“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too”

Entertainment Weekly highlights “TOP 20 VILLAINS” this week in its April 3rd issue.  Coming in at #1 was ‘The Wicked Witch of the West’.  

Here is the rest of the Top 10:

  2. Darth Vader (Star Wars)
  3. Hannibal Lecter
  4. The Joker (Batman)
  5. Alex (A Clockwork Orange)
  6. Mr. Burns (The Simpsons)
  7. Catherine (Basic Instinct)
  8. Voldemort (Harry Potter)
  9. Dracula
10. Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest)

9 inch axiom – Exclusive Content 

‘People are infovores.  Content is king and exclusivity is special.  The ability to take a prospect or customer and give them an exclusive ‘behind the ropes’ experience is invaluable’ 

BEHIND THE EMERALD CURTAIN

The article jogged my memory that I wanted to write a post about ‘Wicked’.  Last week I had the opportunity to attend a special event at the Gershwin Theatre for the Broadway play.  Wicked recently celebrated its 5th anniversary on Broadway.  It’s been the biggest blockbuster on the Great White Way and it shows no signs of slowing down.  

Here are a few snippets from the invite:

Enjoy an insider’s view of the Broadway show WICKED!

You and a professional guest are invited to join Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, Wicked producer David Stone and other special guests to learn about, and experience the making of Wicked.  Follow the journey from Broadway to worldwide phenomenon and hear Stephen Schwartz perform some of your Wicked favorites. 

This is a rare & exclusive opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes tour of one of New York’s hottest shows on Broadway!  Please meet in the lobby of the Gershwin theatre to be personally escorted into this special event & performance. 

Following the event, you are invited to join us in the lobby of the Gershwin for networking and complimentary cocktail reception!

I’ve highlighted some of the copy in red.  It’s obvious that the organizers made a conscientious effort to create a ‘special event’. They brought out the big guns and the event had a very ‘behind the scenes’ exclusive feel.  

Lesson to be learned:  We need to continuously ask ourselves, “How can we provide that extra content for our customers?  How can we create an exclusive experience or feeling? How can we engage in a dialogue with our customers and provide a personal touch?

FOOTNOTE:  The event was tremendous.  I had the opportunity to take a peek ‘behind the emerald curtain’. We sat in our orchestra seats and were treated to an engaging program. There were three main highlights for me:

1. Getting some insight on the amount of people it takes and the different roles in a Broadway production.  FYI – Wicked has a staff of 125.
2. The backstory from songwriter Stephen Schwartz of how he wrote the closing song ‘For Good’ and then hearing him play it live on the piano.
3. The Q+A session with a fantastic panel that consisted of three actors, the songwriter, the producer and the show manager.

Today’s Lagniappe – Some trivia on OZ

The Wizard of Oz was one of the first films shot in Technicolor and is considered to be the most watched film in history.  A bit of trivia in that Dorothy’s classic song “Over the Rainbow” was almost cut from the film during editing.  It was recently named as the #1 song on the AFI’s Top 100 songs in American film.

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