It's not ALL about the Glindas & Elphies!

Firstly my wonderful followers, fellow Wickipeeps and Tuckmanions I must apologise for the lack of blog over the last few weeks. Without going into detail and boring you all with details of my woes and strife lets just say I had other things on my mind! I am back now, getting into the flow of life and all things Wicked again!

This week I wanted to talk about the two characters (and the people that play them!) who are often forgotten about due to the popularity of our leading ladies. Everyone knows that Wicked is the untold story of the Witches of Oz, but they of course have friends and relatives that are a big part of that story.

Zoe Rainey & Ben Stott

I am of course talking about Nessarose and Boq, who are just as important to our story as Glinda, Elphaba and Fiyero!

Nessarose, for those that may not be familiar with the story of Wicked is Ephabas sister. People who are more familiar with The Wizard of Oz will know here as The Wicked Witch Of The East, the one who has a house fall on her at the start of the story (this of course happens much later in the story of Wicked!)

Boq is a munchkin that arrives at Shiz University the same time as Glinda & Elphaba and falls head over heels in love with G(a)linda!

While their roles may be minor compared to others, it is Nessarose and Boq that are responsible for the delivery of one of my favourite songs from the show, which unfortunately didn't make it onto the soundtrack :-( This was due to the fact that producers thought it gave away too much of the story and was therefore omitted!

The Original London Cast - The Wicked Witch Of The East - Idina Menzel, Katie Rowley Jones, James Gillian

This song just captures the change in Nessarose so perfectly, while Boq was falling in love with Glinda he failed to realise that Nessa was falling in love with him and this is why, upon becoming governess she relinquished the rights of all munchkins in order to keep him there with her convinced he would eventually fall in love with her.

Nessa realises after her attempt to 'magic spell' Boq into loving her that she truly has become 'The Wicked Witch Of The East' and yet in true Wicked style still blame it all on Elphaba once Boq awakes as a man made of tin...

Zoe Rainey - Nessarose

Ben Stott - Boq

In keeping with the present I wanted to take a closer look at the actors currently creating London's Nessarose and Boq - Zoe Rainey & Ben Stott!

Zoe and Ben joined Wicked at the last cast change, February 7th 2011 and I had the pleasure of seeing them perform their roles of Nessa and Boq in March this year. 

Zoe Rainey as Amber

Before taking over the role of Nessa from Cassi Compton, Zoe had previously been performing in the West End production of Hairspray playing the role of Amber Von Tussle, a far cry from Miss Nessrose I'm sure we will all agree! She also took on a role in a musical called 'Sunshine on Leith' which was to The Proclaimers what 'Mamma Mia' is to Abba! It received rave reviews and one reviewer even compared it to the great Willy Russell classic 'Blood Brothers' stating, "What Blood Brothers did for Liverpool this will surely do for Edinburgh!" 

Ben Stott as Jack

Ben trained at The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), where incidentally I had an audition for in 1999 (showing my age now!) I sadly did not get in and ended up studying theatre in Blackpool! Ben however did and was nominated for the spotlight award in 2007! Prior to winning the role of Boq, which he took over from George Ure in Feb 2011, Ben was performing as Jack in an open air production of 'Into The Woods' He even had the privilege of performing at West End Live 2010 with a song from the Sondheim great - Giants in the Sky

A beautiful song sang by a wonderful performer i know we will all agree!

And there we have it, a short insight into not only Nessa & Boq but also Zoe & Ben. I cant go without saying how wonderful both Ben and Zoe were when I saw them in March. I really felt for Nessa and it was Zoe's performance of Wicked Witch Of The East that made me fall in love with that song (Now 2nd most played on my itunes!) Her voice gave me chills and I felt every emotion with her!

Zoe not only sings but also writes music & lyrics too, here is a small offering she posted to youtube as a tribute to all the mothers out there! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!



Bravo to Ben and Zoe!! I can't wait to see you guys again - hopefully very very soon!!

Until next time Wickipeeps, and I promise it wont be so long this time!!

K x

Wicked away from the stage

Fellow Ozians, we return now to the regular weekly Wicked blog posting after the interim Love146.org special blog! I hope you all enjoyed!

Wicked is one of the few musicals that has as much of a cult following away from the stage as on it. We all know this, that is why we are here, we want to read and watch as much about our obsession that we can! We scour the web for exclusive video and audio, create our own web pages and images all due to our love for this phenomenon!

It seems that the world has embraced the fact that Wicked has a massive fan following and more and more cases of Wicked away from the stage are occurring, in 2007 regular viewers of ABC's Ugly Betty found themselves treated to a sneak preview of Wicked on stage!

Broadway stars Eden Espinosa and Megan Hilty took their roles as Elphaba and Glinda to the small screen as the characters of Ugly Betty went to see Wicked! I have never been a fan of Ugly Betty, i tried when it first came out but just didn't get on with it. Yet as a Wicked fangirl I have of course watched this episode countless times! For those who never saw it or indeed those like me who never pass up an opportunity to watch a Wicked clip here is a little taster...

This makes me laugh every time I watch, but also makes me sad as I know something like this could only happen in America. How amazing would it be for characters from a well known British show were to turn up at the AV and find themselves on stage with the current London cast! Rachel, Louise, Mark and co if you're reading (which I hope you do sometimes!) what do you reckon? And which TV shows would you like to turn up at the AV (reality TV not included lol!)

But it is not only television shows that are keen on sharing the popularity of Wicked, other West End Shows have been known to try a little 'Wickedness'. I have heard on the grapevine this week that the musical now calling the Theatre Royal home has paid homage to the famous 'Ahhhhh ahhhhh ahhh ahhhhh' from the end of Defying Gravity! So if you are going to see 'Shrek' any time soon guys, keep an ear out for it during 'What's up Duloc?'

It was another musical before Shrek that pardodied a Wicked song, not as part of the show but extremely funny none the less. My second favourite musical Avenue Q performed in Dress Circle on February 14th 2007 (Oh while we're on the subject SAVE DRESS CIRCLE!!) The characters of Trekkie Monster and Kate Monster take on 'Popular' with hilarious results, I'm sure you'll agree! Pay particular attention to the 'I'll show you what shoes to wear' line and Trekkies reaction to it...

Julie Atherton is just so so talented, I love her Kate Monster and this video brings two of my most favourite things together - Wicked & Avenue Q (which I finally get to see next month....very excited!)

So it would seem that Wicked is as much at home away from the stage as on it, I mean how many musicals have an entire day dedicated to them once a year? Wicked day, that usually happens in October brings together fans from all over the world to share and rejoice in all things Wicked! There are performances from the shows stars, masterclasses, a chance to see the costumes up close, and even a Wicked karaoke! I'm sure the manufacturers of green face and body paint are sitting scratching their head as to why their sales take a sudden upturn during this time!

I myself am hoping to take my first trip to Wicked Day this year, I have always been stopped by exams or assignments in the last 3 years, but now I am free and able to indulge my obsession!! So if anyone else is going then keep me informed and I'll be sure to say hello!

A shorter than usual blog this week everyone, I have been super busy this week and not had chance to gather as much info as I wanted! I hope you enjoyed it anyway! I will be back next week with more about our shared obsession! Wicked!! Bye for now Ozians!!

The Love146.org Flashmob...Can You See Me?

Fellow Ozians, Wickipeeps, and Tuckmanions, this week I am producing an interim blog. A blog I would like you to share with as many people as you can and via as many ways possible!

We all know that this week saw the release of the Love146.org flash mob video which featured our beloved Rachel Tucker amongst 146 West End performers. The flash mob performed to a specially arranged Annie Lennox track and we have all been wowed by the talented singers and dancers on show. Trafalgar square was filled and entertained on the evening of the 11^th of April and we as fans of Rachel waited with baited breath for the resulting video release. How many of us realised what this video was all about or what issue Love146.org are promoting?

Please read on and understand why these performers gave up their time to be a part of this wonderful Spectacle...

Christian Elliott, Love146 UK Director said: “It’s a cultural misconception that Child Sex Trafficking only exists in developing countries, it lives and breathes here on our doorstep in the UK”

This statement could not be more true, I for one, upon hearing the words Child Sex Trafficking automatically associate them with the rest of the world and not the country that I have lived in all of my life.

The statistics are shocking, in 2005/6 48 victims of child sex trafficking disappeared from social services care across Manchester, Newcastle –Upon – Tyne and Birmingham. Not shocking? Well not only did they disappear but to this day they have not been found, and it is believed that most of these children will have been re trafficked. Of the 80 trafficked children living under the care of 5 local authorities this number accounts for 60%. 60% of children lost and failed by the system.

(These statistics are taken from the Missing Out report 2007 ECPAT.org.uk)

Love146.org are commissioning an independant report to highlight the needs for safe accommodation, specialized aftercare and therapeutic services for trafficked children. The charity will shortly be releasing the findings of a survey of local authorities’ responses to trafficked children in their areas.

 

The project is dubbed ‘Can You See Me?’ in reference of course to the fact that the problem of child trafficking appears to go unnoticed in the UK and only associated with underdeveloped countries. In truth boys and girls as young as 11 are being trafficked into Britain from all over the world. Love146.org director of communications Christian Elliot stated ‘For a country that promotes human rights around the world and has some excellent services for children and young adults, it is a scandal that in 2011 the UK has no designated aftercare or re-integration services for trafficked children’

 

We all enjoyed watching the video, we all shared it on twitter and facebook but did we know the cause that was being promoted? We all love Rachel Tucker and if she support Love146.org then surely we all can too?

 

Our current Elphaba said of the project; ‘All of us were shocked to hear the terrible fate of children even in our home towns and cities. This is our way of trying to raise awareness and getting people behind Love146.org’s campaign to make a real difference to some of the most damaged children in the country.’

 

Please visit Love146.org to find out more about the work they do, you can also text a donation from UK mobiles by sending the word ‘LOVE’ to 70777, this will donate £10 to Love146.org (Texts cost £10 + your standard network rate)

 

Thank you for reading my fellow Ozians, I know this strays away from the regularities of my blog but this is too much of a serious concern to go overlooked! Keep your eyes peeled on Sunday for the next instalment of No Good Blog Goes Unpublished!

 

Katy x

 

Standby for the Understudy...

Fellow Ozians, or as I have heard us called this week in particular ‘Wickipeeps’! I like it! Another term that has come to pass in this last week was one that refer to fans of our current Glinda & Elphaba, more commonly known as ‘Tuckman’. We, my friends shall now and forever more be known as ‘Tuckmanions’ and we shall revel in ‘Tuckmania’ for as long as we all shall live...(well until the 10^th of December CC anyway!)

Now, barely a paragraph into this weeks blog and Ive already managed to go off on a tangent, lets move on to the topic of this post Standby v Understudy!

We all know that playing roles such as Elphaba and Glinda for eight shows a week is very demanding. The actresses playing them cannot be expected to perform all 416 shows of a year! This is of course why productions have understudies and standbys so our wonderful leading ladies (and gents of course) can get some much needed rest and relaxation!

If like me you have ever wondered the difference between the two roles then I will give a brief explanation. The understudy will also be a part of the ensemble, they will sometimes be understudy for more than one role and will go on if another actor/ess cannot perform at short notice. The standby is a slightly different role, they will not have another part in the production and not be a part of the ensemble. They are always at the theatre, sometimes sitting in the audience, during performances and must be available to go on stage at short notice should another performer be unable to continue. The standby will also cover certain holidays the lead performer may have.

I hope this clears up any confusion that may have been lurking, and if I have not got it completely correct then feel free to shout and yell at me!

Now I know you don’t come here to be bored with facts about musical theatre procedures so let us get our Wicked groove on, we all know that’s why we’re here!

Our current lead standbys in the West End production of Wicked are, for Elphaba – Nikki Davis Jones and for G(a)linda – Chloe Taylor.  

I have heard stories from people that have been disappointed when they do not see the marquee names when seeing Wicked. I personally do not think this is fair at all, simply because they do not play the role permanently does not mean they are not as good, just have a listen to this awesome performance of No Good Deed by the equally as awesome Nikki Davis Jones...

Who on earth could say that they were disappointed after that Fiyero riff?? Its madness I tell you pure madness!


Now talk about our wonderful Elphaba standby and leave out Glinda would be wrong, Chloe Taylor is currently the standby for Louise Dearman as Glinda. There doesn't appear to be ANY video out there of either girl and very little audio of Chloe at all, I suppose this is to be expected with standbys as they don't go on as often. I did manage to find a few versions of Popular out there and it would seem fans aren't as impressed with Chloe as they could be bemoaning her for the lack of squeakiness and silliness that seems to be synonymous with Glinda. I personally think that there is no necessity for Glinda to be like this at all! Have a listen to Chloe performing Popular and see what you think...

Felicia Ricci on her first night as Elphaba

I sometimes wonder what life must be like for these standbys and understudies, sitting waiting for your moment to shine on stage and possibly just be forgotten by that nights audience (seems harsh I know but that's how fickle some people can be!) Of course I can't truly know, none of us can unless we have been there ourselves (I now sit here and wish all my wishes that one day I may be there!) However, luckily for us Wickipeeps there is someone who has been there and is willing to share her story with us...Felicia Ricci.

Felicia Ricci was the standby to Eden Espinosa's Elphie in the 2010 San Francisco production and on March 30th she got 'greenified' for the first time when Eden was unable to continue through illness. I am not going to tell the full story but simply direct you to Felicia's blog 'Unnaturally Green' where you can read all about her experiences as an Elphie standby!

 http://unnaturallygreen.blogspot.com/2010/04/part-2-elphaba-debut-redux.html

I will also tell you that Felicia will be publishing her Wicked story 'Unnaturally Green' in the Autumn this year, a behind the scenes memoir that i for one am unbelievably excited about reading! AND if you're not already following the lady in question on Twitter then shame on you and get following @FeliciaRicci 


http://www.unnaturallygreen.com/

I just have one more person I want to talk about when it comes to standbys, a person that some of you may not realise started her Wicked journey as a standby. If you went to see Wicked in the West end during its opening 3 months (Sep 7 2006 - Jan 1 2007) and for some reason the sensational Idina Menzel wasn't on then the likelihood is that you would have seen her magnificent standby, Kerry Ellis. This surely proves that standbys can go on to be as, if not more successful than the names they are overshadowed by...

I will leave you with a song, sung by our standby Elphie Nikki Davis Jones. And if Kerry Ellis's story is anything to go by then soon Miss Dee J will not be the slightest bit concerned about being the standby (Or understudy in accordance with the song!) Until next week Wickipeeps and Tuckmanions!!

The Wicked Army and I!

Sad Mark :-(

Fellow Ozians...

Here we are in week three of my Wicked themed and inspired blog. What a week I have had in terms of Wicked related things going on!

The first thing I must do is hand an acknowledgment out to the creator of the Louise Dearman pic I used in last weeks blog, Liam Jefford is the creative genius behind the image of Louise being green - great stuff Liam and THANK YOU!!

Last week some of you may have seen that the wonderful Mark Evans (our current Fiyero) had his iPhone stolen right out of his hands whilst travelling on the tube! This made Mark sad, something that should never happen! 
Then a fantastic idea was born, two of Wicked's biggest fans (Twitter users @campmotha & @babygumm07) came up with a cunning plan! Code named #MakeMarkSmile they used the power of Twitter (Other social networking sites are available!)
to collect messages from other fans, including me, to put in a handmade card that Becky (@babygumm07) would hand deliver to Mark when she went to see the Weds matinee this week (more on that later!)

A large amount of messages were collected, if you sent one then THANK YOU, and they did indeed manage to Make Mark Smile! Along of course with receiving a new iPhone!

Happy Mark :-)

The Card Itself!!

How do I know this? Well aside from the tweets from the man himself (@MarkHEvans if you're not following on twitter - which you should be!) and all of us getting a mention on his blog http://markevansonline.blogspot.com/, Becky decided to get a video of Mark accepting the card in order to thank everyone for their messages.

Somehow the first attempt at recording failed, leaving the very existence of a thank you video in doubt!? Cue once again the power of Twitter as Becky, unable to @reply Mark as she was on her phone tweeting, asked her followers to request that Mark re-record the video.
Due to our persitence and of course the lovliness of Mark the video was recorded again succesfully and for those who havent seen it, here is the result...(All turn heads to left NOW!)



I'm glad that we managed to make Mark smile, and I'm sure everyone will join me in wishing nothing like this happens to him or anyone else again - if your'e on the train guys keep your phone and other stuff safe!


Tuesday night provided another Wicked landmark in my week, I'm normally an early to bed kinda girl but due to me having to sleep on the sofa bed (badly sprained ankle unable to climb stairs :-()I was awke later than usual.
This turned out to be a good thing as it weas during this time that I found myself being enlisted into an Army. The Wicked Army that is. It somehow came a out on twitter that a few of us were like a Wicked Army.
@SarahSwims15, @LauraKatharineX, @xcaz1210x, @babygumm07, @campmotha and myself became the founding members of a new twitter Wicked fanpage called @TheWickedArmy - go follow it now!!!

I receieved word on Wednesday, again via the medium of Twitter (this time @castiels_angel), which has kinda become my sanctuary for all things Oz, that Tuesday nights performance was a 'No Fly' for Rachel Tucker.
I had often wondered what the protocol was if for any reason the lift malfunction. I have heard various rumour over the last few years: 1. The actress playing Elphaba simply runs forward and all the guards fall at her feet as if she has cast some sort of spell on them.
2. The song continues as normal with the actress still in the lift. 3. The performance is halted until the malfunction has been rectified. This last one I thought only happened if there was a danger to the actress in the lift, there is an audio of Kerry Ellis getting trapped in the lift out there on youtube, I'm not including it here because it scares me every time I hear it, she sounds in real pain! Glad no lasting damage was done!
It would seem that in Tuesdays performance the lift moved forward but did not go up - I honestly dont know what my reaction would be if I was at one of those performances, its the crescendo of the show and for it not to happen...well it doesnt bear thinking about!
Rachel apparantley got out of the lift came forward and shouted 'It's Me' and then just said 'No' instead of singing the wonderful 'It's meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'. Chloe (who was on as Glinda) was called and the curtains closed followed by an announcement to the audience.
The show was stopped for ten minutes while the lift was sorted (option 2) and then they carried on from 'It's meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' again! 
I dont know which I would prefer, the break in the show for me I think would ruin the whole flow and it would be difficult to get back into - i wonder if thats what it feels like for the actors? i think I would prefer Elphaba to run forward and perform DG from there, but hey thats just my opinion and one of someone who has indeed seen her fly more than once!

I promised earlier in this post there would be more about Becky's trip to Wicked and indeed 'Thrill Me' (Tristan Bates Theatre) which is directed my the one and only Guy Retallack who just happens to be the husband of the sensational Rachel Tucker!
I was told I could edit the review of her day as much or little as I liked, I'm not going to edit anything I think what she has written is perfect and should be read by all!!

WARNING WHAT FOLLOWS MAY MAKE YOU A JEALOUS WICKED FAN!!


Having arrived at about 7am in Victoria, we pottered about London, killing time, watching the changing of the guard etc, before getting to the SD at about 12, but there wasn't anyone for ages! At first it was just me and then a little girl with her dad showed up cause she wanted to see Rachel! She was such a sweetie!

I recognised quite a few people from the ensemble going in, and eventually Zoe Rainey arrived! She was so gracious and signed Wicked for me. She asked me where I was from and when I replied 'Dundee', she told me she'd spent the whole of last summer there for a musical called 'Sunshine on Leith' that played at Dundee Rep. It's an amazing show and I had seen it (unfortunately before her appearance in it) so we had a bonding moment over that and the weather up here.

About half an hour passed and in the distance I saw someone with long brown curly hair. Now ANYONE with similar hair had immediately caught my attention since I arrived in London, and I always studied every face to make sure it wasn't who I thought it was. But this time, THIS TIME, all the boxes were checked.

It was Rachel Tucker.

Looking an awful lot smaller and more vulnerable than I remembered! Carrying her lunch and looking lovely and summery, she smiled at me and said hello but of course spoke to the little girl first. She asked Rachel about musical theatre and how she wants to be in Wicked too - it was all very cute and Rachel reminded her to work hard, especially on dancing. She said "A lot of it's to do with luck; right place, right time. That's what happened for me." . . . or thereabouts. Then she came over to me!

I immediately handed her the (incredibly early) birthday present! And she was very grateful and smiley! She said "You know what, I'm not gonna open this now" [to which I of course protested about two times before giving up!] "because it's not my birthday. But this is my first one, my first birthday present - so you get that title [cute Rachel laugh]" I said thanks and that I thought it might be a good time to give the gifts because it's a month before hers but a month after Louise's [cute Rachel laugh]. "But d'you know what, are you on twitter?" yes. "what's your name?" babygumm07. "Ah right well - wait, oh my husband mentioned you! About Thrill Me, he said you'd seen it?" I'm going to see it tonight! "Right! Well, I'll tweet you when I open this!" Thanks so much!

She signed my Wicked copy (whilst telling me that Lou was, in fact, not on). I asked her if she would mind giving Lou's gift to her for me and she said 'course not'. She let me have a photo with her and then went inside amongst a shower of 'thank yous' from me!

Thank god a while passed before anyone else came because I was too giddy to form words! I hadn't seen her since June last year and it was so lovely to meet her again! She is proper small! Like a really tiny build as well. If I'm honest she looked really tired and was speaking in lowered tones to the little girl but perked up a bit when I gave her the gift lol.

Another half hour or so passed and I met Niall Sheehy who sighed Wicked and gave me a pic (which I posted to twitter) and I saw some other ensemble members. Loved playing spot the witch-hunter!

Eventually, after almost every other possible performer or staff member had entered the building, I suddenly turned and there was an incredibly tall Mark standing in front of me! Cue ridiculously large head tilt towards the sky so I could see his face lol.

"Mark!" Yes? "Sorry, I've been waiting a long time for you [a bit stalkerish yes but I was giddy and it just came out]! I have a gift for you" Oh, wow, really? *hands him gift bag with card wrapped in tissue paper* "Um, would you mind if I filmed you opening this? It's for the fans who helped me with it." Uh no, sure! I'm actually a little bit frightened. "Oh don't worry it's nothing bad. It's about your iphone incident." Oh! Oh I'm gonna re-use this [the tissue paper] 'cos I'm a cheapskate like that [laugh]. Oh my god, what is this? no way! Oh my god, there's welsh in here! "yup." And did you write all this out? "Yes. So I take credit for any mistakes!" Are these all from the fans? "Yes. They sent in messages since Saturday to support you." Oh wow, this'll make for some very interesting reading when I'm backstage today! Oh well, *turns to camera that is not actually recording [sorry!]* thank you guys so much and I'm gonna go through all of these today and . . . wow that's so lovely thank you! *I put down ph and heart drops with realisation that it hasn't worked. But I say nothing and hatch plan "ask people on twitter if he wouldn't mind coming out again" [thank you again!]

He takes a pic of me and then goes in.

Now for the show.

Well. A SHIZ load had changed since I was last there, of course. It was weird as hell seeing Chloe as Galinda/Glinda and not Louise. Naturally she was very good, but I longed for the Dearman belt and it never came. Gutted to say the least. Then Rachel came on and needless to say made us laugh with dry sarcasm and gave us all shivers with WAI for which she achieved the performances first 'whoops' and 'yays' etc etc. This was a pattern that continued for most of the show by the way. Any song that Rachel was in brought the house down. Of course Mark was an instant success. Possibly due to his rigourous dance experience, his choreography was much tighter and he seemed to be able to convey a sense of sincerity from the start, without allowing it to overtake the shallow aspect but in fact meaning that later on, when he was maturing a bit and showing interest in Elphaba, it didn't seem weird of OOC, it seemed natural. Like that was the way he was always supposed to be.

He has a stunningly powerful belt too, and amazing energy. His chemistry with Rachel was brilliant! Even in the lion-cub scene and especially in the train station scene you could see his transformation. I definitely felt by this point that Rachel was carrying the show, along with Mark when he was on. Chloe is really good but I think her inexperience shows a bit; there's a special relationship between Lou and Rach that just makes the whole thing a little more realistic.

DG - I don't need to tell you. Even though it was sans any major riffs (she did do a little bit) Rachel still totally rocked it. Cue massive applause and cheering.

TG I missed Louise soooo much! Her 'there are bridges you cross . . ." is phenomenal and I kinda played it in my head as if Lou was there . . .

OH! Zoe is amazing! What a pelt! Very very good Nessa and I'd love to see her again! and again! I managed to see the whole fake heart attack thing that Clive does that I'd heard about and it was actually really good - got a few strong laughs! As did the line 'Well it was . . . it wasn't' audience loved that!

ALAYM. Now I had heard about Mark's version and I was not disappointed! They had changed where they were sitting, stage right instead of left, and there were sort of boughs or ropes that hing down as well - made the atmosphere much better onstage. Anyway, Mark was much more emotive than Lee. They sort of stood back during the reprise of INTG, and they were just staring at each other. Needless to say I'm not sure anyone was looking at Chloe. I wasn't.

There followed proper hand-kissing, face touching, Mark and Rachel kept sitting down then up to be closer to each other. Also the (previously mentioned to me) hands moving up and down her body that occured several times. Not a person in the place could possibly have mistaken what they were hinting. The whole thing screamed sex lol. Kiss was very very passionate and long, amidst 'aawws' and wolf whistles. From that point, there wasn't a moment when they weren't in constant contact. I really really really wanted to be Rachel. :)

Cornfield was bloody hilarious!! Rachel CACKLE! My god it was brilliant! Almost stopped the bloody show. One girl near me exclaimed "how does she do that?!" lol.

NGD - riffless, but passionate and with long notes and chilling growls from Rachel which earned her such a huge round of applause at the end.

The scene where Fiyero comes back to the trap door, obviously a lot of people didn't know what was about to happen, and Mark sat for a moment just holding her hat so people thought he was mourning. Nice one. Then he opened the door and for about three long seconds Rach didn't appear. Must have been interminable if you didn't know she was alive. Lots of 'ohs' and 'yays' when she came up!

Bows were fab, Rachel did a whole dancey thing where she sort of sunk along with the curtain and kept waving til the blackout! And of course, a standing ovation.

So back to the SD, and I'm on a high, but feeling rubbish about having to ask Mark to do it again! I think there were other people there that he actually knew so he was talking to them for a while before he came up to me and opened with a smile and - "what did you do?" [lol. it was being told off by my big brother. i misunderstood him though and thought he meant the msgs] Oh, did you read the card? "Yes it was amazing!" Oh you mean the video! "Yes!" I don't really know, it just didn;t record. [head shakes and smiles] Would you mind doing another one? "Course not!" [see video for next bit!] Thank you, that's definitely worked! "You're welcome and thank you so much for coming down! Where are you from? "Dundee. It's 11hours on the bus." oh, wow,  well thank you! and I hope you get home safely. [hug, and A KISS] I about collapsed lol.

When we were leaving brother said "Beck, you should have seen the dirty looks you were getting!" I don't think the other girls liked me very much . . . they didn't know about the card in all fairness.

Anyway! So that was that! Oh I saw Guy at Thrill Me! That was pretty cool! He has a very posh english accent! Also, seriously, Thrill Me is so so so so good! I can't think of the best adjectives! SUCH a contrast to Wicked, but it just shows that brilliance comes in so many different shapes and sizes! Please go see it! Rach and Guy are one hell of a major power couple!

Oh and it was on the way back to the station to get some food before the bus that we walked back through the AV and I saw that Nikki was on. Totally not surprised she didn't stay - must have taken the last of it out of her! But the fact that she was still astounding increases my respect for her. She was ab fab and not even at the top of her game!


It would seem Becky had a great day, I am officially jealous (even more so as one of my facebook friends has just 'checked in' at the AV!) I will leave you there for now folks, me sat here GREEN with envy and hoping all those off to see Kerry Ellis at the RAH tonight have a magical time!


Until next week,
The Green Girl x