Around four we grabbed the Blue Line up to Hollywood. We had tickets to see Wicked at the Pantages at eight and thought it would be fun to spend some time hanging around up there before the show. Decided to take the train because parking always stinks and traffic on the way up was going to be horrible. Plus it’s way cheaper (10 bucks total).

We’d heard there was an Italian-American festival going on (on Highland between Sunset and Hollywood) and decided to stop by. There wasn’t too much there: some carnival rides, food booths, stands selling Italia t-shirts, and a stage that featured bad comics and singers. Jimmy Kimmel is apparently the reason why the festival is now held here, something about him really enjoying it back east. We grabbed a bottle of wine and lots of kinds of food and just enjoyed the carnival atmosphere.

Around seven we walked to the Red Line station and grabbed a train to Hollywood/Vine, where the theater is. We were seated fifteen minutes before the show began, perfect timing. I hate to say it, but I didn’t enjoy the musical that much. Maybe it was the fact that I’d read the book and they greatly diverted from it, maybe it was that the microphones weren’t set at a proper level (high octaves sounded strange for all singers). It was certainly an enjoyable experience but I was expecting so much more. Better music, more adherence to the book, less annoying Galina/Glinda. Glad I saw it once but I don’t see any reason to see it again.

Oh, these are actually samples of chewing gum that were being handed out in front of the Chinese Theater. Each has a single stick of gum inside along with a creepy “experiment.” One is taking five cell phones, putting them in your pocket, then having friends call the phones and “enjoy the tingle.” The containers are really neat and will get used for some sort of project. They remind me of test tubes or blood vials (and a certain body part).