I had the chance to go to the Opening Night of the Broadway smash musical “Wicked” on Wednesday night. It was a stunning, glamorous performance that delighted from start to finish.

My friend James went with me. He stutters, and tries to be covert about it. He works in a hospital, which is fast paced and stressful, and he often struggles to indeed keep the stuttering hidden. He was skeptical about the show – he was not convinced that he would like a musical. Well, he did. In the car, trying to get out of the bumper-to-bumper traffic, we had time to talk about it.

He loved it, and shared that the theme of the performance really “struck a chord”. He went on to say that it related to us, those of us who stutter, because the idea of differences was so starkly portrayed in “Wicked”. I asked what he meant.

He said he could relate to the character who was different – she was green! (I won’t say much more. Don’t want to spoil it for you if you have never seen it and want to or plan too. And you should. It is a wonderful show!). Her difference generated a lot of negative social punishment! Classmates in school feared her, made fun of her, shied away from her and she was largely isolated due to being green. She really only had one friend who even tried to understand what it was like being different.

James talked about how he has felt the exact same way with his stuttering. He feels different from his other colleagues and gets frustrated that communicating – something we take for granted – can sometimes be such a challenge.

The character in “Wicked” faces set backs, obstacles and being misunderstood her whole life. She strives to fit in, and be liked and accepted. Much what people who stutter do, huh? And people with other differences too.

James didn’t say too much beyond that. He is a thinker and can be quite reflective. I think he was pleasantly surprised by how much he really did enjoy the show and the story line.

I wondered about this: we who stutter only mildly or moderately can sometimes be very successful hiding our stuttering. The green character in “Wicked” had no such luxury. She was GREEN, GREEN, GREEN. There was no hiding it. She stood out from the crowd.

So do overt stutterers have it easier than covert stutterers, since it is so “out there” ? Us coverts use so much energy to try to not stutter.  I have wondered if that isn’t actually easier. There is no hiding, no game being played, no cover-up. What you see is what you get.

Like the green “Wicked Witch”. There was no denying she was different, and boy, did she have a story to tell. What do you think? What is your story?  Can you talk openly about your stuttering? How do you feel about being different? How does it feel “being green“?