A Wickedly Good Time

Adapted for the stage from Gregory Maguire's novel, "Wicked: A New Musical" tells the untold story of the witches of Oz: How one came to be known good and the other wicked.

The story illuminates the beginnings of Glinda the good and Elphaba the wicked and it does so in memorable musical numbers.

It also provides interesting insight into how the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, as well as the slippers, came to be. If you've seen the landmark 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," you know what I'm talking about.

The musical humanizes the phosphorescently-green wicked witch by giving her a soul to care for what she knows is important, and a voice to stand up for what she believes in.

It also presents the light-complexioned good witch in a not so flattering glow: obsessed with do-gooder popularity and oozing with pious self-assurance.

It is this gray area of being totally good and totally wicked that will perhaps most resonate with audiences as all of us have goodness and wickedness within us.

Stephen Schwartz is a gifted lyricist and composer and the range of songs in "Wicked" are proof of his versatility.

Worth mentioning are the incredible "Defying Gravity", the upbeat ensemble ditty "What Is This Feeling?", the melancholic "I'm Not That Girl", and the wickedly passionate "As Long As You're Mine".

The cast provides solid vocal performances and onstage presence with Erin Mackey as Glinda and Teal Wicks as Elphaba.

"Defying Gravity" is undoubtedly an audience favorite. It's mine, too. Aside from its high-flying vocal and staging requirements, it mimics our own struggles against social norms, gender biases, cultural constraints and personal foibles.

I did not enjoy the musical as I hoped I would, though. The culprit, I believe, is that I have been listening to the CD and following the libretto ever since the musical started lifting audiences to flights of musical fancy last year.

Rationale for doing so is it will let me thoroughly follow the story. You know how words sung can get lost in expression by the performer and comprehension by the spectator with all the things happening onstage.

But then, preconceived images of scenes have been ingrained in my mind for so long that events taking place onstage felt incongruous. Perhaps reading the novel instead would've left my imagination less tainted.

Still, I recommend watching the musical. It's neither groundbreaking nor run-of-the-mill, but it's worth a wickedly good while.

"Wicked: A New Musical" is playing at the Pantages Theater in Downtown L.A. until January 2009.

John Williams, Redux

This summer of 2008 will be most memorable to me because once again I spent a night at a definitive Los Angeles landmark - the symbolic Hollywood Bowl - and with the single greatest force in film music - the incomparable John Williams!

To see him perform live is an experience like no other. His singular ability to capture the beauty, drama, excitement, humor, and even terror in film through music is mind-blowing.

It's nothing short of masterful how his numerous film scores have stood the test of time being distinctively iconic and universally recognizable. This year's concert title aptly puts it in perspective - "John Williams: A Hollywood Legend".

I thoroughly enjoyed "John Williams: Maestro of the Movies" last year that I made a pact to go on a pilgrimage to see John Williams make magical movie music every summer at the Bowl.

With the country freshly relishing its victory in the recent Beijing Olympics, John Williams opened the night with a tribute to the Olympic Games. And he started with a most fitting piece - the jubilant "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" which he himself composed and conducted for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.



A reflective interlude followed with "Song for World Peace," a most lyrical and symbolic piece that focused on flute and violin - instruments that reflected notions of tranquility. The three-piece opening salvo was concluded with "The Olympic Spirit" that featured film clips of past and most recent Olympic victories.

Williams perhaps never fails to mention his 35 years of collaboration with film director Steven Spielberg at each concert that he likens their relationship to a good marriage of movie and music that had always been harmonious in artistic expression.

So, he summed up the first half of the concert with music from their countless collaboration: Excerpts from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977); "Flight to Neverland" from "Hook" (1991); "The Adventures of Mutt" and "Irina's Theme" from "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008); and "Raiders March" from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981).

The second half of the concert dubbed "Hooray for Hollywood" started with a tribute to American film director and choreographer Stanley Donen whose body of work includes "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954), "Always Fair Weather" (1955) and "Singin' In The Rain" (1952). As Williams' special guest, he provided lively banter and interesting insights into his featured films.

Most notable technological insights were how Fred Astaire was made to appear seamlessly dancing on walls and the ceiling singing "You're All The World To Me" in the 1950 film "Royal Wedding," and the challenges met by Donen in fusing live action with animation in "The Worry Song" from the 1945 musical "Anchors Aweigh". These are amazing feats of technical triumph considering they were made during Hollywood's golden age.

Williams next conducted his score for the 1995 remake of the Audrey Hepburn 1954 classic "Sabrina". The orchestra featured critically-acclaimed violin soloist Bing Wang.

The last part of the second half was a fitting tribute to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Williams started with the eerie theme from "Jaws" (1975) which seamlessly segued to the victorious theme from "Star Wars" (1977).

This summer, I came prepared with a toy lightsaber and joined other fanatics light up the dark ampitheater with our neon "weapons". He capped the tribute with his soaring and Academy award-winning score for "E.T. - the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982).

What's a concert without an encore? After bowing out of the stage, the spotlight found him front and center again. The orchestra blasted away with the main theme from "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) which found the faux lightsabers and hollers of adulation back in the air!

"Marion's Theme" followed as a tribute to the character popularized by Karen Allen which made a comeback in the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones movies. The encore was fittingly concluded by the triumphant march from "Superman" (1978).

Another great summer night with the most important composer of our time.

I can't wait for next summer.

First Drive: The Path To My First Car, Part 7

It has been about 5 years since the last time I went behind the wheels. That was in my provincial hometown in the Philippines. In the province, you don’t really need an automobile to go around.

We lived in the city center where everything was within walking distance. The only place I ever needed transportation going to was work. But for that, I just use public transportation which was way more practical.

My car buying process is steadily progressing. There are now several dealers competing for my business. Since having my own car is imminent, I decided to rent a car for a few days to get a feel of the wheel.

Considering my driving history, I met several bumps on the road. Some funny, others dangerous.

It was about 5 in the afternoon when I finally sat on the driver’s seat and shifted the gear to drive. Getting out of the rental car lot was already a challenge.

I drove onto the wrong lane with several cars queued up behind me. I had to ask all of them to back up so I can maneuver to the correct lane, which also meant I had to cut in line. Sheesh.

The lady driver behind me had the left side of her face resting on her left palm, her left elbow resting on the car door, and annoyance strewn across her face.

The lanes were pretty narrow I was afraid the car will hit the spike posts. As I checked my sides while maneuvering towards the correct lane, I caught the eye of the rental car agent who attended to me.

His face was aghast at the way I was handling the car. I could only manage to flash him a sheepish grin and never looked back.

From out of the basement parking, the afternoon sun blinded my sight temporarily and I suddenly found myself in a deluge of cars in constant flux in the middle of downtown L.A. I cannot recall how I managed to squeeze into the flow.

The car was also making a strange noise each time I floored the pedal. It turns out the emergency brake handle had been on all that time! Goodness! My anxiety got the better of me that I failed to make a turn at one point.

The first stop had to be a safe place - home. Later in the evening, I decided to buy groceries. I braved the streets of my neighborhood with a printed MapQuest itinerary on hand.

As I was driving home from the mini mall, I realized my headlights had been off since I left home! OMG! Way to go for first time night driving.

Anxiety tapers off gradually with each mile conquered and the car driving closer to home. But as fate would have it, my navigating skills will have to be put to the test as several roads in the itinerary were closed for ongoing construction. Great!

I was going around in circles in the ghettoes of East L.A. in the middle of the night. But I made it home. So pat myself on the back I did. Whew.

The next night, I decided to hit the freeway. A good friend lent me her navigation unit which was a great help. Another friend lent me his time as he accompanied me in my battle with L.A. highways.

It was there that I made dangerous maneuvers. To make the long story short, I will not be hitting the freeway so soon.

Under the light of the full moon, he & I made it to as far as LAX and back. I realized that more than his time, he trusted me with his life. So I rewarded him with dinner and a movie. Yes, that’s how much his life is worth. Hehehe. Just kidding.

Freshly wounded from my battle with the freeway, I rerouted the GPS to use side streets on my way home. Someone once told me freeways are actually safer than side roads. That statement was to be proven true in a matter of minutes.

From out of nowhere a dog wandered into the lane and almost onto the middle of the road. With a swift glance at my sideview mirror and my blind spot, I made a sharp maneuver to avoid the little pest.

More than the dog, I was fuming at its owners who left it unleashed and unattended. If there was a car on my side and I couldn’t step on the break safely, I would have had to run over the poor pooch.

The third night sent me driving alone to several points. Nothing untoward, just some minor blunders. There's 3 more days before I return the car. So far, it had a good run and I got quite a good feel of the wheel.