The Wizard and I

Listening to: Lenka, "The Show." I'm just a little bit caught in the middle / Life is a maze and love is a riddle / I don't know where to go / I can't do it alone (I've tried) / and I don't know why

So it's Thursday night, Jas and George decide they need to go out, to blow off some weekday steam, to get a few drinks, to have some fun. We head off to the Redwood Room, which is located in a hotel and definitely nicer than the normal bars/lounges we frequent. I'm underdressed as usual but feel fine about it. There are lots of tall gents and ladies lounging and standing around. George gets carded by the bartender because she looks like she was born "in 1986." That was the bartender's direct quote and she also commented on how young the rest of us looked.

Drinks in hand, we decide to sit ourselves down at one of the nice tables despite the Reserved sign. A few minutes in, a hostess tells us we'll have to move when a VIP party comes in. We say "cool, no problem." Half an hour later, this tall guy comes over to move us off the table, sees JonG's Michigan t-shirt and says "You went to Michigan? I'm Michigan born and bred. And an alumni." We immediately respond, "We all went to Michigan!" (George lied but she practically did go to Michigan) It's like you can't escape the gravitational pull of Michigan, invariably everyone I meet is somehow related to Michigan, sometimes uncomfortably close. So this Umich host guy tells us to go sit down at the next lounge area over.

The VIP people take our old seats. It's a group of (good looking) young-ish people, all dressed casual stylish and not looking much different than any other trendy folk you might find in a swanky SF bar. The nice host guy comes over, chats us up in loud engaging tones, and then drops the information that the cast of Wicked is sitting "right over there." At that point my eyes widen and I geek out. I'm sitting with my back to the group of them but keep glancing over to take a look and to try to figure out who's who.

The music in the bar is cranked up and dancey and JonG starts doing the JonG dance at our table. A few of the Wicked people get up off their seats and start dancing too. They have rhythm, they have sashays, they have fluidity. They might be randomly stretching their toes to the air. JonG then challenges George to go over and talk to them for "one hundred dollars and a cupcake." George downs her drink, crosses the five feet distance separating us, and starts talking to two of the guys sitting closest. I overhear her say, while pointing in my direction, "That's my brother, he's a bigger Wicked fan than I am!" Great, thanks a lot. But it's okay because when George comes back, she points out the girl who plays Elphaba and my inner Dorothy screams in delight. Elphaba is right there!

We kind of coolly ignore them over the course of the night but really I'm studying them from afar. I felt like I was in the presence of celebrities. We kept drinking, kept dancing, kept having a good time . JonG and Jas made me feel good about their excellent sense of rhythm, George and I bopped around. I hoped for a dance off, an impromptu singalong, anything. I wanted to ask them all to go karaoke with us this weekend. We clinked glasses with a few of them but in reality I figured this was as close as we'd get. However, near the end of the night, we're suddenly talking to one of the cast members. I think it was JonG who started it. We were in!

I got to ask a few stupid questions about the show and basically reveled in fanboydom. As their group is getting ready to go, we meet a few other members of the cast. I tell this one guy that he's a great dancer. He says "Oh, I like you" and walks over to ask for my name. A few seconds later he asks George (jokingly?) if I'm gay or straight. Here's George's answer: "I don't know." They laugh. She adds, "he can be anything you want him to be." Basically she sold me out but to be honest, it was for a good cause.

George ends up getting one of the super friendly guy's phone number. He lives in the Haight. Maybe, if we're lucky, we'll be eating brunch with him -- and his friends?! -- one of these days. Maybe when I go home I Google the shit out of the cast to find out who we met. Maybe I find them. Maybe we had a really fantastic random night. Maybe we had a time. Maybe dreams do come true...