Wicked!

We went, as a family (plus JB's girlfriend, K) to see Wicked last night at the Bass Concert Hall at UT. We went down a little early, and walked across campus to the Drag to get something to eat and then went to the show. It was a spectacular performance!!! Our seats were good - not great, but not bad - and with binoculars we could see really well. The set was incredible, the costumes were incredible, the leads were incredible, the ensemble was incredible, the orchestra was incredible... All in all it was one of the best shows I've seen (and it has a great message). But the most wonderful part of the evening wasn't the show...

For the first time since the kids were little we ALL went to see a musical together. No one complained or fussed. Everyone seemed to have a good time (or kept their complaints to themselves). The best thing about the evening was that while Daughter A, the theatre geek, waited in line at the stage door to get autographs for 30 or 40 minutes, her brother sat on a curb with his girlfriend and never tried to guilt her into leaving. He was almost a gentleman. He did look rather bored and didn't try to hide it; but I couldn't judge him for that. It was late and still a little hot, and he had a sweater on. Life doesn't get much better than that - three siblings, an extra teenager, a mom and a dad (who doesn't like to wait) all having fun together without any squabbles.

And it's a good thing, too, because we could have had a nice weekend at the beach for the cost of those tickets, but the fringe benefits wouldn't have been as great!