Wicked: Defies Gravity

I don't really like the film version of The Wizard of Oz. When I was young, I liked it (but the Wicked Witch of the West scared me a little), but as I grew older, I could not understand why it was such a classic, except for the fact that the colored scenes were so revolutionary. But that is something completely separate from its worth as a film, if the only thing it has going for it is the effects (sounds like a debate that we'd have on films today, doesn't it). I've never read the books by L. Frank Baum, and I don't have too much of a desire. I respect the fact that he wrote them as political satires, with the Yellow Brick Road representing the gold standard, the Cowardly Lion a stand-in for presidential hopeful William Jennings Bryan, and the SILVER slippers holding the meaning of the silver standard. It is for these reasons that I didn't have a huge desire to see Wicked.

By the time the show came to Chicago, it was already a smash hit on Broadway. I still didn't want to see it. My parents and sister went to see the show with a choral group she was a part of and asked me if I wanted to go, and I declined. There seems to be a rule in my family stating that whenever we see a musical play, we are obligated to buy the soundtrack. And that is what got me into the audience a few weeks later. The CD did not get removed from our car for at least 4 days, and the music hooked me. Interestingly enough, I never seemed to hear anything after about the 9th track, "One Short Day", meaning that I was fairly unfamiliar with the song that would go on to become my favorite of the show.

I went in not knowing quite what to expect. From the music that I'd heard and the spoilers that had been told to me by my sister, I thought that it was going to be a light-hearted re-examination of why the Wicked Witch of the West was considered wicked. I thought the witch, named Elphaba in the play (and the book that spawned the play, which is interesting, but, in my opinion, far inferior to the show), had simply run afoul of the Wizard of Oz and was the innocent victim of a nasty smear campaign by the Wizard.

Sort of. It turns out that the show I thought was going to be light and "cute" was exceptionally deep and thought-provoking. The Land of Oz as shown in Wicked is not too different from our world. People go away to college, class warfare exists, and people spontaneously break out into song. Wait, that last one doesn't happen. But the other two are things that we didn't see in Baum's version. However, these two things have their Ozian twists. One of the available majors at Shiz University is sorcery, and the lowest class in Oz is the Animals. Animals are animals who are sentient and possess the ability to speak English (as opposed to animals, which are like the animals of our world). Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the fact that this show must fit in to an allotted run time, there are numerous aspects of the Animals' struggle with the Wizard that are glossed over and forced to be run through in a brief song, called "Something Bad" (one of the less-impressive numbers of the show). However, at the show's heart, this is Elphaba and Glinda's story.

The show starts at the end, with Glinda showing up in her bubble, acting just like we'd expect the Glinda the Good of the film and book to act. She reassures the Ozian citizens that the dreaded Wicked Witch of the West is dead and now life can go back to normal. When she is about to leave, a random man accuses Glinda of once being friends with the witch. Glinda begins to explain, and the story begins. Elphaba and Glinda (then called Galinda) met at Shiz and were instant enemies. Galinda was a spoiled blonde airhead who was adored by her fellow students, while Elphaba was a green introvert whose cynicism developed after years of resentment makes it nearly impossible for her to make any friends. Her peers are off-put by her looks, her father can't stand her, and her sister is often embarrassed by her outspoken nature. Amazingly, it takes an act of cruelty on Galinda's part to bring the two together. One day, a dashing young prince named Fiyero arrives at Shiz. Known for being a troublemaker, he is immediately accepted by his fellow students, especially Galinda. He decides to have a party at "the most swankified place in town", and everyone who's anyone will be attending. A young Munchkin boy named Boq asks out Galinda. The poor boy is so infatuated with her that he agrees to ask Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, to the dance as a favor to Galinda, when Galinda tells him that she would see whoever did so as a "hero". Nessa is in a wheelchair, and Galinda tricks Boq into believing she cares about Nessa's happiness. At the same time, Galinda receives an ugly hat as a gift from her aunt. It is black and pointy (sound familiar), and when Elphaba shows up to thank Galinda for getting Nessa included, Galinda convinces Elphaba to attend as well and wear the hat, claiming it is very fashionable. In return, Elphaba convinces her sorcery professor, Madame Morrible, to include Galinda in the extremely exclusive class. Galinda is stunned by this, and when Elphaba does show up wearing the hat, thinking that Galinda was being sincere, Galinda realizes the error of her ways, and feels sorry for Elphaba when everyone else starts laughing at her. It also causes Fiyero, who sang a song about the benefits of being ignorant and shallow when he was introduced, to display a greater depth than he originally let on when he notices something extraordinary in Elphaba.

Galinda and Elphaba's friendship becomes both epic and tragic. The two of them realize that they have similar ambitions in life; both wish to meet the Wizard and become trusted advisors. Galinda has always dreamed of being a magic advisor, which promises being among the elites of Ozian society, while Elphaba believes being with the Wizard will finallyallow her to be accepted and liked. Elphaba's tragic home life draws sympathy from Galinda, and Elphaba's inquisitive side starts to rub off on Galinda, who begins to understand that she shouldn't judge anyone by their looks or accept things at face value. They do have some unresolved jealousies, though. Elphaba begins to pine for Fiyero. She sees a much better side of him when the two of them rescue a young Animal being tortured by a strange man (these acts are what eventually lead Galinda to change her name to Glinda, which has to do with the disappearance of their one Animal professor at Shiz). Meanwhile, Elphaba is a natural sorceress, while Glinda is struggling to get through. When the Wizard invites Elphaba to the Emerald City to meet him, she invites Glinda to come along. It is here where Elphaba's life, as well as her friendship with Glinda takes an unexpected turn.

Elphaba and Glinda learn that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not so wonderful after all. He is responsible for violence against the Animals, and he has no power at all. He is nothing but a fraud who uses a mechanical head to instill fear in those in his presence (they pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, or, in this case, throne). Glinda is willing to go along with the charade, if it means that she is guaranteed place and power in the world. She rationalizes her actions by believing that she can cause more change by working from the inside. But Elphaba won't have any of it. She is outraged to learn that her hero, the man who could "de-greenify" her, is a fraud, and she runs away. Fearing that she will reveal the truth to the public and destroy the Wizard's regime, the Wizard's representatives tell the crowds of the Emerald City that Elphaba is a Wicked Witch who seeks to undermine the Wizard. All of this goes on during the song "Defying Gravity", which ends the first act. This is the song I referred to above as my favorite of the entire show. Yes, it's a huge number meant to be a "showstopper", but it's so well done. The song moves the story forward by showing how Elphaba finally becomes the Wicked Witch, but is also a very personal look into the relationship between the two heroines. Though they at first cannot understand why the other is making the opposite decision, they come to understand the needs and desires of their friend, and wish each other good luck. They even do everything they can to assist the other, even though now, they are enemies.

I enjoy this musical number so much that I am going to put it in to both this and the next post, which will go over the second half and look more into the virtues of the storytelling this play employs. In this one, I will use a video taken from the Chicago production, using the original cast, including Ana Gasteyer (of Saturday Night Live) as Elphaba and Kate Reinders as Glinda. I feel fortunate to have seen these two in the leading roles; seeing Wicked is the closest I've come to seeing the original cast among the four shows I plan on talking about right now. It wasn't the original Broadway cast, but it was nearly the original Chicago cast (Ben Vereen was in town for a special engagement as the Wizard). Enjoy.



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