What’s Going On?

Wicked is probably one of the best musicals that I have ever seen. It is full of color and emotion. Wicked was so good that it’s worth seeing over and over again. I wonder if theatrical musicals ever sell on DVD because if so I’d love to get my hands on a copy. Wicked is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the west by Gregory Maguire. The musical itself was created in three parts (music, lyrics, and book/unsung words). The music and lyrics were developed by Stephen Schwartz and the book was created by Winnie Holzman.

Wicked was great in so many ways. What i loved about the musical was that is made me laugh and almost cry. Actually, I don’t cry. I bawl and snivel. Just kidding, I just get a little choked up. Watching Wicked kept me at full attention because a lot of the songs hit home for me. Based on a different view of the witches that we don’t see in the story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz we get a little glimpse of what life was like for these two witches in Oz.

See, life is all about perspective and how you look at your life or another’s life is often seen one sided. Wicked allows us to see that other side of the story that is often unseen. What one person experiences might be interpreted differently from one person to that of another person. That’s what makes this story so interesting and captivating. This story helps fill in the gaps from what was not seen in the original story.

The story of Wicked is developed around two women, Elphaba and Glinda. Elphaba will later become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda to be the Good Witch of the North. The story of Wicked brings us back to the earlier moments of their life when Elphaba and Glinda were roommates in school. During their time in school Glinda tries to teach Elphaba how to become more of a popular woman because Elphaba is seen by everyone in Munchkinland as an odd scary green being. Elphaba in turn tries to indirectly inform others that she’s not different and that she wants all animals to have their freedom, basically she’s pro-animal rights. Throughout their time at the university they experience laughter, love, envy, distaste, and friendship. By the musical’s end, I got a better understanding on perspective about the Wicked Witch of the West and came to the conclusion that she wasn’t that bad after all. She was actually a really caring person, but no one ever gave her the opportunity to share her feelings or hear her words except for a few willing ears.

(If you don’t want any possible spoilers don’t read the content below)

Some things new about the musical that I did not know before in the original story was that the Wicked Witch of the East was Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose. I also learned that the scarecrow’s name was Fiyero who later ran away with Elphaba. I did not know that the melting of Elphaba was just a scheme to fool the citizens of Oz. I did not know the Tinman was Boq, who secretly loved Glinda, but was going out with Nessarose. Lastly, I didn’t know that Madame Morrible had control over the weather and caused Dorthy’s house to fall on top of Nessarose.

Several moments got me laughing in the musical that I thought were cleverly scripted. There was a moment when the two girls had to room with each other and they wrote letters back to their parents. Glinda called Elphaba a girl that was “unusually and exceedingly peculiar and all together impossible to describe” and Elphaba described Glinda as “blond”. There was a time in class when Elphaba was heated and Glinda poked fun of her saying that the artichoke is steamed. I laughed pretty hard because this was a moment early on when all the kids were making fun of the way Elphaba looked. Another time was when Doctor Dillamond a professor had a conversation with his students that he was seen as the token goat around, well that was because he was the only goat. Another moment was when Glinda was showing Elphaba how to toss her hair into the air (”Toss, Toss, hehehehehe”). There were many more moments, but they’d have to be seen to really enjoy the humor and subtle humor through gestures.

The songs in the musical were very meaningful and I thought had a lot of emotion behind them. In most musicals that I’ve seen, I have never come to understand the meanings of the lyrics since sometimes the lyrics get lost in the music and rhythm. However, with Wicked the lyrics of the songs were well enunciated. Since the lyrics became so understandable I was able to relate more with the story. A few songs that I’ve come to know because of advertisements and such were “Popular” and “Defying Gravity”. Those two songs were great and catchy, but no other song in the musical had much more meaning than near the end of the musical and that song is called “For Good”. This song was probably so heart wrenching that I got choked up. It was a moment when both witches had to go and part their separate ways and to say goodbye. The basic lyrics that kept repeating itself within the song was “I do believe I have been changed for the better because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” If you hear this song and truly listen to lyrics, this can probably apply to any one’s life. It hit home for me and that’s why I will never forget this song. Truly a blessing to hear it and I hope you get a chance to listen to it.

Overall, this musical in terms of story and song was probably one of the best that I’ve seen if not the best I’ve seen. I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t already, but if you have seen it already perhaps watch it a second time to truly absorb the subtle meanings of the story and relive some of the hilarious moments. This musical gives “Jersey Boys” a run for it’s money. That is probably another best musical in my favorites list.

Following Wicked, I got to meet the following and get autographs from: Teal Wicks (Elphaba), Natalie Daradich (standby for Glinda), DeeDee Magno Hall (Nessarose), Patty Duke ( Madame Morrible), and Nicolas Dromard (Fiyero).