The Magnificent Wicked the Musical

I’ve never been big on musicals. The fact that the actors had to sing and dance every ten seconds into the storyline made little sense to me. Maybe I lacked the insight but musicals were never my thing. That all changed one fine day when all I could hear was my friends continuously talk about Wicked on social media websites and how it shouldn’t be missed. In order to figure out what all the fuss was about I did what any rational person would do. I logged onto popular website TicketVistas and bought me a pair of Cheap Wicked Tickets and headed to the majestic Gershwin Theater to watch a presentation of what in my opinion was an extremely overrated piece of Broadway. Boy was I proven wrong.

The musical manages to capture the same majestic grandeur of Oz which made the classic 1939 Hollywood movie starring iconic actress Judy Garland a massive blockbuster. It features magnificent performances all around and breakthrough special effects which contribute heavily to the overall feel of the show. The set design is breathtaking and does a great job of bringing the Land of Oz back to life. The music and lyrics kick things up a notch and set the bar for magical entertainment.

Wicked is probably the best musical I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen quite a few. The story of a green-skinned evil witch Elphaba and her relationship with popular good witch Glinda is a treat to watch. Except for a few parts which were frightening for children, the musical does a fantastic job of immersing the audience in the enchanted Land of Oz

It takes two to tango. Wicked gives you a chance to hear the bad guys side of the story for a change, who, under normal circumstances, die a painful death at the hands of the hero. The audience wakes up to citizens of Oz celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. During that time Glinda, the Good Witch of the South appears to explain, through a series of flashbacks, why the green skinned witch whose name is Elphaba melted and their history together.

Popularly dubbed as “The Untold Story of Oz” the musical is based on Gregory Maguire’s best-selling book titled Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which was a parallel novel to the classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The show makes frequent references to the beloved Frank Baum book, and is written from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West whilst Dorothy’s journey through the Land of Oz.

Children make up a large portion of the audience and are drawn to this particular musical because of its ability to appeal to their imaginations by breathing life into their favorite characters from the movie right before their eyes.

If you’re planning on purchasing Wicked Broadway Tickets then I’d recommend seeing the show in the company of your family and friends to get more bang for your buck. This one will surely entertain you like it entertained me. Have fun!

Gaga Power

I got lucky couple of weeks back. No not that. I got lucky when I found a pair of  lady gaga ticket on TicketVistas. The popular website did what it promised; notify me on my email when tickets started selling for a bargain. I’ve been meaning to catch this pop sensation in action ever since she burst onto the scene couple of years back and made established stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera look old fashioned and clichéd. For me Gaga was a reinvention and a younger version of my favorite artist Madonna. Only this was a raunchier and bolder version of the Queen of Pop.

I had heard several stories about Lady Gaga’s Concerts and she goes the distance in entertaining her fans but this was the first time I was actually going to know what all the fuss was about. I mean I knew she’s a good singer but was she even better live? Well after attending her concert I can safely say that she is by far one of most entertaining and exciting icons of music to watch perform live. I would probably run out of good adjectives to describe how good her concert event really was.

Gaga appeared on stage on a giant animatronic horse which completely captivated the audience and loud cheers could be heard as her “little monsters” welcomed her onto the stage. She began with “I’m going to sing my heart out for my fans” and to say that she made good on that promise would be a huge understatement.

The concert not only featured her smash hit singles which brought her to mainstream prominence like “Poker Face”, “Bad Romance”, “Telephone” and “Paparazzi” but there were insane props and laser lights that filled up the arena including mesmerizing pyrotechnic effects.

The tiny singer performed for a staggering two hours and every song was accompanied by a completely wild costume which blended well with the gothic background.

The highlight of the night for me was when Lady Gaga performed her controversial slow-temp ballad “Princess Die” to honor the late Princess Diana and raise questions about her death. What’s worth mentioning here is that the entire song was performed from a keyboard while sitting on top of a motorcycle.

What sets “mother monster” apart from the current lineup of pop stars is that she interacts with her fans throughout the show and this particular concert was no different. Gaga continuously told jokes and at one point played with the mouth of a blowup doll that had been thrown on the stage by one of her fans and said, “Is that supposed to be me?” and “That’s a pretty small hole … just saying”.

Lady Gaga officially blew my mind. You need to experience her perform live at least once. Trust me … it’s well worth the money.

The Book of Mormon is a Fucked Up but Funny Musical

Hilarious, funny, offensive and sacrilegious. After purchasing Cheap Book of Mormon Tickets from TicketVistas for a discount and watching one of its presentations at the Eugene O’Neil Theater in New York City I was completely lost for words when it came to describing this particular musical

On one hand The Book of Mormon is freakishly hilarious. From the opening Act to the entire length of the show laughter could be hard. LOL took on a whole new meaning during the show and audiences could be seen laughing their ass off, and I’ve got to admit, there were times when I ran out of air from laughing so hard.

The Book of Mormon is hilarious, no doubt about it. It’ll have you LMAO’ING in to time, and chances are you’ll have a grand time. But then there were plenty of, “OMG they didn’t just say that” moments as well. When you purchase The Book of Mormon Broadway Tickets, keep one thing in mind. This musical isn’t for the faint of heart or for religiously sensitive people. It is laced with profanity throughout. The F and C words have been brutally overused and it doesn’t hesitate in making fun of the Mormon Church.

Despite the fact that practicing Mormons have been depicted as good, kind hearted individuals, the religion itself is ridiculed constantly by a Jesus dressed in a light-up costume, Joseph Smith in a spray tan and blond wig and a silent Brigham Young. The church’s morality, official stance on homosexuality and acceptance of black people as its members is questioned multiple times throughout the musical. 

Controversial creators of late night smash hit comedy South Park have gone all out on this one. Some would even say they’ve gone overboard and don’t hold anything back when it comes to making fun of the Mormon religion. Matt Stone and Trey Parker have made a musical comedy that has offended a lot of people, but it’s probably what they were aiming for.

Offensive sure but the Book of Mormon is a great production. The highlight of the show is adrenalin soaked choreography of Casey Nicholaw and tight laughter based direction of Trey Parker. The leading man Gavin Creel is brilliant in the role of Elder Price and his performance sets the tone of the show and contributes heavily to the overall feel of the musical.

If you’re not sensitive about religious matters or profanity laced content I recommend you watch a presentation of The Book of Mormon at your earliest. Your face will hurt from laughing constantly. That’s a guarantee!

Upton Brothers Could Potentially Play for the Braves Together

MLB’s 2013 season is upon us and as always franchise teams are looking to update their 40-man roster with the best in the league to strengthen their squad and get a couple of wins under their belt.

This past November the Braves signed a five-year contract with star center fielder B.J. Upton for a whopping US$ 75.25 million. Upon signing of the deal B.J. Upton said that he and his younger brother Justin Upton had discussed the possibility of playing in Atlanta together and were hoping a miracle lands them together in the same squad.

Well people who’ve already bought Atlanta Braves 2013 Season Tickets might be in for a surprise this season and might just get to see the Upton brothers playing together. If reports are to be believed the Arizona Diamondbacks are running out of options to trade Justin Uptonwhich has given rise to several speculations about the Braves considering signing the 25 year old.

After this Thursday the Atlanta Braves are being as favorites to land Justin Upton after the right fielder declined to play for the Mariners and the Rangers decided to stop pursuing the popular D-backs player.

The odds of these players playing together in the Atlanta Braves have drastically improved. The popular team has approximately $12 million in their budget to spend during the upcoming season. Financially speaking the Braves can easily afford Justin Upton, who would be owed $9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in 2015. The money offered to Justin would simply replace Brian McCann’s pay who, in all likelihood, is playing his final season with the Braves.

With Justin Upton, the Braves would be getting a player who batted .280 with 17 home runs and a .785 OPS while battling a thumb injury this past year. The 25-year-old outfielder hit .289 with 31 homers and a .898 OPS during the 2011 season.

The Braves will be one hard team to beat this season. A significant improvement in their offensive tactics is already visible and the addition of Justin Upton would contribute heavily to their firepower.

The Braves have a fan in me and I’m one of those who stand with the team through thick and thin. As soon as I heard TicketVistas was selling tickets for atlanta braves for a bargain I quickly made a purchase. Can’t wait for the season to begin. Go Braves!

Chicago the Musical will Rock You to Your Core

The very first thing that is noticeable about Chicago the musical is that this is not the Oscar Award winning 2002 film. Sure it is similar to that, and features more or less the same exciting plot, musical numbers and characters but if you really dig down and analyze it turns out to be completely different. In my opinion the stage adaptation of the blockbuster movie is an entirely different affair. Unlike the movie, all the stage performers wear black and sometimes revealing costumes and majority of the stage props consist of nothing but ladders and chairs. The highlight of the musical is its brilliant Bob Fosse choreography which sets this production apart from other musicals and contributes heavily to the overall feel of the show, sometimes even surpassing the main plot. So the question whether you’ll enjoy spending your money on this musical depends solely on whether you enjoy choreographed routines or not. If you do, you’ll surely have an experience unlike any other. The costumes feel authentic and the stage design is breathtaking and accurately depicts an early 90’s Chicago. Music and lyrics penned by Kander and Ebb are superb and on par with other smash hit musicals.

Storyline

The story is set in a 1920’s Chicago. Vaudevillian Velma Kelly murders both her husband and sister after she finds them in bed together. In the meantime chorus girl Roxie Hart murders her lover and is imprisoned at the Cook County Jail, after her faithful husband Amos refuses to take the blame. The prison already houses Velma Kelly and a corrupt matron “Mama” Morton who does favors in exchange for favors. Velma is not pleased to see Roxie Hart who continuously hits on her lawyer, the brilliant Billy Flynn. In her efforts to get free Roxie uses every trick in the book to avoid a death penalty and get back into the limelight where she thinks she truly belongs.

With its simple setting and storyline the lead performers really needed to impress the audience with brilliant acting and dancing from the moment they appear on stage, and they’ve done exactly that. Characters of Velma, Roxie, Mama Matron and Billy Flynn have been performed magnificently and immerse the audience in the storyline as soon as the curtains are lifted.

The ensemble cast carries the show brilliantly with impressive vocals. Numbers such as “All That Jazz”, “We Both Reached for the Gun”, and “Razzle Dazzle” are engaging and utterly scintillating.

Chicago the musical is an adult affair through and through. Entertainment value of the show is top notch and production values are unmatched. During its original run in 1996, the musical won pretty much all major awards Broadway has to offer including a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. It is highly recommended to fans of Broadway that they watch this one at least once and popular website TicketVistas can make it happen for them. You will exit the hall singing tunes from the show. That’s a guarantee!