Getting Wicked

Last evening we headed to fabulous downtown South Bend for a fun evening.

We met Shane and Matt for a bite to eat at Madison Oyster Bar and had a few pitchers with our yummy dinners. I really like MOB (or as Shane and Matt and I like to call it, MadOyBa). The owners and staff are always so nice and attentive and the food is reasonable and good. It’s kind of dark and atmospheric and just a fun downtown place. I saw the server who attended to us last time we were there and bought our table of eight a round of shots. I asked her name, and said she was so great when we were there last and she said she really appreciated that. Samantha, you rock!

After she walked away, Shane looked at me and said, “You’re such a whore.” We all totally cracked up. This came from some recent nasty comments I’ve gotten from She Who Shall Not Be Named. Of course, she left a comment on my flip-off picture, so I guess she named herself, huh? More about that in a moment.

Anyway, we had a fun dinner, chatting about that whole ridiculous mess and plenty of other things. It had been a while since we’d been able to get together, so it was great to see them and get caught up. Shane and Matt, you guys rock, too!

Then we headed over to the also-fabulous Morris Performing Arts Center, where the final show of this season’s Broadway Theater League is playing: “Wicked.” I wasn’t quite sure that I would completely enjoy this...I tend to prefer shows that have harder-edged music, like “Rent” or “Rock of Ages.” But I’m happy to say that I was just blown away. The set visuals were just stunning. The scene in the picture I’ve posted here came at the end of the first act, and I was like, “Oh my goodness, this is so cool!” The performances were fantastic, and I loved the whole storyline of how the wicked witch got that way. I’m sure many of you have seen this already, so I’m not giving any spoilers away when I say that she was more than a little misunderstood. The interaction between her character and that of the good witch was sweet and wonderful.

This was really top-notch, and a great way to close out the season. Great job, Broadway Theater League! I’m so glad we got season tickets, because these shows have really been a blast. Next season will also be great: “Bring It On: The Musical,” “Jersey Boys,” “Million Dollar Quartet,” “West Side Story” (I have always wanted to see that!), and although it’s not part of the season ticket package, Green Day’s “American Idiot.” Wow! I also just found out that the tour of the John Mellencamp/Stephen King collaboration, “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County,” will be making a stop at the Morris in November. I am very intrigued by this, although I have few details yet. My sisters got season tickets for BTL next season, too, so that will be fun. Oh, and we upgraded our seats, so we moved up nine rows! We’ve also got Cubs tickets for August, concerts coming up for Smash Mouth at one of the casinos in Michigan, the Dropkick Murphys here in town, and I believe I’ve mentioned that we have tickets for a this little band out of England that some of you may have heard of. [wink] It’s shaping up to be a fun and busy year! There will be a couple of vacations and some Notre Dame games in there, as well. Whew. No rest for the wicked. Hey, nice callback, Beth!

We had a very pleasant lunch with both of our moms today, and when we got back to our place, Ken’s Mom stayed and chatted for a while. She got to see our orioles, the hummingbirds, several other birds, and we saw two baby raccoons out back. I was happy she got to see a little of our wildlife, and she really enjoyed it!

As for the recent “unpleasantness,” SWSNBN seems to have crawled back under her rock...for now. All I will say (some of you know the details from Facebook, but I’m not going to post them here) is that it must be a real bummer to be so bitter and joyless, and to hate someone as much as she seems to hate me. What a way to go through life. I hope I never get that way, but I don’t think I will, because that is just not in my nature. Thank goodness!