Dark Monday -Wicked

Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth starred in the Broadway musical Wicked. They were both beyond spectacular. Wicked essentially gives you the backstory to The Wizard of Oz. But it is much more than that, for it is about being different, not fitting in, and how the majority can injure the minorities.



Idina Menzel play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and shows how a green young girl goes from innocence to wicked through life's trials. Idina must have really had to act here, since that lucky woman is beautiful, has a gorgeous voice, and is married to Taye Diggs, who she met while both were in the original cast of Rent on Broadway. She gave girth to a son in September. Here she sings the amazing song Defying Gravity.



Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda, the Good Witch. Glinda's path is one of redemption, as she starts out a rather shallow and self-involved character and grows to become so much more. Kristin is immensely talented, as could be seen on both Pushing Daisies and Glee. She won the Emmy this season, and just went to Washington, DC, to participate on the March for Equality. In this clip, she sings Popular.



The show is an incredible show, and has opened throughout the world. In the Melbourne production, Anthony Callea [a favorite of mine] played Boq, the munchkin in love with Glinda, the same role American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert played in the American touring company. It is still running on Broadway, as well as touring. To find out if it might be playing near you, you can check out the official website here.

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Sunday Worship - The Prayer

I am crazy for Anthony Callea's voice, it is just gorgeous. I learned about the Australian when he was competing on Australian Idol in 2004, and he performed the song The Prayer. The video went on YouTube and it mesmerized me, and I have followed him since, including buying both his CDs. The fact the young man walked on stage and performed this well live just makes me stand in awe of his talent.



For the life of me, I still have not figured out how he did not win the competition. He has, however, sustained a career and has another album coming out soon. Damn, there is another one I will have to import.

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Great Music - Anthony Callea

I have been a massive Anthony Callea fan since his 2004 appearance on Australian Idol. My friend Rickey, who runs the American Idol megasite Rickey.Org, pointed me to a YouTube video of a young man singing the classical/pop song, The Prayer, and have been hooked since. For reasons that will always escape my itty, bitty mind, Anthony finished second, despite having the voice of an angel. To this day, listening to Anthony sing that song as well as a few others can still give me goosebumps.



The eponymous first CD was released in the spring of 2004, and it took me a while to get it, finding the import from Australia can be interesting here in Delaware. But I got it, and loved it. The first single, The Prayer, became the highest selling single in Australian musical history. But before they could pigeonhole Anthony into the Andreas Bocelli, he also had some great pop tunes, like Hurt So Bad, with a sweet Spanish sound, and Rain, a beautiful mid-tempo number.



In 2006, Anthony released A New Chapter, which went more in the pop vein than before. The single Addicted To You is a rocking pop tune, and Live For Love a great power ballad. I loved this CD even more, and was shocked it sold less than the first.



Anthony is currently working on a new CD, but has been keeping busy working as well. He worked in the Australian production of Wicked: The Broadway Musical, and following his starring role of Mark in Rent: The Musical. He has also had countless concerts, including opening for Celine Dion [I will forgive him for this] when she was in Australia.



In his personal life, he came out as rumors of his sexuality spread in the Australian press, but maintained a dignity all along. For the past year and a half, he has been seeing Tim Campbell, an Australian actor/singer, who had starred in a leading primetime soap and had costarred with Anthony in Rent. They have performed together and separately, both remaining gainfully employed while also having a fairly public relationship.



The first CD is available on iTunes, although the second is not but can be purchased on Amazon. I have been tempted to buy the live DVD, but have not been able to find a NTSC copy. I don't know if I will ever get the chance to see him perform live, but would love to [please, Anthony, if you are listening, make it to the states sometime]. That aside, if you like what you hear, buy it and you won't regret it for a moment. For more information about Anthony, you can check his website, or him on Twitter, where he can be most amusing.

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