Wicked in Melbourne

So the news of Wicked coming to Australia is true, and even better, it's coming to Melbourne. July 2008 will see Wicked opening at the Regent Theatre (coincidentally, the venue where I went to my very first music concert, and the place where I saw the Wizard of Oz on the big screen for the first time in my life) on Collins St. Wicked is to be produced by John Frost and is rumoured to have an $18 million budget, thanks to the support from the government. The government has jumped behind bringing this magical musical to Melbourne, as it will do a lot (so they hope, and so I expect) for tourism in Melbourne. With the news that the show will not tour and will not go to Sydney (although this fact remains to be seen and I do doubt that it will not go there eventually) the Melbourne run is being advertised as 'open ended', forcing current and future fans (for I gurantee you the number will grow) to flock to Melbourne to enjoy the wonder of Wicked.

It is early days yet which means no casting news. Helen Dallimore is expected to play the role of Glinda, and has expressed interest, but she has definitely not signed on. I do wonder if she will in fact reprise her role here - there are pros and cons to staying in and leaving London. The main reason I wonder is this: Dallimore was well known in Australia before she headed over to London, but it took quite a while for her to find a break over there. While one can see she landed the biggest break of them all, it wasn't easy and it didn't happen overnight. Helen is no stranger to waiting tables in London, and often thought about simply returning home and taking what she could here. Not one to give up though, she stuck it out, believing that her break was just around the corner - and then one day it was. She finishes her run at the Apollo Victoria on July 14 2007, a full year before the opening in Melbourne. After struggling for so long to land something big in London, and now being a household name over there (at least one would imagine) it's hard for me to think that coming home would be her next career move. We'll see though, and I hope she does. The next question would then be: British or Aussie?

So Wicked is coming, and I am excited. Too excited, even. I'm saving my pennies, and recruiting as many people as I can. The more group bookings I can make, the cheaper my tickets.

Check out the Aussie Wicked site here

Don't give away the ending...

Longest.Post.Ever.

As I sat contemplating whether bangs were really for me, and trying my hand at photoshop, I realised that I haven't updated this thing in forever. Not because I have stopped obsessing, but because I have been obsessing so much that I completely forgot I set this thing up... Oh well. It doesn't matter, because I'm the only person who reads this.

So what's been going through my mind for the past month? Many things. Most of these things are conveniently handed to me on a platter from a friendly lj blogger, but that doesn't make my fangirling any less sincere. It just means... Frankly, that I'm lazy. And that I'm not clever enough to find out all the information for myself.


Jumping ahead... Xena. I know every one makes fun of this show, but I don't think that anyone could really say it was bad if they were to actually bother watching it. I know when it was originally on tv, I never watched it because my brother used to bag the hell out of it.
But then he moved out, and I watched a few eps. It got my attention almost straight away. Almost.
At first I was shocked... "Do these people actually think they are making good tv?" (Yes, I realise my grammar leaves a lot to be desired, but it's all part of my charm...) Then my common sense kicked in and I realised they were, well not taking the piss, but it's that kind of idea. Ever since then I have enjoyed the show.

Now I've forgotten my point... Oh yes.

If I may digress for a moment... The first tv show I ever fell in love with was The X-Files. It stole my heart from the first time I laid eyes on it - I remember that moment it as if it were yesterday. I was 8 years old, curled up on the couch in the dark at my grandma's house and this show came on. I can't work out if I loved this show instantly because of the writing and the characters (hell, I was only eight years old) or because it was about aliens and the supernatural. My entire life (until it dawned on my how unrealistic my dream was) I was crazy about space, the idea of life on other planets and all I ever wanted to be was an astronaut. But back to the point. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but The X-Files owned me from that moment on. Mulder & Scully & Skinner (oh my!). I loved it so much I spent $200 on Season 1 when it first came out on DVD. (For the age I was at the time, that was basically my life savings...) Anyway, The X-Files is the one show that I have never grown weary of, no matter how many times I've seen the eps.


(You've made it this far, stay with me... I'm almost at my point)


So, how do these two tv shows and these two seemingly completely different stories relate?
Well, let me tell you.
My problem is this:
I have never, ever seen the last season of The X-Files. I've owned the DVDs since 2004, but I've never ventured on to the last season.
Likewise, the last 2 episodes of Xena remain unwatched. I do know vaguely what happens (she dies!) but I still can't bring myself to watch it.

Now, the reason I haven't seen them.
As for The X-Files - it's quite simple. I don't want to lose interest while watching the last season, and have that taint my memories of the final ep/season, and thus cast a shadow on the wonder that is Mulder and Scully. I like how I remember them right now, and I worry that I perhaps wont enjoy the last season as much as I want to (high expectations and all that).
As for Xena, I'm waiting til I'm in the right mood. I want to be as obsessed as I was when I first started watching it, when I had to run to the store for the next season as soon as I finished the one I had bought the day before.
I know I'll watch the end of Xena one day (because if it isn't as good as I expect, I wont be all that disappointed) but as for The X-Files... It has to be perfect. Maybe I'll watch it one day when I meet someone who loves it as much as I, and I'll feed off of them.


Anyway, Scully and Mulder were too cute and far too cool. So they get some pics. (I would do some quotes, but it will end up being all of Bad Blood, so I'll let it go...)