On Thursday, January 6 a group of 22 Southeast students and three sponsors braved the cold, January weather and traveled to Music Hall in Kansas City to watch one of Broadway’s most popular musicals, Wicked.  

The musical is based on the classic story of the Wizard of Oz.  It tells the story of how Glinda the Good and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West meet at boarding school.  Forced to be roommates, a friendship grows between the two until circumstances drive them apart.  Along the way we learn the true identities of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, and why a tornado drops a house on Elphaba’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the East.  

There is so much to like about the musical that students always have a hard time picking their “favorite part.”  My favorite part is the musical number “Defying Gravity” delivered at the end of the first act.  Students also loved the costumes and the set design and were really interested in how all of the parts came together into one amazing performance.  This is my third time taking a group of students to see this musical, and I am always thrilled to see students’ faces when they witness a Broadway musical for the first time.  It really is a “Wicked” experience.