Thing one: Even if you loathe the musical Wicked (I’m not a huge fan, but it grows on me each time I see it), you should try to make a point to see it when the tour stops at the Cadillac Palace for eight weeks starting Dec. 1 just to experience the stellar Barbara Robertson as Madame Morrible. It’s a grand performance that delivers much more than the role really requires to work. Now, someone please cast her in something fabulous in the Chicago area — it’s been too long!

Thing two: All my NYC-based friends should try to catch The New Colony’s Hearts Full of Blood. The play, which I saw when it premiered in Chicago as Calls to Blood, is really very good (my review), and it’s been accepted into the FringeNYC Encore Series. The New Colony is a storefront group that’s made a name for itself very quickly, and if you see one of their shows it’s easy to see why: they just get it. See Hearts Full of Blood at The Players Theater for one of four encore shows — more info here.

Thing three: Speaking of fringe festivals, while in Pilson attending the Chicago fringe festival, someone handed me this show flier:

Click to embiggen

On the back, it says:

“Can three ghosts help him to become the true warrior he ought to be in time to save Tiny Tim from a horrible fate? Performed in the Original Klingon with English Supertitles, and narrative analysis from The Vulcan Institute of Cultural Anthropology.”

As I’m so not a fan of sci-fi, and particularly avoid anything that has both supertitles and a narrative analysis, I shook my head and posted a photo of this flier on facebook for laughs. To my surprise, an outpouring of interest came through, urging me to “see it — and take me, please!” Um. Maybe I’ll have to now — just to see who’ll show up. Though, it’s far too early to start thinking about Christmas — let alone a Vulcan, er, I mean Klingon Christmas. (More info on A Klingon Christmas Carol.)