Elphaba came to town.

And it may come as no surprise to anyone that I jumped all over it. Not being successful in getting my husband or son to come with me and the girls, I recruited the next best Elphie fan (Melissa) and her girls to join us. We got lawn tickets to Blossom and the best part--the kids were free! It was a great night--not too hot (that is, after the loooong hike from the grassy knoll we parked on to the grassy knoll we would be sitting on), with a picnic dinner, and various snacks that must have been inhaled by the girls because that food was gone in 60 seconds, and pre-concert games.

The Cleveland Orchestra played some Americana songs to start, and then Idina came out!!!  From what I could tell waaay back on the edge of the lawn, she was just as beautiful as ever (although not green this time) and her voice blew me away.  I started recording her singing "I'm Not That Girl" but put the camera down because I needed to experience the song in real life and not through the viewfinder as I try to hold the camera steady.  Incredible.

She sang several more songs, including one of the nicer ones from Rent, and a couple from her album, and of course--the one we had all been waiting for...

But she began with an a capella version of "For Good"... (Throughout the concert I figured out that I could use the cup holder as a perch for my camera, allowing me to both record and experience it live--I'm so glad I did it.)

...which just about killed me...until she hit us with "Defying Gravity." I had to cut the recording short because I had to stand and scream and applaud like nuts.

We all loved the performances,but we hightailed it out of there because we saw lightning and a storm looming in the distance. It held off long enough for us to get on the freeway, and then the skies opened up as we drove right through the eye of the storm. Zero visibility. It was like someone was throwing the rain at the windshield, rather than it merely falling. Melissa sure must have defied a little something of her own to have navigated that storm as well as she did. Elphaba inspires in more ways than one!