Defying Gravity

      Now, I get to write about what was possibly one of my favorite days of the trip.
      You've heard me say here before that I might have been a little bit obsessed with being on time during this whole entire experience. While, that's what I get… because after our wonderful misadventures in Paris, it turned out that a lot of members of my group were having security problems which caused a train delay. Luckily, this was not the case for us, but either way several trains ended up getting stuck in the Chunnel (that's the Channel Tunnel between England and France underwater) so I had no choice but to take a nap aboard the train after all that worrying. Turns out we were an hour late that day, as were some of our travel companions.
     All we had was theater class that day, we were discussing why everybody was not fond of “A Small Family Business” which we had just seen the last class day before. Compared with the acting delivery, set design, location, props and other elements of the plays that we had seen, it was still good, but it just was not the outstanding caliber that we had come to expect from the West End, which brings me rather nicely to this day.
       As I said earlier, I had been sicker than a dog the whole weekend, and there was no way to refund the purchase price of those train tickets without exorbitant fees, so I decided to suck it up, I was going to France, dammit! So, it would only follow that I wanted to spend the whole week thereafter curled up in a blanket. But I couldn't. Not today. Because we decided that it was the only night we would be able to see  Wicked, the musical. So, after class and purchasing some cold pills from the local Boots  pharmacy, we decided to schlep over to the Apollo Victoria Theatre by bus. When we got there, I was doubly disappointed, because the lift platform up the front stairs was not working, so my friend had to go in and get somebody from the box office to come outside so they could talk to me. When I asked about  “day tickets," they said there were none available. These are the tickets that you have to purchase the day of and they allow you really good discounted seats (great for students!) so the  fiirst few rows of the house are full at every show. But then she said “Come to think of it , if you need a wheelchair, the accessible stalls are actually cheaper, and we do have those available!”  I was so happy, because for £15 each (that's less than the price of dinner for 2), we were going to see a musical!
      I don't know why, but I remember feeling so much better that night, and it was one of the  best nights of the entire trip, even if it ended in me giggling maniacally. It was such a great performance, but I better stop before I start singing (because I will!) The sets and special effects  were great, and they even had many of them that were suspended from the air. We shared ice cream as I sang along to every single thing, and I was just so happy because basically the musical is about being different and how that is okay, and I don't know why but I was happier than I had been on the entire trip previously. The West End shows end kind of late, but you would think there would still be some restaurants open for theatergoers afterward. But alas, this is not America! So we ended up eating at one of the most American places I can think of: a 24-hour McDonald's. My first Double Cheeseburger that I had had in about 10 years, and I was still singing all the way home!

"It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you won't bring me down"

(Image: Me with outstretched arms, grinning widely. You can see the billboard for "Wicked" at the entrance to the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the background.) 

   (Image: A map graphic, presumably of Oz complete with brown, blue green, and neon green lighting. This could be seen as part of the set design projected behind the stage.)