in the role of Glinda.  We decided that was a good omen, but started humming ABBA songs to help soften the seemingly inevitable blow of losing the Wicked lottery.

Finally the man yelled it was time to announce the winners (he already had a stack of cards in his hand--we never did see a drawing).  We looked around and saw that there were at least 150 people holding their breath, waiting for the 13 names.  I crossed my fingers.  He called eight names and then it happened.  "Katie Rose!"  We looked at each other and started laughing in shock.  He had to call her name a second time.  Then she ran up and got in the winners line.  She showed her ID while I waited in the crowd.  He checked the line twice and asked if they all wanted the number of tickets they wrote down.  Then, he dismissed the crowd and I ran up to Katie.  We could barely contain our glee.  We were finally allowed into the lobby where the box office was at that point.  They gave Katie her "I won the Wicked Lottery" button and she purchased the tickets.  And then she had to admit out loud that I was right and she's a lucky person.

We had just enough time to go grab a quick lunch before curtain.  Katie took me to a lovely cafe overlooking Columbus Circle.  It was absolutely delicious (we split a Fontina grilled cheese and tomato soup dish and a endive and apple salad), although everything felt sweeter after our win.  We kept looking at each other and laughing in excitement.  Giddy doesn't even begin to cover how we felt.  Even Katie, who had previously been groaning about musicals, couldn't wait to see the show.  After we finished lunch, she introduced me to my new love, the macaroon.  My mouth is watering just thinking about that divine chocolate cookie.

 The view from the window by our table

Before I knew it, we were back in the theater, in the front row, watching the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West unfold.  And to Katie's complete surprise, she loved it (although when "half time" came around, she was sure it was over and was a bit surprised to learn there was another hour and a half).  Of course "Popular" and "Defying Gravity" were our favorites.  We also got a big kick out of the costumes (especially the shoes because we had an excellent view of them).  Seriously, I think we had the best seats in the house (we were right in front of the trap door and almost all of the dramatic action that took place to one side took place on OUR side of the stage--which made me wonder when I remembered the guy switched our place in line and had us trade with another woman.  Also, Katie said she saw the man turn her card vertically in the pile after she smiled at him and he saw the name.  Was Katie lucky or was The Bubble* at work?  I still can't decide.  I'm just thankful I was the one that got her other ticket!).

All too soon it was time to leave the land of Oz.  We jumped to our feet to applaud.  Boq saw us and waved right at us.  I still can't get over how close we were!  I've only seen a handful of Broadway-style shows (Phantom, Les Mis, Notre Dame de Paris, Rent, Grease, and now Wicked), but this was far and away my favorite.  I loved the changes they made from the book.  The songs were fantastic and the spectacle divine.  Winning the lottery was icing on the cake.   I'm so glad I made it to Broadway on my trip!  And that seeing Wicked could be checked off of the list of things I want to do in life!

*I always tell Katie that she enjoys the special treatment in The Bubble that Liz Lemon discovered Dr. Drew got in the 30 Rock episode of the same name.  I regularly make Bubble references when I hear about the free drinks in restaurants she gets or when sales associates hand her full size samples of beauty products in boutiques and such.  The red hair and magical smile combination really work for her!