Talk about last minute...Part 1!

Now, as many of you probably do, I tend to search on eBay for Wicked related stuff many times a week (OK maybe many times a day but don't tell anyone!) I always look at tickets just to see how much they go for, making note for future reference etc! I had spotted two tickets, from different sellers, a few days ago. One was a buy it now of £10 (restricted view) and the other £14 (premium stalls). To be honest at the time I had little money and assumed by the time I did on Friday they would be gone. I casually looked into Megabus prices, which strangely enough I also do quite often.....I worry about myself sometimes, but I promise I do not have a thing for buses or bus related websites!

The tickets were added to my watch list and I thought no more of it...until Friday came and they were still there, unsold!! Now I was starting to get a little excited - it had been four months since I last saw Wicked and I was getting withdrawals! With the limited cash flow I have this was the perfect opportunity to see the show at a bargain price! BUT I had one obstacle to overcome - my wife!

After pricing the Megabus the total for my trip would be £30, which may not sound like a lot but being as skint as we are at the minute it may as well have been £100! I casually text her, testing the waters as it were and got what seemed in most respects like a negative reply. My hopes were dashed it would seem and I began to resign myself to the fact that it wouldn't happen after all.

But, the tickets were still there.

When I spoke to her later I dropped into the conversation my previous text and was mightily surprised to hear a positive response!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!

All systems go and withing minutes the tickets were bought, bus was booked and myself and my 11 year old niece (Who I am educating well in all things Wicked) would be on our way to the AV at half six the following morning!!


Fast forward to 11.30am, Saturday 9th July 2011, I am stood outside the stage door of the AV awaiting the arrival of the cast. This was to be my first experience of stage dooring, and to say I was a little excited would be an understatement! What made the experience even better was the fact I was to meet some of my fellow Tuckmanions, Franzy & Sarah! It was great to meet people who share the same passion for Tuckman & Wicked that I do - it's usually very much frowned upon when I'm at home! So Franzy & Sarah were lovely! As was Jack who I wasn't expecting to meet but randomly did, after sneakily checking his twitter profile pic on my phone to ensure it was him!


So, to the story of SD, Zoe was first to arrive and she was lovely! Chatted to everyone and happily posed for pictures - we even chatted about this very blog which she remembered reading (the one about her and Ben!) so Zoe if you are reading this then thank you for being so lovely and stopping to chat to us all! Zoe tweeted soon after entering the AV that there was a lovely group of fans at the SD! When I told Jack of this he squealed like the biggest fan girl ever, and to be honest I was squealing a little on the inside!


Ben arrived next with hands full of shopping bags declaring 'I think I have a problem - I can't stop shopping' He was looking very summery in his Hawaiian shirt and was most impressed to sign my nieces t-shirt 'This is the first shirt I have ever signed' were his exact words! A tweet from Ben shortly afterwards referred to us all as 'Awesome Wicked Fans'!
Louise was next to appear, with Alan in tow! She went inside and told us she would come back out once Alan was settled - he was so tiny and so cute!!


Nikki was soon strolling towards us and full of smiles as she chatted to everyone and posed for photos. I had found out I went to uni with a friend of Nikki's and we discussed her new kitten 'Brian'! She was honestly the most lovely and down to earth person and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet her!
Now what happened next all seemed to happen at once so I'm not really sure which order it goes in! Ben suddenly reappeared from the stage door with a Spiderman Pez dispenser and proudly handed out pez sweets to everyone! But then it broke :-( poor Ben! I think someone should get him a pez as a present next time they SD!!


Lou came back out and looked amazing, even if she did worry about having pics taken with no make up! She was so sweet and had pictures taken with everyone and signed everything anyone wanted signed. Franzy was hiding from Lou initially, having SD's more than a few times over the last 3 weeks but her and Sarah decided that they wanted a Lou video to go with the White Rabbits vid they did with Tucker. So with me behind the camera Franzy, Sarah and Louise herself performed the infamous 'Toss Toss' on the street outside the SD of the AV! Louise said it was embarrassing to do it on the street but I think that disappeared when she realised both Franzy and Sarah were going to be in the video too! It was the most hilarious thing and I was so happy to even be a tiny part of it!

With all jolities soon to be ended we waited what seemed like an age for Mark and he finally appeared strolling towards the SD at about twenty past one!! In all fairness he was (to me anyway) late but still stopped for pictures and commented on mine and my nieces welsh accents saying it was good to meet some welshies!! Then in true Franzy & Sarah style they had a scarecrow picture taken with him - asking him whats a typical scarecrow pose and he fully obliged!
And so my first Stage dooring experience had been a complete success and utterly entertaining thanks to the loveliness of the Wicked cast and the craziness of my fellow Tuckmanions! I know I will SD again next time I go, and sure I will meet more wonderful people who share my passions!


This blog has gone on far too long now, I will leave you for now and continue the story, which will contain the important review of the matinee performance of July 9th 2011......for now Tuckmanions i will say goodbye safe in the knowledge that we WILL meet again in this lifetime....