Ashley Harrell

Have you ever had a moment when you are truly inspired… you witness something so great that it brings tears to your eyes and ridiculous smile to your face at the same time? Last night I was overflowing with excitement as I sat in the front row of the Pantages Theater and watched the stupendous cast of Wicked sing their little hearts out. I have been overly obsessed with the music in this show ever since the days of singing (or screaming) “Defying Gravity” in the car with my Naked Voices lovelies on the drive down south – but until last night, I had never seen the show! My good friend (and future roommate) works at the theater (to shmooze with the cast, of course) and he told me I should try to come down and get a lottery seat in the front row. Brian and I showed up at the theater right on time… and lo and behold, 15 minutes later I had a ticket for A114 in my hand – FOR TWENTY FIVE BUCKS! I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. Watching the show was absolutely exhilarating. The entire experience shook me into an even deeper stage of dreamlike awe for New York and Broadway – I’m actually going to be living in the middle of a city FILLED with that sort of entertainment… and more importantly, I will hopefully be a part of the scene myself. Pun intended? Perhaps.