It's Witchcraft

With New Moon finally opening on Friday (has it really only been a year since Twilight? How are Ironman fanatics dealing with having to wait three years for their sequel?) I have a laser focus. I'm in a twisted joy and fear based swirl of excitement around the supernatural.

So I've decided to write about it. I could write about vampires, (I've been working on a "favorites" list) but New Moon isn't about vampires, I mean, they're there, but it's really about the other.

Today, I'm talking witches. Not real witches, the kind that pop culture has taken and elevated to super status. Here they are, my favorite magic makers here.

The Halliwell Sisters: Charmed

I loved Charmed. I watched season 1 again recently and realized it really doesn't exactly hold up. But for pure The WB late 90s early millenium nostalgia, it's the best. Plus Alyssa Milano is amazing. I personally think the show suffered when Shannen Doherty left and was replaced by Rose McGowan as a formerly unknown fourth sister (not because I prefer Doherty to McGowan, let me make that clear, McGowan is way better! I didn't like the way Piper functioned as oldest sister) The Charmed ones were great and the epic scope of their mission is always good.

Willow Rosenberg: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel

Willow started experimenting with Wicca at the end of season 2, in an attempt to restore Angel's soul. She later developed incredible powers which consumed her by season 6. Willow's magical solutions to Buffy and the rest of the gang's problems proved helpful, even if Giles consistently disapproved.

Samantha Stevens, Endora, Tabitha Stevens: Bewitched

Without Sam, as a pretty good witch on this quasi misogynistic classic there would be none of the others on this list. Samantha's mother Endora was constantly making trouble for poor Sam and her much put upon magic-phobic husband Darrin. Then came adorable daughter Tabitha, who manifested her magic powers early, and also made plenty of trouble.

Sabrina Spellman: Sabrina The Teenage Witch

A direct descendant of Samantha's, Sabrina's magic was much more about hijinks and hilarity than anything else. Plus it was a metaphor for puberty, so that was cool. Sabrina's magic caused her no end of problems, she had to lie to her friends about it, and even when she came clean to high school sweetie Harvey about it, it took him five more years to come around. But didn't we all wish when we were tweens that we could point our fingers and summon up a dance lesson with Britney Spears, and then watching reruns now, wish we could point and get the couture that Sabrina does.

Jean "Jinx" Honeychurch: Jinx

In Meg Cabot's less successful novel, Jean is a powerful prophesied witch who has to escape to New York City relatives when she turns the most popular boy in her small Iowa town into a crazy stalker with a love spell. When Jean's cousin Tory starts thinking that she's the one who's the witch, it spells difficulty, when they have their sights set on the same boy, who really only likes Jean. In the end it's Jean's commitment to not misusing magic that saves her. Personally I'd have rather seen Cabot turn this into a series rather than the too big for it's britches Airhead Science Fiction story.

The Wicked Witch of The West, Elphaba: The Wizard of Oz, Wicked

She struck fear into the hearts of children everywhere for generations, then she was the center of a heady confusing novel, and then she touched the hearts of freaky girls everywhere in her own musical. The shrieks of Margaret Hamilton's green witch are terrifying, right out of play pretends about the mean old neighbor. I've only read Maguire's novel once, but I didn't really get it. Then came Idina Menzel taking on the icon in Wicked. If your heart doesn't break as she sings "I'm Not That Girl" you need to get a new. Thankfully, we're in Oz, which means we could probably find you one.

Hermione Granger: The Harry Potter series

The talent behind the men. Hermione was the one who found the ways for Harry's plans and hijinks to make them legendary. If it weren't for the her and her bizarre ability to memorize thick volumes, (Hogwarts: A History) they never would have found the Sorceror's stone and Voldemort would have come back full force four years before Harry was ready and smacked his ass. Of course then Cedric Diggory might have been spared, but I digress. Hermione's book smarts are absolutely the driving force behind Harry and the success of his adventures.

So those are my witches. Coming before the end of the week, alternate worlds, mythological creatures and of course, werewolves!

Summer Reading: A Little Bit Wicked, Life, Love and Faith in Stages

Have I espoused before how much I adore Kristin Chenoweth? I'm pretty sure I have. I've at least talked about how much I love Wicked, and I feel the two probably go hand in hand.

A Little Bit Wicked is Kristin's attempt to get all Jen Lancaster on her cute, blonde, Christian butt. (I say butt, because Kristin would never use the a-word) Everything about this book made me want to give Cheno a big hug and tell her how much her work has meant to me over my life. Alan Cumming, her and Kathy Bates's version of "Easy Street" is easily the only thing that makes the ABC made for TV remake of Annie passible. I watched her hug hit sitcom Kristin. (Me and her parents, pretty much), I set my VCR for her role in The Music Man. And then there's Galinda...you want my opinion on that, check out this post from a few months ago for that explanation. Annabeth was the saving grace of the last few seasons of The West Wing, and Pushing Daisies was taken from us far too early.

The book deals with her feelings about her meteoric rise on Broadway, her on again off again relationship with Aaron Sorkin, her ever present and unapologetic faith in Jesus Christ, and has a wit and humor that people associate with this little spitfire. I highly reccomend the book. I started it at 4 o'clock PM yesterday and finished it at 10:30 this morning, so it's not a hard read, but it's good!

Benny and The Wizard

Broadway actor's who need employment juggernaut Private Practice threw us another one last week. I just watched it, and Joel Grey showed up playing an older doctor who was dying and on his death bed dispensing wisdom to Sam and Pete.

As you saw from last night's hysterical post, I love bizarre reunions. Love them. I think they're great. But this was a particularly special one for me.

My nethandle has been since I was sixteen "Galindapopular." Wicked is an incredibly important part of my past and some of the connections with my friendships were formed around our love for it. Little known fact, (Or widely known in some circles) The first year of its run Norbert Leo Butz, who played Fiyero sustained a back injury that knocked him out for two weeks. And Taye in a wonderful act of husbandly perfectness stepped in and played the role opposite his wife Idina Menzel. People who caught the performance said it was wonderful and hard core Wicked fans (I hold myself to that standard) have all watched at least clips of it online, and most of us are pushing for him to take the role for the film version that really had better happen soon.

So this reunion was particularly special for me and prompted me to refind this:



and this:



Seriously, I wasn't completely obsessed with this show for no reason. It's really something special. I may run down to FYE right now and buy another copy of the OBC...I've mislaid my copy and lost the MP3 files when my computer crashed this summer. It is one that I need.