L.A. Wicked- last show for now!

[Anakela]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:40pm

So today 7/31 was the last day for Wicked here at the Pantages in L.A. Matinee show only, no evening show. What does one do when one wants to see the very last show, but does not have tickets? One gets in the cancellation line at 5am, for the 1pm show, of course.

We'd originally talked about getting in line at 4:30am, but decided that was just obnoxious and 5am would be fine. You know who is on the streets of Hollywood Blvd at 5am on a Sunday? Drunk/stoned/other people just leaving the clubs, rambling homeless people, and two women waiting (ok- starting) the cancellation line at the (opens at 10am) Pantages box office. We weren't too early, though, as the next family was in line by 5:10am. And then it was just us until 6am, when all the people who are a-scared of being in the dark on Hollywood Blvd started to show up.

We tried the lotto, but no luck there, so at least we had our front of the cancellation line spots.

The three of us got in, and the family (of three) behind us got in, other than that I have no idea how many cancellation tix the Pantages had today. But it was nowhere near as crowded as I'd expected it to be- (I've decided to delete this part :))

Last show: so amazing! No big technical problems- the bubble was fine (although the bubble producing machines on the side were not working, only one was on, and it was producing bubbles sl-ooo-w-ly), Elphaba was able to Defy Gravity no problem, all was good. Stephanie and Kendra were both in, and they started crying during "For Good"! Ok, so the first time I saw Wicked was in NY, and I cried during "For Good," and was a little embarrassed that I cried during "For Good." I was in ORCH row B tonight and I could see tears from Kendra and Steph had tear tracks through her green makeup- I almost cried again. It was really moving.

Did the stage door after the show. I have never done the stage door before, I come from a tv background which discourages that whole speaking to the celebrities thing, so the stage door process in theatre, whereby 'the public' is encouraged to line up at the door, in fact is pointed to the door, that the celebs use? Fascinating to me!

So through the line came Logan Lipton- so friendly, talking about how excited he is for San Fran as he has never been there before, how adorable is that? Kendra Kassebaum came through the line, which I've heard from quite a few other people who have done the stage door that she never does that, so that was surprising. She doesn't really seem to enjoy the whole stage door to-do at all, which is a little sad. Like I actually felt bad for her having to sign stuff and take photos and speak with people, she just looked so unhappy. Although she did get the hell out of the line the quickest out of anyone, so maybe that was the goal. Anyway, David Garrison and Derrick Williams also totally friendly. Derrick Williams also totally hot- I don't care what most of the other people who post on a certain website say about him- the man is hot and totally great as Fiyero. (ok, BTW- where are all these performers *walking* to after the show? After they make their way down the stage door line they walk away, don't they know that nobody walks in L.A.? :)) No Carol Kane (who I have also heard never does the stage door), but also no Jenna Leigh Green, which I was a little disappointed by as I really did enjoy her as Elphaba a couple of weeks back and would have liked to be able to tell her so.

Then after about an hour Stephanie J. Block came out, and she is so incredibly awesome. The woman loves her some In N Out (get your minds out of the gutters, I am talking hamburgers people! It was all Popular's doing. heh.), she is hysterical! And her boyfriend is adorable too. Anyone who enters her own name into the lotto of the show that she is freakin' STARRING in, just to get friends/neighbors/etc into the show, is already awesome to begin with, and Stephanie is just so incredibly nice in person, it was a good stage door experience.

After this is all said and done and I make the drive over the hill back to the valley, it is about 6pm. 13 hours and $89 have been taken from my Sunday- and it was soooooo worth it!!

In conclusion, between June 18 and July 31 I saw Wicked seven times at the Pantages:
Stephanie J. Block/ Katie Adams (house seats- agency contact)
Maria Eberline/ Kendra Kassebaum (free house seats- for my birthday)
Stephanie J. Block/ Kendra Kassebaum (lotto win)
Stephanie J. Block/ Kendra Kassebaum (lotto win)
Stephanie J. Block/ Katie Adams (cancellation line)
Jenna Leigh Green/ Kendra Kassebaum (lotto win)
Stephanie J. Block/ Kendra Kassebaum (cancellation line)
and so now I have to find a new, preferably cheaper, hobby.

I do have a job interview scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, I guess that's a start. :)


(as posted to http://www.livejournal.com/users/anakela21/2005/07/31/)
Updated On: 8/1/05 at 10:40 PM

[JoMarch]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:45pm

"I guess L.A. is still indifferent about it's theatre after all."

What a silly thing to say while reviewing a show which sold out its entire run in LA! Cut us Angelenos some slack. Some of us love theater but it doesn't mean we have to camp practically overnight to prove it.

[Hairspraydoll]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:45pm

Wow. That's great. It's too bad you never got to see Eden though. She rocked.

[Anakela]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:54pm

yep, I would have liked to have seen Eden too, but I did get a good mix of Elphabas, so maybe some other time.

JoMarch: I wanted to see some of that madness that always effects/infects NY shows when a change happens, that I just get to read about- but I got nothin'. :)

[Popular]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:55pm

Ok so I suppose I must explain the In-N-Out! HA HA For those who don't know - it's the BEST hamburger chain on the west coast!

So if you remember I jokingly emailed Stephanie a while ago pleading with her to put on a concert for us L.A. folks since she wasn't going to SF. She found my email hilarious (her words not mine)but she didn't think it would go over well with WICKED producers.... also in her email she mentioned that she was going to be eating tons of In-N-Out during her recovery time and said that the hamburger diet cures all... or something similarly cute like that.

Soooo, I got her gift certificates and rolled them up to look like flowers, got a few greens together and made it look like a bouquet. HER AND HER BOYFRIEND WERE SOOOOO HAPPY!!

My new avitar is not as good as the original moment but I made them recreate it cause it was too funny. They both struck this pose like they had just won a million dollars and her boyfriend said that it was the best post show gift she's received ever (gee- wonder who will be eating it with her! LOL) In his hand is the bottom of the bouquet.

She is soooo sweet! She totally remembered me AND my name AND that it was spelled funny!!! I didn't think it was possible but I officially love her more after today :)

ETA: She signed my playbill "So many thanks! IN-AND-OUT!!! You Rock! and then her name :) I'll put a pic of it in my fan photos page.


Updated On: 8/1/05 at 10:55 PM

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 11:01pm

Glad you enjoyed the show!

[JoMarch]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 11:51pm

"I suppose I must explain the In-N-Out! HA HA For those who don't know - it's the BEST hamburger chain on the west coast!"

Oooh, Popular! You are soooo wrong. Don't you know it's the best hamburger chain on any coast?

[Patronus]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 11:54pm

Great review. I tried the lotto the last four day sand didn't get in, so I'll have to wait for November on Broadway to see Wicked unless I get a wild hair and do the SF road trip.

Popular, I asked three people "are you popular from broadwayworld.com?"

I got two "Um, no." and one "Honey, I'll be whoever you want me to be."

[Popular]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 12:02am

oh dear!! I'm so sorry. I was up front with Anakela.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 12:03am

*sigh* Good bye Wicked! There's always Costa Mesa, though! Woo!

[SimpleJoysHaveSimpleVoice]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 12:12am

Anakela or Popular...were there any post bows goodbye's or thank you's?

It was nice meeting you guys, I hope you keep me up to date on all the best theater in town. I will miss the whole Wicked experience, it was great while it lasted.

peace

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 12:16am

Nope- we were wondering if there was going to be anything 'special' at the end too, but it was just a regular ol' curtain call, and then that was that.

We did get to watch the trucks being packed up while waiting in the stage door line, though (got to see the back side of Nessarose's wardrobe from the "Wicked Witch of the East" scene, etc.), so that was cool.

[whiskedaway]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 12:41am

awh, im sad wicked is leaving. its nice to have a big broadway show here.

[Popular]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 1:58am

Going. Through. Withdrawal. j/k :)

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 2:23am

I'm glad you had a good time. I did the stagedoor thing for the first time too when I went to see it a couple weeks ago and I also noticed that Kendra seemed to be trying to get away as fast as possible and she didn't really seem that into it. Don't get me wrong she was still really nice about it but maybe the stagedoor isn't really her thing. Who knows. I didn't get to see Stephanie at the stagedoor because there was some cast party going on inside so most of the performers didn't come out but I did get to see Kendra and Jenna Leigh Green before she went back to the party. But maybe Kendra had a place to be at and wanted to be there on time since she was the only main cast member that didn't stay for whatever party they were having but who knows. It was still alot of fun. I'll miss Wicked in LA.

[lfae]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 2:51am

I'm going to the US in Sep...and so very tempted now to hunt down an 'In-N-Out'

[Popular]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 3:00am

It's only found in 3 states on the west coast... good luck! It's good stuff! Well...not really THE "Good Stuff", Good Stuff Burgers is on Bundy and Olympic. No In-N-Out but still very good. What's that? We were discussing the last show? Oh yes. Carry on :)

[defygravity2]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 3:09am

Two words re: In and Out.....Double-Double...or is that one word?

I will miss Wicked in LA and my unexplainable fascination with the show/lotto/cancellation lines. Oh well, time to take a few months off until it comes to Costa Mesa. Thanks everyone for the laughs. Popular and Ana...I am TOTALLY jealous of your track records. You've set the bar pretty high as far as lotto wins go. It's been fun chattin' with you.

I'm off to Mexico for a week before I resume my life as a mild mannered school teacher.

[Popular]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 3:33am

Two more In-N-Out words for you courtesy of Stephanie - now you KNOW she is a fan when she busts out the insider lingo "animal style"...we're still talking about burgers here people!

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 3:51am

OMG Popular! I was the guy standing next to you with the shirt! Wow, small world.

[Popular]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 3:55am

Ahhh! Anakela...the tall guy has a name! Nice to have met you, radioactiveduck!

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 4:00am

Craziness. So, who were you in the group?

I just remmebered Kendra in Popular right now..."I know clandestantly...sparkles"

[Orsomething]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 11:21am

actually Carole came out..but nobody ever recognizes her haha...
she walked right past you guys... =-P...
she looks different without any makeup on...
and jenna sucks..cuz i didnt see her either haha...

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 11:35am

Yep, double double animal style. Who knew one little person could eat such a big burger? Although as someone who always gets a grilled cheese I love it when people know the 'secret' menu. Mmmm In N Out. Ok, anyway, back to the stage door...

Hey tall guy! It is totally a small world. You got your Paybill back, right? We were worried that you'd left for a sec and we still had it.

Ok college guy when did Carol come out? I was completely scanning everyone, esp after Kendra came out I was wondering if Carol would too, but I completely missed Carol. bummer. But at least I know Jenna did not come out, if you did not see her. :)

eta: DG2, Costa Mesa is the Orange County Performing Arts Ctr, right? I know so little about the O.C. :) That'll be awesome. My cousin is in San Diego, which they'll be hitting the month before, so I am thinking of trying out the 'winning the lotto in the first week or two is easy, since no one knows about it yet' theory when they're down there. I want show reports on all of your wins!
Updated On: 8/1/05 at 11:35 AM

[defygravity2]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 1:06pm

Yep-Orange County Performing Arts Center (THE absolute WORST place to see a show!). It was built as a concert hall, and the third tier seats are about 3/4 mile from the stage...bring the binocs if you're stuck up there.