Wicked

Background

Based on 1995 novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire This play is considered both a prequel and a sequel to L. Frank Baum's book "The Wizard of Oz" (1903) Considered what REALLY happens in Oz - some stuff happens concurrently with what happens in Wizard of Oz In that novel, we don't get further insight into the characters of the witches (we are led to believe that Glinda is all good, and the wicked witches are all evil) Completely different view of Oz from Baum's story there is a totally different perspective of the land of Oz in Maguire's book compared to in Baum's book In Baum's book, Kansas is very bleak, Dorothy's life there is very bleak, and Oz is this perfect fantasy world When it was turned into the movie, they do something quite remarkable it starts out in sepia toned (not true color) while in Kansas, and once she gets to Oz the movie becomes a very bright, garish technicolour In Baum's book and in the movie we see Oz portrayed as a very happy society; a utopian world that is beautiful, a great place to be Oz is lush and fertile and beautiful, prosperous, and there's no underlying BS - it is what it is But, in Maguire's book, he points out various ambiguities and reveals that not all is perfect in the land of Oz there is political strife, societal problems, social problems, ethical commentary on what good and evil really are We meet Glinda, and learn of her flaws We also learn that Elpheba is not all wicked, and that she is actually good It comments on the issue of good and evil, and how we perceive it (prominent theme in the play) Baum looked at Oz as an opposite of Kansas (lush, fertile, prosperous, whereas Kansas had hardship and poor crops) Unlike Baum who sees things as absolute good/evil, Maguire points out ambiguities: the political, social, and ethical commentary on what good and evil really are Schwartz and Holzman wanted to work on the show, but theatrical and movie rights were held by Universal Pictures Eventually, the options from Universal Pictures dropped, and Schwartz got permission to write the musical - at the same time Holzman heard of this and wrote a fan letter to him saying that she loved his work on Godspell, and that she would love to write the book for the show (he had also heard of her from her screenplay for My So-Called Life, and was eager to work with her as well) Universal Pictures comes back into the picture, and assists them with the production It went through a lengthy process of rewrites Schwartz wrote about 50 songs for show; but only 20 ended up in the final version (many of the songs he wrote never ended up in the show) Workshopped numerous times over 2 year period Workshop = create the show, perform it for many people who are involved in the industry, helps it to develop more, make changes to it Kristen Chetowith was the original Glinda; Idina Menzel was the original Elpheba (but did not play her for the original workshops)

Song 4: Defying Gravity

Elphaba, Glinda, Palace Guards, Citizens Elphaba discovers she is being portrayed as wicked for doing something she thinks is good and honorable Enchants a broomstick to levitate "Unlimited leitmotif" musical theme based on opening phrase from Harold Arlen's music for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from movie Wizard of Oz (uses about 7 notes from that song) This song relates to the classic song "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz because it uses the same beat as was used in its opening notes for "Over the Rainbow" - if Wicked had used a few more notes, Wicked could have been sued for copyright Also, both songs speak about dreams, goals, and overcoming limits Last song of act 1 - indicates major conflict - high point in story arc - presenting what the major issue/conflict is Elphaba discovers power of manipulation and propaganda Defining moment for the friends' relationship Glinda is realizing she won't go along with Elphaba Turning point in how each will live her life and how they will be perceived Schwartz is taking the Somewhere Over the Rainbow melody - takes the first 7 notes and uses them to create that moteif Also found in song "For Good"

Critical Reception

For the most part, this show was not very well received by critics, and it was given harsh reviews critics said that the sound of the music was very muddy, it seemed very intelligent and followed the standards for a successful musical, but it lacked a certain spontaneity, wasn't creative or original enough (they said it was overthought) Was panned and given mixed reviews at the beginning People thought it was a mess - people thought it seemed like a big spectacle, but you never really establish a deep relationship with the characters Largest advance sales one-week grosses, percentage of sold out houses Despite negative criticisms, audiences loved it This play ended up setting the record for the largest advance sales, one-week grosses, and percentage of sold-out houses

Song 3: Popular

Galinda Sung after Galinda and Elphaba become friends at the dance Galinda's voice type is belt here; later when she becomes "Glinda the Good Witch" her voice becomes more soprano represent the two sides of character The voices she uses when she sings represents the two sides of her character when she is in front of others she usually has a more high-pitch voice, sort of her "stage voice", used when she is in the role of a public figure, sounds like it is being put on (not natural), whereas when she is just singing with Elphaba she sings more naturally, not quite as high-pitch (sounds different

Song 2: What is this feeling?

Galinda, Elphaba, Students at Shiz University When Holzman and Schwartz decided to write this musical, they realized that the book they were basing it on had a lot more going on than they were really able to capture in the musical adaptation, so they decided to focus on the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda This song is an extension of that, as it focuses on the relationship between the two girls (when they first meet) Galinda and Elphaba meet at college and are both unhappy to find out that they are roommates The musical theme from this song repeats frequently, and Schwartz referred to it as the "irony leitmotif" (Ex: when Galinda tricks Elphaba into wearing a pointy hat to the dance) Vocally, Glinda sounds much more belt-y, sounds younger (she was a little younger at this time, not playing a public role or figurehead yet, and had not yet discovered and established her own political voice yet, still a little immature) After they start singing for a little while, towards the middle of the song, the classmates jump in and congratulate Glinda for tolerating Elphaba, and when we have all of them singing at the same time, we start to hear some significant things in the vocal lines the girls have a duet, and the classmates are singing something different - despite the fact that the classmates are supporting Glinda, she is still singing with Elphaba This is significant because it foreshadows the friendship between the girls usually when people sing together it means that they have a relationship, therefore this indicates to the audience that the story is going to follow their relationship Musical theme from this song repeats frequently (when Galinda tricks Elphaba into wearing pointy hat to dance; Schwartz calls it the "irony leitmotif") **Side note: Megan Hilty played a very funny Galinda

Song 1:No One Mourns the Wicked

Glinda, Father, Mother, Midwife, Citizens of Oz This song is kind of like the prologue to the show It basically starts the show where the moment the movie The Wizard of Oz ends (the Wicked Witch of the West has been killed/melted) - this also brings us back to Glinda reminiscing about how they were roommates in college Gives important plot points: introduces Glinda, and she admits to having known the witch earlier, and we also learn the circumstances of Elphaba's conception and birth o Musical style in this show: ♣ Very big and celebratory In this song, Glinda uses very high, opera-type notes, seems much more classical than you find in modern western musicals, similar to how she sang in The Wizard of Oz, seems as if she is trying to remind us of that character/portrayal of Glinda Many parallels to what we are familiar with in the original Wizard of Oz movie Starts out sounding almost like classical opera (sounds are clashing, very strong), but then begins a more modern pop-type music The fact that Glinda's voice is the highest at this point compared to any other point in the show is very significant (continue reading...) Wicked Witch has been melted Frames the action to come: rest of the show is a flashback Like the wizard of oz ending - ding dong the witch is dead Sets in motion what is going to happen Tells us important plot points We meet glinda - she descends in circle in gown (like the movie) so we immediately realize it's Glinda

Lyrics by

Steven Schwartz He seemed to be doing nothing between the time he wrote those shows and the time he wrote songs for Wicked

Music by

Steven Schwartz was famous for Godspell, Pippin, and Children of Eden

Book by

Winnie Holzman this was her first play/musical (she was mainly a screenwriter - at the time that she wrote Wicked she was known for the screenplays she wrote for My So-Called Life)