Did We Just Become Best Friends?

Celebrating Wicked: A 20-year Love Affair with the Magic of Broadway

• Lydia Stutesman • Season 2 • Episode 19

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Picture this: A small-town Floridian, dreaming of the bright lights of Broadway, finally gets her chance to witness the magic of theater. That was me, nineteen years ago, stepping into New York City's Gershwin Theater for the first time to witness the mesmerizing world of Wicked. From that moment, I knew my life had changed forever. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this landmark musical, join me on a sentimental journey back to when it all began. 

From the verdant wonder of Elphaba's transformation to the heartfelt journey of Glinda, Wicked stole my heart and never gave it back. After watching it a whopping 14 times, I've been on the journey from timid audience member to a season ticket holder of the national tour. This love letter to Wicked is also an ode to all those who've nurtured my theater passion. A shout out to my friends Carl and Brian, who first planted the seed of Broadway love in my heart. Join me as I celebrate Wicked and the transformative power of theater, and encourage you all to experience this magic by supporting the arts, Broadway, and its many charities.

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Speaker 1:

Hey everybody, thanks so much for tuning in today. It is such an exciting day. I am so glad to be here. It's been a little while. I'm trying to get back to it on a regular basis and a little more consistent, but I have to tell you today is October 30th, 2023, and it is so exciting because, when I plan on recording an episode of the podcast, I didn't realize what today was. The significance of today is just unbelievable for me personally and for many people all around the world. So what am I talking about? I am talking about it is the national day that we are celebrating Wicked the Musical 20 years of Wicked the Musical. So it is officially like, if you go on the calendar and you look at the national day of, it is actually national Wicked Day.

Speaker 1:

So back in 2023, wicked was adapted from a book to a Broadway musical and since then it's won over 100 international awards, including three Tonys and a Grammy award for the best musical theater album, and it's got some really famous people in the original cast. And I just want to talk about it a little bit, because this show changed my life and I know those are big words, but it really did and I think a lot of people feel that way as well. So I thought you know what? Let's just take a little journey back. So many of you don't know that I have a love affair for Broadway and it dates back just about 20 years. So, although Wicked debuted in 2003, I didn't see it until 2004. So I thought let me just tell the story about my first experience with Wicked, and I will say this I have seen this show 14 times, which I know sounds like a lot. I know it's not the world record, but it's not going to be the last time I see it either. There is going to be a 15th and a 16th and a 17th, and one day I have bucket list plans to see it in other countries.

Speaker 1:

So back in 2004, I lived in Port St Lucie and I was working at a company and a couple of people that I worked with were big Broadway musical fans and we became very close friends. It was actually my vice president at the time. We became very close and I said my dream and this is about 19 years ago I said my dream is to go to New York, even if it's just for one day, and see a Broadway show. And at that point in my life. I was married to my first husband. I had one small child she was only four years old and I didn't have any aspirations or like any plans, real travel plans.

Speaker 1:

I thought a Wicked in NYC was pretty much unattainable, or at least that's how it felt at the time. For me it was like that was the biggest deal in the world is if I was going to be able to get on a plane and go to New York. So I was talking to my friends about it and I said my dream is to go to Broadway, to go to New York City and to go see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. And at the time that's the only show I had on my radar, because I wasn't knowledgeable about Broadway. I really wasn't in the circle, I wasn't following the shows and you have to remember back in 2004, there was no social media, so it wasn't like I had the exposure that we have today. I wasn't able to follow a show and keep up with the cast and all of that stuff.

Speaker 1:

And obviously I didn't live in New York, I lived in Florida. So what happened was I had a lot of family in Jersey and I would see them going in and out of the city and I thought, oh, maybe I can go to New Jersey and maybe take a train and go see a show with somebody in my family. And so I started talking about this with my friends and they were like, well, you have to go at Christmas time. So I was like, yeah, I would love to go at Christmas time. I had dreams of seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the city decorated for the holidays and just Christmas in New York City. It just seemed so magical. Everything on that I saw on TV. So it's like when something is out there and you look at it and you don't think it's possible for yourself no-transcript, it just seems so much bigger than it really is, right. So I was talking to them and they said we want to go to New York, let's take a New York trip, and we want to take you, since it's your first time.

Speaker 1:

And Again, I was on, like you know, I was like in an entry-level position. I wasn't really, you know, making a lot of money at the time and I didn't know how I was gonna accomplish this. So I said, well, I want to stay at the Plaza. Like that's, my dream is to stay at the Plaza and go see a show in Broadway. And they were like, well, we're not gonna stay at the Plaza, but we can get a room, a suite, and you'll have like a sleeper sofa and you could come with us to New York and it'll be X amount of dollars. So I talked with my husband. He's like yes, I want you to go.

Speaker 1:

So then came the Broadway show. I said I really want to see Beauty and the Beast. It's like my dream, that's the only show I care about. And they were like well, there's a show on Broadway and it is All the rage, everybody's talking about it, and it's called Wicked. And they started telling me about the story and, of course, growing up as a kid, I love the Wizard of Oz. So I was like, okay, well, that sounds really good, but tickets were impossible. It was like the Hamilton of them. So when Hamilton first came out, it was like impossible to get tickets. So Wicked tickets were very expensive. So they told me it would be like $110 to go to see the show and I was like, okay, no problem, I can do that. But what they didn't tell me is they bought me an orchestra seat. That was definitely not $110 and they gave me just the most beautiful gift, but they talked me into Seeing Wicked, the musical, as my first Broadway show. So I don't know if any of you can relate to this, but if you have seen any other shows and you are like me and you love the razzle, dazzle and you like the sparkle and the costuming and the sets and the lighting, if you love the spectacular aspect of the visuals of a Broadway show, wicked is just amazing.

Speaker 1:

So Then I started listening to a little bit of the music and again, I don't even think I don't think I had an iPhone back then. I think I had an Android. I don't know what I had, but it wasn't what we have today and so I wasn't streaming or anything like that. I would hear bits and pieces of the music, but I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what I was getting myself into and I didn't know what I was gonna watch. I get, I left myself very, very vanilla, you know, didn't really know a lot about the show and, again, no social media. So now a lot of exposure.

Speaker 1:

So, anyway, I get on the plane and I should preface this by saying I was very, very, very heavy back then, so probably over a hundred pounds more than I weigh now. And so you know the whole debacle of getting on the plane, having to get a seatbelt extender you know being a very heavy set person, and then it is Freezing cold in December. So we I think we went like December 1st through 3rd or something like that. I have my original ticket. I could have go back and look at the date, but it was whole big production To pack and prepare for clothing because, again, I lived in Florida, I didn't have winter clothes, I didn't have a winter coat, so I had to get like all this stuff and Still try to, you know, scramble money to have spending money to be there. And so we get to New York and we go see the show and I have to tell you I Was ruined for good. Right, I have been changed for good, but I was ruined for good, so Ruined in a good way.

Speaker 1:

So let me tell you who was actually in the cast that I saw. The cast was Just about the original cast, with the exception of Kristin Chenoweth. She had left by then and I had the Wikipedia here because I was looking at, you know, all the people who have played in this role, but at the time, idina Menzel was still in the show, so I actually got to see Wicked with Idina Menzel, which, again, I didn't know who she was, so I didn't know. This was such a big deal to have this experience and it was absolutely just incredible. So we go see the show and Jennifer Laura Thompson was Kristin Chenoweth understudy and she took over the role. She was Magnificent. We fell in love with her. We just loved her so much. She did such a great job. I think she's one of the most underrated glendals that nobody talks about. But Jennifer Laura Thompson was Incredible.

Speaker 1:

So we go to this show and Then it I think it was the time of the year. I don't know. I've seen the show so many times, I get it all mixed up, but I don't remember if it was the time of the year for Broadway Cares, equity fights, aides or what the charity Situation was. I think that was happening in December, but not 100% sure. Again, I've seen so many times I lost count. But there was one time that we went and we actually made a donation. It was like 500 bucks and we all got to go backstage. I don't remember if that was my first time or not, but let me tell you about some of the other times that I saw the show.

Speaker 1:

So the first time I saw the show, adina Menzel was in it and we went to the stage door because, again, I wasn't familiar. I was a Broadway Virgin and we were. I was not familiar with the stage door stalking situation, so that kind of opened my eyes to meeting celebrities on Broadway. So after the show we went to the stage door to get our playbills autographed and Adina Menzel didn't come out and we were all very disappointed. Well, it turns out this was back in the day when she was married to Tay Diggs and she was receiving some threats and was not comfortable with coming to the stage door. So anyway, I'm cursed. When it comes to Adina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, I can talk to you a little bit more about that. Basically, anytime I try to meet them or anytime I've gone to a show that they are in, either they don't come to the stage door or there's something going on, or I get a meet and greet and it gets canceled. So anyway, I've given up hope of meeting Adina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, because that never happens for me. All right, any who.

Speaker 1:

So, going back to the several times that I've seen Wicked. So once I saw the show for the first time I was like destroyed for good in a good way, ruined. It's my show, I love it, I love the music. And then, of course, the best thing about a Broadway show is then you go home and then you put the CD in your car because, again, we weren't streaming Apple Music then and then you just have the visual of the whole show playing in your mind when you're listening to the music and it was just so powerful so that soundtrack again definitely worth every Grammy. So we go back home to Florida and I'm like, oh my God, I've had a taste of New York. I've had a taste of a little Italy, I've had a taste of the city. I'm like, now I'm addicted, I want to go back. So the next time I went back I've actually seen Wicked, the musical, five times on Broadway.

Speaker 1:

Some were purchased on purpose, some were lottery. So let me tell you about my lottery experience. So another time we were going back and I was like kind of tight budget and I told my friends I'm like, because they were getting tickets to go see the Saturday Night Show, and I said I really can't afford to do that this trip. But you guys go to the show and I'll go walk around the city or do something else. So it was four of us and our friend Charlie was with us and he didn't have tickets either.

Speaker 1:

And we found out that Wicked they kind of pioneered this they had a lottery. So if you go to the theater two and a half hours before the show, you can put your name in the hat and they will call. I think they called like 12 names and then you had an opportunity to purchase one or two seats and, based on how many seats you chose, they would call more names. So basically, what Wicked does is they auction off, they lottery, they raffle the first row, so you can't purchase the first row. It is the first row of the theater, so you are basically first row, you are seeing the show up close and personal and it's $25. So if they draw your name, then it's $25 and you can buy one or two tickets for $25 each. So these are tickets people were paying $5, $6, $700 for and they are $25.

Speaker 1:

So we go to the matinee it was a Saturday and none of us had tickets and I said, well, let's just try. And they didn't call any of our names. So we're like no big deal. So my two friends that had the tickets for the APM show, the four of us went back at six o'clock for the 630 lottery and we were like you know what. What's the worst case scenario? The four of us will put in our names and if one of us gets it then we get two tickets and we all can go together. So they start calling names and they call my name and I swear to you there was about six or 700 people in that parking garage at the Gershwin waiting for the lottery and they call my name and my name was Lydia Martino at the time because I was married to my first husband and I screamed to the top of my lungs in excitement and I got to buy two tickets for $25 each. So let me tell you about the best part. We get our tickets because then you have to go to the ticket office and they give them to you. The tickets we got were the two front row center, so we were the two most center seats in the front row for Wiccan.

Speaker 1:

So talk about being ruined seeing it one time. Then I was ruined seeing it in the orchestra from the very front row and I was just besides myself. I mean, we had the best time ever. And of course, the very first time I saw this show I didn't realize what happened at the end. So when the witch disappeared I thought she was gone forever. I was crying my eyes out, you know.

Speaker 1:

And then the beauty of seeing the show many, many times is you catch different things each time you see it. You notice different things every time you see it. You have favorite numbers that you know and look forward to. But it really is truly magical. So if you have not seen Wiccan, you must, you must, you must, you must see it. So I know a lot of people will be upset and disagree that it's the best show ever, but in my opinion it's the best show on Broadway and it's now having its 20th anniversary. So I've seen it five times in New York. Twice they called my name and I went in the lottery and got to see it from the front row and then on the tour. So when they first, you know, started having a national tour, I was so excited because I live in Fort Lauderdale and we have Broadway across America, you know, fort Lauderdale at the Broward Theater for the Performing Arts at Broward Center and I became a season ticket holder because Wiccan is what sparked my love of Broadway and going to see shows.

Speaker 1:

My issue is that I love the newer shows and I love the Razzle Dazzle, so some of the older classic shows I get bored, but nevertheless, the experience of seeing theater is just so amazing and I'm always in awe of the talent. Okay, so let me tell you, I'm standing at the stage door and then you start seeing people from the ensemble and people from the orchestra and they come out of the stage door like oh, no big deal, I was just in a Broadway show and I'm gonna ride my bike home or I'm gonna go jump on the subway and you're like how many people get to say that they just performed in a Broadway show, like that's what they do for a living. And how many artists and how many aspiring actresses and singers and how many dancers and how many musicians get to live their dream. So for somebody from Florida who didn't have exposure to growing up in New York, it seems so glamorous and fabulous. Right, for them, it's just that's their job, that's their craft, that's their gift, and to get to do what you love for a living, it is just really incredible. So I was always amazed by that.

Speaker 1:

So, after Jennifer Laura Thompson, my next favorite Glinda was Megan Hiltsey. So Megan Hiltsey was an understudy and we love, love, loved her so much she was one of the best glindas of all time. So one time when we went to go see her, we were in New York. We were walking down the street and all of a sudden I see this blonde, this bouncy blonde with high energy, walking on the sidewalk. We're just a few steps behind her and we stopped at a crosswalk because we didn't have the walk sign and I noticed she had this beautiful emerald green bag and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm like I absolutely love your handbag, it is gorgeous. And she turned around and I was like, oh my God. I said, are you in Wicked? And she's like, yeah, I'm walking to work right now. And I'm like, oh my God, I love your bag. We're going to the show tonight. We're so excited, it's so great to meet you. We took a picture and then I was like I have to know more about your bag. And she's like, oh, it's a Mark Jacobs. I treated myself, I bought it for myself when I first booked the show and I was like it is just absolutely gorgeous and we're so excited to see you in the show tonight. And she was super sweet and of course we followed her career. We went to go see her in 9 to 5 the Musical. We saw her in Opening Night Again. It just fueled the fire for my New York City addiction, my theater addiction, and it's just become one of my favorite things to do.

Speaker 1:

So fast forward 20 years. I've been to New York a bunch. I used to try to go three to four times a year and pre-pandemic the last couple shows I saw. I saw Chicago with Erica Jane on Broadway and A2 Proud. A2 Proud is actually the very last Broadway show I have seen. I haven't been to New York in three years. It's time to get back. I would love to go again. Maybe next year I'll take a trip up there.

Speaker 1:

But so now getting back to Wicked, I have a lot of memorabilia. I've got tons of sign playbills from the stage door but the touring cast. So the reason I've seen the show 14 times I think it's 14 or 15. But the reason I've seen the show 14 times is because I have been changed for good, because the show is life-changing. I just can't stop seeing it. And when people tell me they've never seen it, then I have to take them. I'm like, oh my god, if you have not seen this show, I have to take you. I want to witness you enjoying this for the very first time and it's so special and it's such a gift.

Speaker 1:

But the greatest thing is that the national tour they do the lottery also, so you could also show up at the theater on the local stops and you can show up two and a half hours before the show and you can get into the lottery and you can win tickets there as well. Now, normally they raffle off orchestra seats and it's not necessarily the front row, but if you don't win the lottery, then they give you a second chance, cheapy seat that you can buy for like 45 bucks. So I love this show that has pioneered the Broadway lottery. Now, I could be wrong. Maybe it wasn't the first show to ever do it, but they were a show that did it and it just has given so many people the opportunity to see a show of that caliber at an affordable price. And for me They've gotten the return on their investment, because I've seen it 14 or 15 times since then and bought tickets for me and my friends and my daughter and you know my daughter loves theater.

Speaker 1:

So it has really just been a life-changing experience and the best thing is like with different people and celebrities are in the show. So let me tell you about the time Joey McIntyre played Fiero and if you're not familiar with who Joey McIntyre is, he is from a one boy band called New Kids on the Block. So we went to see him when he played Fiero on Broadway and we got to meet him after the show. It was unbelievable. It was so amazing. So some of the famous alphabas that I've seen, we've seen Dina Menzel, we've seen Shoshana Bean, we've seen Stephanie J Block, we have seen a lot of different people play alphaba. But I have to tell you, some of the best performers I've seen are actually on the national tour and they're not even from here, they're from London or they're from Australia and they do just such an incredible job. They're so gifted, they're so talented and if anything from this episode comes through today, I hope it is that you will give Wicked the musical a chance.

Speaker 1:

So lots of merchandise. I'm an Emerald Green person. Anyway, I am just always attracted to Green and I love Emerald Green. So to tell me that I am positively Emerald is the biggest compliment. It's just so fun. I have the hoodie, I have the Grimary book. I had so much merchandise from the show and most recently my husband gifted me a bracelet from the Little Words Project to find gravity. So I just feel like those words defy gravity.

Speaker 1:

When you think about and I always say this to my students because I work in education I say you're limitless and I always think of Wicked. So I'm like you're limitless, don't ever think that you can't do something you can. You can totally do it. You are unlimited in your potential and what gifts you can develop and talents you can nurture and share with this world. So anyway, wicked changed my life for good. I bought like a baby every time I see it and I always cry at the end of Broadway shows because I'm sad they're over, but I'm always crying because I'm in awe of their talent, like the people on stage are so talented and they're studying their craft and they are living their dreams. I don't know, it's just it's so special, it is so, so special. So, anyway, that's my story. But since then I have seen many, many, many, many, many Broadway shows and too many to talk about today. But it is National Wicked Day and if you have not seen Wicked the Musical, please, the next time it's on tour in your town, go see it. And then I'm going to wrap up.

Speaker 1:

But the bucket list. So I always talk about the bucket list and I'm kind of a Halloween hater because I don't really love Halloween. I don't love horror movies and I know I'm a weird person. Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but released around the time of Halloween. It's always this time of year that we get excited about Wicked, but on the bucket list now is to see it in one. I want to see Wicked in London and I want to see Mamma Mia in London. So London is on the bucket list as a trip in the next few years and it's just so fun.

Speaker 1:

So if you ever have the chance, or the show tours near you or a local regional theater production puts a version of it on, please go. Support the arts, please go support the theater, please support Broadway. Cares, equity, fights, aids. It's a great charity and I just want to dedicate this episode today to all the people in my life, my friends Carl and Brian, who exposed me to the love of theater and Broadway and gifted me such a beautiful experience seeing it for the first time. I want to dedicate this episode to all the people in my life who have ever supported me, loved me and helped me have a beautiful theater experience. So have a great day, everybody. I'm going to hope to see you real soon. Thank you so much for listening. I truly appreciate you have the most magical, wicked day ever.