I LOVE MUSICALS!!! by Kanokwan T. '25
wicked just dropped and I am LOSING MY MIND
worry not: there are no Wicked spoilers in this blog
IM SO WICKED-PILLED RIGHT NOW IM SO SO SORRY FOR SCREAMING
BUT I SIMPLY CANNOT HELP IT
Last Friday, I saw Wicked for opening night with two friends (Caitlin O. ‘25 and Oris S. N. ‘23), and I went absolutely FERAL. I have been waiting for this film for LITERALLY 10 YEARS.01 The film was announced in December of 2012, and I found out about <em>Wicked</em> in November of 2014.
I HAVE BEEN SIMMERING. BUZZING. WAITING ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. HEARING GLIMMERS OF NEWS EVERY NOW AND THEN OVER THE YEARS, BUT NOT LETTING MYSELF GET TOO EXCITED UNTIL THE OFFICIAL OFFICIAL THING WAS OFFICIALIZED. AND THE THING HAS FIIIIIINNNNNNALLLLY COME OUT!!!02 <span style="font-weight: 400">fun fact: this production, in some ways, has been in-progress for more than a century ever since L. Frank Baum published <em>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz</em> in 1900</span>
Here’s some fun Kano-lore: Wicked was my gateway musical. A decade ago, my friend Adrien V. V. ‘24 told me I should go, and I did—completely cold. I went in only knowing that the name of the musical was Wicked. My god. I remember feeling so entranced and transported. The opening monkey scene lives in my brain rent free. I became so horribly obsessed.
My family saw Wicked at the Las Vegas Smith Center on November 4th, 2014.
TANGENT
I’m writing this blog from my childhood bedroom, BLASTING the entire Wicked soundtrack with my THX speakers cranked up to MAX bass. I am AMPED.
Anyways. Having seen Wicked, I’ve been inspired to finally get to a blog that I’ve been meaning to write for a long time…
MY LOVE LETTER TO MUSICAL THEATRE
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
okay let’s calm down a little bit03 this is me speaking to myself lmfao
and establish clear definitions
- a show tune is a song from a musical
- a musical is a type of theater production that blends music, dance, and dialogue to tell a story
- a theatre production is… y’know
THE UNVEILED HUMAN EXPERIENCE
There’s something extraordinary about show tunes—they take the innermost thoughts you never dared to share and suddenly bring them to life on stage. It’s as if someone pressed pause on the world to let the emotions and struggles of a character explode into song and dance. The human experience is pulled from the depths of a character and laid bare in the theatre for all to witness. Show tunes bring the most internal—feelings and thoughts—to the most external—the stage.
But it’s not just a song or a play—it’s the synthesis that makes musicals distinct. Music gives raw emotion a language that words alone can’t convey, while the theatrical staging grounds it in a world that feels alive and immediate. A monologue might describe what a character feels, but a song lets you feel it alongside them. Music elevates the stakes of a moment, while the staging and narrative bring it to life. This fusion taps into something deeply primal—melding melody, movement, and meaning into a single, powerful expression. A play can draw you in with its dialogue, and a song can move you with its melody, but a musical immerses you completely, making you live every high and low as if they were your own.
THE COMMUNITY CONNECTION
More broadly, experiences that immerse people in shared storytelling—like live music, watching a movie, seeing a musical theater production, or other forms of collective art—are some of the moments in which I’ve felt most connected to others. Where else do waves of sound and light ripple through a space, enveloping a crowd of people, all experiencing the same performance yet each holding their own unique connection to the art? The fourth wall feels…holy? And ephemeral. It’s there, then it’s gone. Have you ever been in an empty theater? The magic lingers, but only briefly. The electricity that once pulsed through the space dissipates, leaving only echoes.
And yet, in those transient moments, something profound happens. Show tunes give voice to the unsaid. “Tomorrow” from Annie embodies the steadfast hope of new beginnings, no matter how heavy the present feels. “Losing My Mind” from Follies captures the ache of someone occupying your mind from the moment you wake. The weary cynicism of “Money, Money, Money” from Mamma Mia reveals the frustration of a world overrun by privilege and power. And “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago conveys the raw frustration of feeling misunderstood, the desire for others to see and validate your truth if only they knew the full story.
A PERSONAL NOTE
For me, “Breathe” from In the Heights resonates particularly deeply. At one point, I made the difficult decision to take a leave from MIT for the fall of my sophomore year.04 when I feel ready, I will blog about this As part of the MIT FLI (first-generation and/or low-income) community, the weight of that choice felt immense—it wasn’t just stepping back from school, but from a path my family and I had poured years of relentless grit into carving out, a path that carried the hopes of breaking cycles and building a better future. I worried constantly that I was letting them down, that I wasn’t living up to the sacrifices they had made.
“Breathe” captures that exact tension:
They regard me with pride
And everyone’s sweet
They say, “You’re going places”
So how can I say that, while I was away
I had so much to hide?
Hey guys, it’s me
The biggest disappointment you know
The kid couldn’t hack it
She’s back and she’s walkin’ real slow[…]
I am the one who made it out,
The one who always made the grade,
But maybe I should have just stayed home.
When I was a child, I stayed wide awake,
Climbed to the highest place,
On every fire escape,
Restless to climb.
I got every scholarship,
Saved every dollar,
The first to go to college.
How do I tell them why
I’m coming back home?[…]
Can I go in there and say…
“I know that I’m letting you down?”
Hearing those words—the restlessness, the pressure, the return—felt like seeing my own experience reflected back at me. It was grounding to realize this struggle wasn’t mine alone but one shared so deeply within my community that it even found its way into a show tune.
Live theater creates an unmatched resonance—a shared space where we confront the deeply personal but undeniably universal. The stories feel bigger than ourselves, yet so deeply our own. You’re watching these characters’ truths spill out in front of hundreds of strangers, and suddenly, your own truths feel seen. It’s that rare kind of magic—something profoundly human. In that shared moment, we all show up, gathering in one place to experience something together: art.
TANGENT
I’m not a theater kid, but I’m about as close as you can get without officially being one. Meaning, I’ve never performed in a theater production,05 I did take acting classes as a kid and even considered acting instead of STEM, but STEM won out. I really respect the craft of acting—I even took an acting class at MIT. There’s something beautiful about how observant and self-aware actors have to be, taking in the world and embodying other people within their own skin. But I digress. though I love theatre, and many of my friends are involved. All in all, I’m just fiercely in love with show tunes.
THE MAGIC OF MUSICAL THEATRE, EXPLAINED
The best, most-succinct argument I know for show tunes is, fittingly, told in a show tune. Yes, I know it’s a 10-minute video—but it’s SO GOOD. If you want to understand why people love Broadway,06 <span style="font-weight: 400">a </span><span style="font-weight: 400">theater genre featuring performances in the New York City Theater District, held in venues with 500+ seats</span> aside from this blog, maybe this video is it.
THE MIT SHOW TUNES SCENE
The MIT Musical Theater Guild stages incredible productions. Over the years, I’ve seen them put on Into the Woods, Pippin, Heathers, Chicago, and most recently, Assassins. Truly impressive work.
Musicals often make their way through Boston, with Broadway in Boston serving as the main hub. There’s almost always a show in town, thanks in part to Boston’s close proximity to New York, where Broadway originated. If you live in Boston and want to catch a musical, you can definitely get your fix.07 MIT also offers plenty of opportunities for free or discounted tickets. My freshman-year learning community, Concourse, gave free tickets to several students, and the MIT Activities Committee has a whole website dedicated to this.
My friends (L→R: me, Charlotte W. ‘23, Hillary A. ‘23, Kaira S. ‘23 (above), Oris S. N. ‘23 (below), Jupneet S. ‘23) and I saw Hamilton at the Citizens Opera House on February 12th, 2023.
Honestly, seeing actual Broadway in New York is pretty accessible, too. It’s just a four-hour train ride from Boston, and I’ve gone a few times with friends. Here are a few of those experiences:
I would be remiss not to mention Broadway Rave. It’s exactly what it sounds like—a rave blasting Broadway songs. They tour the country, and I usually go whenever they’re in town, which ends up being about 1-3 times a semester. I never get tired of it. I’m not much of a general rave-goer, but Broadway Rave? Absolutely. Dressing up as characters is a big part of the fun—my friends and I join in, and so do many others. The DJ often acts out the songs, mimicking the official stage production, and audience members can even take the stage if they know the choreography, are dressed as a character, or just feel inspired. I’ve been up there once—it was a blast. The rave is so corny, cheesy, and over-the-top, and I love every second of it. My first Broadway Rave was on February 18th, 2023, thanks to an invitation from my friends Emma S. ‘26 and Charlotte W. ‘23.
TANGENT
The phrase “wicked smaht” is a Bostonian expression, fitting for a city with the most colleges in the country. I love how “wicked” already feels like part of the city’s DNA.
LITTLE THINGS THAT SHOW MY LOVE
- The hook for my first public blog ever was a lyric from Wicked.
- For Halloween 2015, I dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West. I even painted myself green. No, I’m not showing you the photos.
- For my birthday in 2021, my friend Charlotte W. ’23 got us matching Broadway pillows. Wicked is front and center.
- When my mind drifts during lecture, I either (a) doodle random things or (b) scribble down Wicked lyrics.
- Emails I’ve sent to my friends:
MY ACTIONABLES FOR YOU08 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoSCoW_method" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MoSCoW method</a> hehe, learned this through a mechanical engineering internship
yes, you 🫵🏼
(if you want to dip your toes into musical theatre or simply just dive in deeper)
MUST DO
Watch the 2019 Tony Awards Opening Number09 it is the same as the <strong>THE MAGIC OF MUSICAL THEATRE, EXPLAINED</strong> one above
SHOULD DO10 </strong>If you are still on the fence about whether to go, let me just say this: my little brother—who has never given a single shit about musicals—sent me <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8srk3itxS8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this 2-min video</a>, totally unprompted, about how everyone<em>,</em> even those who are not into musicals, would enjoy seeing <em>Wicked.</em><strong>
Go see Wicked
COULD DO
Listen to some show tune classics
WON’T DO
Deny musicals an honest chance
ok that is all
unwickedly,11 the irony
Kano
- The film was announced in December of 2012, and I found out about Wicked in November of 2014. back to text ↑
- fun fact: this production, in some ways, has been in-progress for more than a century ever since L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 back to text ↑
- this is me speaking to myself lmfao back to text ↑
- when I feel ready, I will blog about this back to text ↑
- I did take acting classes as a kid and even considered acting instead of STEM, but STEM won out. I really respect the craft of acting—I even took an acting class at MIT. There’s something beautiful about how observant and self-aware actors have to be, taking in the world and embodying other people within their own skin. But I digress. back to text ↑
- a theater genre featuring performances in the New York City Theater District, held in venues with 500+ seats back to text ↑
- MIT also offers plenty of opportunities for free or discounted tickets. My freshman-year learning community, Concourse, gave free tickets to several students, and the MIT Activities Committee has a whole website dedicated to this. back to text ↑
- in MoSCoW method hehe, learned this through a mechanical engineering internship back to text ↑
- it is the same as the THE MAGIC OF MUSICAL THEATRE, EXPLAINED one above back to text ↑
- If you are still on the fence about whether to go, let me just say this: my little brother—who has never given a single shit about musicals—sent me this 2-min video, totally unprompted, about how everyone, even those who are not into musicals, would enjoy seeing Wicked. back to text ↑
- the irony back to text ↑