i’m sorry, i just don’t know

Yesterday I got the last available seat for Wicked, the musical. I’ve read the book (Wicked, the Untold Story of the Wicked Witch of the West), and loved it. I was giddy… I don’t think I’ve been so excited to see a musical since the first time I saw Les Miserables. Wicked was wonderful. The music, the story (which, btw is considerably different from the book), the costumes, the actors… I was sitting next to a family with an 8 year old girl who was just as excited as I was. We even (it turns out) bought the same I heart OZ t-shirt for $40. After a difficult session at AERA, Wicked sure made me happy

I also visited the Robie House, by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was amazing. His philosophy of organic style resonates with me. Building things that live in harmony with their context. This one was the final house he built in the Prairie Style. It was striking. It was going to be torn down and he came from Arizona at 90 some years of age to save it. Now it’s on the historic register.  Read more on Prairie Style Homes.

And the old Marshal Field’s Department store (now Macey’s) has a Tiffany glass ceiling that is spectacular. I’ve never felt history and grandeur in a department store before. We stood on the top floor and looked down on the wee little people buying perfume. No luck finding Anne the perfect black shoes, though. I found some that I loved, but they were Kate Spade and cost nearly $200 so I passed.

And our hotel is right by the Wrigley building, and the Chicago Tribune building. Such interesting stuff got built here in Chicago after the fire. The Tribune building is a mix of art deco and gothic… who would have thought of that? And it’s striking. The Wrigley building is right across the street and it has this very cool skywalk that connects the two towers. I hear it now connects two law firms. One day I’ll pretend to be a lawyer and go cross it.

Things I have yet to do in Chicago…

• take a tour by air, land, and sea (well, I’ve done a couple of land tours… the architecture tour was cool last time I was here)
• Visit the Sears and John Hancock buildings
• Go to the Art Institute (there is a Picasso and Cezanne show there now that I’m going to miss)
• go to an Oprah Show taping. Somehow Oprah became the spiritual and intellectual leader of all women in the US and it’s a mystery to me how. Good marketing, I suppose.