Written by: Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief
Content warning: this article contains spoilers
“Wicked” is a musical on Broadway following the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz,” the beloved classic from 1939, before Dorothy ever made it out of Kansas. Displaying in Portland, Oregon, from Oct. 16 to Nov. 3 at the Keller Auditorium, “Wicked” was filled with bright color, magical sets, beautiful voices and many shades of green.
“Wicked” does not require previous knowledge or recent viewing of “The Wizard of Oz” to be a spectacular experience, although references are common throughout the show. In fact, “Wicked” takes the story of “The Wizard of Oz” and twists it into something else entirely: a show surrounding different facets of love, friendships, social expectations, justice and of course, wickedness.
The play heavily focuses on friendship — or, rather, what turned into friendship. The play begins with Glinda during “The Wizard of Oz,” when the Wicked Witch of the West has been defeated, and she comes down in a bubble — a heavy circular mechanism that lifts and moves with Glinda’s actress, Austen Danielle Bohmer, standing on it, her royal dress beyond sparkly — to inform the people of the eradication of “wickedness.” She admits, however, that she knew Elphaba — and the play swings into motion with the two characters back in the past, students at Shiz University.
A description for “Wicked” summarizes: “Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships … until the world decides to call one ‘good,’ and the other one ‘wicked.’”
The concept of “good” versus “wicked” is reiterated and twisted throughout the play. It is obvious that from the beginning, Glinda — known as Galinda throughout the first half of the show — is described as good and pure, yet is the one to bully and harass Elphaba when they are roommates in school. It is because of Glinda that Elphaba is ridiculed at the mercy of their peers due to her green skin and “wickedness.” Eventually, however, they bond as Glinda expresses empathy at last.
And Elphaba, being so “wicked,” is the one to campaign for the rights of the talking animals in their world and act bravely despite her fear. At one point, another character describes Elphaba as feigning confidence, despite her desire to be loved and accepted to the point of no return.
Particularly dazzling was Galinda and Elphaba’s venture into Emerald City, sparkling on stage in various shades of bright green. This is the first time in the show that Elphaba feels comfortable, as up until now, her character has been mocked and teased. She has been called to meet the Wizard — the one of great magic — only to find and uncover corruption at his hands in Oz. Elphaba refuses to indulge in his evil cause, despite Glinda’s allowance for the Wizard’s actions as she seeks the Wizard’s approval — another play on good and wickedness. Is goodness just seeking acceptance? Is it still good if nobody agrees?
In order to make Elphaba “wicked,” the show pins her for the mutilation and near-eradication of the animals in Oz, which was the Wizard’s doing all along. Because of this, Elphaba must flee.
“Defying Gravity,” the most anticipated song of the night and by far one of the most well-known, was shiveringly beautiful and performed by Lauren Samuels. The first half of the song, Glinda and Elphaba circle one another, with the colors growing increasingly bright as they lean into singing in unison.
Elphaba darts off stage, leaving Galinda to sing solo, until she reappears behind her — in the air with her broom, dangling above the stage as it covers in fog and lights that follow her that replicate the look of stained glass, spilling onto the stage and crowd. Elphaba’s actress delivered an exceptional performance, receiving an outstanding ovation afterward as the play took its intermission.
Something to note is the way “Wicked” shades the stage in regards to Glinda and Elphaba’s signature colors. Glinda is mostly baby blue in the performances, despite her affinity for pink in the original. When the two are singing on stage, often the backdrop resembles the look of twilight, fading from emerald to blue.
The Wizard, being Blake Hammond in this performance, often hides in a mechanical box with a face — the Oz Head — that rears, moves and shouts horrifically. The movement is smooth and flawless, with lights flashing red across the stage when he expresses fury. “The head is supposed to be terrifying,” explained a designer. It drips smoke across the stage and invokes a sense of discomfort and fear as it moves.
One complicated part of creating a prequel is to line the character up, especially if the protagonist is to be the villain, with the original storyline. Elphaba would not be a loveable character if not good; but she cannot be good, or else “The Wizard of Oz” is invalid. “Wicked” was able to twist the concept of wicked so well that Elphaba is both wicked and good — claiming wickedness as an identity, understanding that she will never be or look like Glinda, nor like anyone else — but still can make the right choices. It is evident that Glinda does what is easy rather than what is right, as Elphaba makes difficult decisions, condemning herself, in order to do what is good.
Later on, Elphaba sings the following in “No Good Deed”: “Was I really seeking good, or just seeking attention? Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice-cold eye? … So be it then, let all Oz be agreed, I am wicked through and through.”
“Wicked” is a fantastic demonstration of the complexity and duality of people, as well as how hard it can be to stand alone in the face of adversity and injustice. Both Elphaba and Glinda look past their differences to make a bond nobody expected, usurping expectations and changing the world for the better.
9/10.
Contact the author at howleditorinchief@mail.wou.edu
