Wicked

Wicked

Wicked is a musical written by Stephen Schwartz and based on a book by Winne Holzman. It's based on the novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which was BASED once again on the original The Wizard of Oz film, made in 1939 and the ORIGINAL 1900 story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is my favourite musical of all time and I've seen it twice now.


The musical as you may be able to guess is set in the land of Oz. This is a fictional place where a Wizard rules the land from the Emerald City and good and wicked witches roam. Wicked is an alternative version of The Wizard of Oz that tells the story of a misunderstood Wicked Witch of The West whom everyone assumes is evil because of her green skin, Elphaba is her name. She finds an unlikely friendship with Glinda who later becomes The Good Witch when they meet at "Dear Old Shiz", a university. I think the setting and geography of this musical is very important because it makes references to parts of the original The Wizard of Oz story such as the yellow brick road and the Emerald City. There is a song dedicated to this place "One Short Day" and the set for this is full of fabulous green, using lights and props. The green is also a metaphor for Elphaba's skin and what it means to her and others.



Credits: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=wicked+the+emerald+city&view=detailv2&&&id=7B4CCAA53ACC0B267324FFF5ECD1FB1EBF345E50&selectedIndex=8&ccid=DjkOQQha&simid=608015130264601829&thid=JN.qKi9A98ZDBrQcyQBp74%2ffA&ajaxhist=0

There is actually a whole series of books written by L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which is centred around The Land Of Oz and goes into more detail about the place itself. It has four parts, Munchkinland, Winkie Country, Gillikin Country and Quadling Country. In the centre where all these places meet is The Emerald City. I remember clearly from seeing Wicked in theatre that there is a screen that covers the stage before it starts and it's a map of Oz with the Emerald City glowing brightly in green in the centre. There is also a great difference between West and East in the Land of Oz, for example the Wicked Witch of The West and the Wicked Witch of the East have a rivalry. Oz is a place I often like to visit when watching the film, musical or reading the book and I think Schwartz magnificently brings this magical place to life in a new way in Wicked.


http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=wicked+set&view=detailv2&&qft=+filterui%3alicense-L2_L3_L4_L5_L6_L7&id=1E1BFAF2D64B25CA8AC141C9729EAA2D2FF60289&selectedIndex=3&ccid=AGFcLc4%2b&simid=608044623810333513&thid=JN.3VVTfhz4ATpS1lY787%2fCOg&ajaxhist=0
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