Winning the Wicked Lottery

CodeMonkey and I have been trying to get out and do more things, instead of being lazy homebodies. So last weekend, we went to see Wicked.

The musical is very sentimental for me, and I saw it in high school when it still had the original Broadway cast, and as a newlywed with CodeMonkey. Tickets are expensive, so we decided to enter the lottery.

The premise is pretty simple: you show up two and a half hours before show time and fill out a slip with your name and the number of tickets you want (1 or 2). Two hours before show time, they will draw names for the 26 front row seats. If you're selected, you pay $30 per ticket in cash on the spot, after showing ID. And they give you an "I won the Wicked lottery" button. Make sure you bring enough cash, though, as you have to pay for the tickets on the spot. CodeMonkey ended up loaning $20 to a rather frantic Korean girl who came up short.

While getting rush tickets to Spiderman and Mary Poppins was painless, Wicked is harder. We first went to the drawing on Saturday night, and there were 200 people, maybe 300. We didn't win, but on Sunday night, there were less than half as many people, and I won! If  you're willing to try multiple times to win the lottery, I think this is really worth doing.

The seats we got were fantastic. I was so close I could see hot the actors' wigs attached to their heads; I could see where Elphaba's green bodysuit met her painted skin; I could see the embroidery on Morrible's gowns. The level of detail in the sets and costuming was breathtaking, and CodeMonkey was tickled that you could see right into the pit. Ali Maussey, the current Glinda was an absolute ham, and I think I liked her better than Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role. This time around, I was struck by how teenage-like Elphaba's and Glinda are; they interact like teenaged girls, particularly in the first act. I don't know if I missed that when I saw it the first time because I was a teenager myself, but it brought me back to being a high schooler myself.

Having gotten rush or raffle tickets three times now, I can't recommend it enough. Playbill.com keeps a list of all Broadway shows and their rush policies and it is worth referencing. We are hoping to see The Mystery of Edwin Drood this weekend.