Wicked

Title: Wicked: 2003 Original Broadway Cast Recording
Authors: Stephen Schwartz (composer), Winnie Holzman (libretto), Gregory Maguire (original)
Cast: Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Joel Grey (The Wizard)
ASIN: B0000TB01Y

Plot Summary: Elphaba is an intelligent, magically talented, yet lonely and reserved young woman with an odd appearance and an unhappy home life. Galinda is beautiful, spoiled and popular, yet an equally gifted witch. When they are initially thrown together as roommates at Shiz University in the Land of Oz, they do not get along, but gradually become friends. However, things are starting to change in Oz: animals can no longer speak or hold teaching positions, and Elphaba starts to question the way things are run in the land. A handsome young ne'er-do-well, Fiyero, attracts the romantic interest of both women, leading to an eventual rivalry as they vie for his affections. However, the final straw comes when Elphaba, having visited the Emerald City with Glinda, discovers that the widely beloved Wizard is a magical fraud. She and Glinda have a falling-out over Elphaba's refusal to obey him, and the two part ways. Although their paths will intersect again in the future, they will not do so without personal tragedy and heartache for both.


Critical Evaluation: The primary innovation of Gregory Maguire's novel was to present Elphaba as a powerful, intelligent individual who became labeled as "evil" only after circumstances, events, and people combined to change her perspective. Although the musical simplifies this concept by necessity, one is still struck by how Elphaba's initial honesty and genuine nature devolve into cynicism and disillusionment, and finally into a rejection of all she formerly held dear. Glinda, by contrast, comes across as vapid, shallow, and more than a little cruel, becoming a genuinely good person only through having known and been friends with Elphaba. With the exception of the Wizard of Oz, who plays more than one role in both characters' lives, the rest of the supporting characters lack the same dimensionality and interest of the two female protagonists.
The cast's singing is uniformly excellent, technically impeccable and beautifully acted, particularly from Menzel and Chenoweth. Although a number of the songs are memorable, however, most notably Glinda's "Popular" and Elphaba's "No Good Deed" and "Defying Gravity," many of them become listenable more because of the singing quality than that of the music itself. Ultimately, this show is of interest to those who want an original take on the well-known Wizard of Oz story, but may come up short to people expecting something as memorable as the original.

Listener's Annotation: Elphaba and Glinda, though both talented witches, have extremely different backgrounds and personalities when they first meet as students at Oz's Shiz University. They initially become friends, but circumstances, events, and people eventually conspire to drive their paths apart.

About the Authors:
Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City in 1948. He studied piano and composition at Juillard while in high school, and earned a B.F.A. in Drama from Carnegie Mellon. He initially worked as a record producer after graduation, but eventually turned to composition as a full-time career, writing music and lyrics for a number of successful musicals and movie scores. His son, Scott, also works in the entertainment industry.
Winnie Holzman was born in 1954 in New York City. She earned an English and Creative Writing degree from Princeton and a Masters in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU. She has written libretti for a number of successful musicals, and also works as an actress. She is married to actor Paul Dooley and has one child.
Gregory Maguire was born in Albany, New York in 1954. He earned a Bachelor's degree from SUNY Albany and a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts. After graduating, he served on the faculty at Simmons College, specializing in Children's Literature. He has written a number of books for children, as well as "revisionist fantasy" novels rewriting popular folk and fairy tales. He is married to Andy Newman, with whom he has adopted three children.

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Musical

Curriculum Ties: Music, Folklore

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: The evolution of Elphaba's and Glinda's relationship
Approach: Character and plot-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Map out a flowchart: rivalry -> friendship -> disagreement -> rivalry -> falling out -> slight forgiveness -> enmity -> remorse. People, actions and events that contribute to each shift. The musical opens with Glinda evincing sympathy for the dead Elphaba while at the same time trying not to antagonize her followers. Examination of the conflict she feels about her former friend, and how knowing each other has changed them both.

Hook: Elphaba attempts to save Fiyero, thinks she has failed, and turns to evil.
Approach: Scene-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Discuss what she thinks has happened versus what actually does happen to Fiyero. Elphaba feels at once culpable and victimized by events and circumstances, and decides that if doing good is rewarded thus, there is no worth in her continuing to practice it. Circumstances, personality, people and events that contributed to Elphaba making this decision.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Adult/High School

Challenge Issues: Sexual content, character death, witchcraft.
Numerous character in this story die or are killed, including one of the protagonists. Elphaba's birth was the result of an adulterous relationship, and she and Glinda have a heated sexual rivalry over Fiyero. Virtually all the characters in the film either practice or are familiar with magic in some form, and the crux of Elphaba's and Glinda's relationship centers around their respective skills and goals as witches. However, the musical, as with the book, makes the case that magic can be used for good as well as for evil, and that moral and ethical behavior depends on how it is used, not the underlying belief system. The social stigma Elphaba is made to feel as an illegitimate child is surely punishment enough for her mother's transgression, and although both she and Glinda love Fiyero, his shifting affections and shallow nature indicate that he was perhaps not worth the effort in the first place. Assuming patrons can see past the witchcraft and are not disturbed by sexual content or death, I would not hesitate to recommend that they listen to this recording.

Why I Chose This Recording: I had read the book version of Wicked prior to listening to the musical recording, and had found the concept intriguing, if not always perfectly executed. Although I did not find the musical flawless either, its performances are strong enough and music generally listenable enough that it conveyed the appeal of Elphaba's story to me in a way the book could not always do.