I celebrated my birthday the last week of January. It took up most of the week, which was pretty great. After getting over the holiday blues, my month of reflection was wonderful and spacious. I practiced over-the-top desserts for my party, enjoyed seeing my separate circles of friends mingling together, and reveled in a wonderful happiness. There was the party, a few special dinners, and my birthday week culminated with a small group coming with me to see Wicked.
Wicked is based on a novel by Gregory Macguire, retelling the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. It brings to question..."are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" The witch, Elphaba, is actually trying to stand up for what she believes in, only to painted as wicked because she stands in the way of the current ruling powers. Not only is the message very real, but the show is just fantastic. I've always been a musical fan, since my clarinet-playing days, but I hadn't taken in San Francisco's theater until recently. Wicked totally reawakened that love.
It was perfect timing too. At a time when I'm focusing on my gifts and living who I am to the fullest, so that I can encourage that in others...this was just the perfect show to see. My favorite song comes at the end of the first act, when Elphaba decides it's not worth living a lie to gain social acceptance. The song, Defining Gravity, is so powerful for me.
"Something has changed within me,
something is not the same.
I'm through with playing by the rules of
someone else's game.
Too late for second guessing,
Too late to go back to sleep.
It's time I trust my instincts,
close my eyes...and leap."
It feels like my theme song.
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