Elphaba (Lissa deGuzman) and Glinda (Jennifer Newberry) are in a hidden space in the Emerald City. They just ran away from a first meeting with the Wizard that could not have gone worse, and Glinda is trying to convince Elphaba to apologize rather than run away. The guards have been trying to break down the doors with everything they have, and the friends likely only have minutes until they are officially discovered.
Finally, with a bang, the doors are forced open. The guards come running in – weapons at the ready. Elphaba has concealed herself and Glinda is screaming in the middle of the action. As the guards take hold of her to drag her away, Elphaba yells from the darkness. She is clearly the one that they are after, and as she walks forward, the music swells, and she starts to sing.
“So if you care to find me, look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately, ‘everyone deserves the chance to fly!’”
As Elphaba sings the famous lyrics of Defying Gravity, she starts to rise up. Lights flash around her, her long black cloak sways, and the iconic image of the Wicked Witch of the West flying above the crowd and audience takes form. As deGuzman’s notes rang and bounced off the rafters, the Opening Night audience cheered and applauded straight into intermission.
Broadway in Chicago presents Wicked
With music and lyrics by Stephan Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked offers a window into the backstory of the famous characters of The Wizard of Oz – complete with a very different lens. We meet Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba (deGuzman) and Glinda the Good (Newberry) as students at Shiz University. The two begin as bitter rivals – one an outcast with a green skin and an extraordinary talent for magic, and the other blonde, beautiful, and exceptionally popular. Over the course of the story we see a strong friendship take form – one that must rise above countless obstacles including the toughest yet: when the world labels one as wicked and the other good.
Directed by Joe Mantello, the musical features famous songs including Wizard and I, Popular, One Short Day, As Long as You’re Mine, and of course, Defying Gravity. If the cheering Opening Night crowd was any indication, the stellar leads performed each of these songs with standout vocal talents.
Mantello and his artistic team draw inspiration from the famous Wizard of Oz imagery, adding magical flares throughout. Much of Wicked foreshadows Dorothy’s story to come, and if you are like this writer, you might enjoy searching for those details as you meet each new character, wondering how they will connect to the popular story on which so many of us grew up.
