Wicked: The Musical

Everyone is familiar with the all-time classic film, The Wizard of Oz. From the songs to the iconic costume staples such as the ruby slippers and pointy black witch hat, The Wizard of Oz is a movie many people grew up watching. Hopefully, everyone is familiar with the famous characters Dorthy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and of course, Toto. But are you familiar with the other version of the tale where the Wicked Witch isn't so wicked?

The Broadway show is about two young witches, Elphaba and Glinda. Elphaba is a very sophisticated witch who was born with green skin and looked down upon because of it. Glinda has always been popular and pretty. She is known for her bubbly essence and clumsy personality. The two girls dislike each other at first, but soon form an unlikely bond. Songs such as “What is This Feeling” and “Defying Gravity” really excel in their relationship. The musical follows them throughout their friendship and explains how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch and how Glinda became the Good Witch. It also introduces some familiar faces that can be seen in the original 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. 

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Wicked the Musical was surprisingly composed in 1996, when Stephen Schwartz was on vacation in Hawaii with his friend, John Bucchino. Bucchino recommended that Schwarz read Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked. Schwartz immediately fell in love with the idea of a musical about the Wicked Witch of the West and called his agent to get the rights to the book. Unfortunately, Maguire had sold the adaptation rights to the book to Universal Pictures, which wanted to make a film. However, Schwartz eventually succeeded, and the hit musical was born.

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Wicked had its first full production in San Francisco in May 2003, with the two leads being played by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Reviews for the production were mixed, with many saying Chenoweth's Glinda overshadowed Menzel's Elphaba. The musical took a step back, adjusted its negative criticism, and Wicked finally opened on Broadway in October of 2003.

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Many people were only recently introduced to this brilliant story due to the success of the 2024 film, Wicked. This new adaptation of the story stars Cynthia Erivo as the Wicked Witch and pop star Ariana Grande as the Good Witch. The reviews for this film were very good, with it having a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%.

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But what are the differences between the movie and the original Broadway show? Well, there are many. To start off, the film is much longer and is only one part, with Part Two coming out on November 21, 2025. Wicked 2024 focuses on Act 1 of the Broadway musical, and Wicked for Good 2025 focuses on Act 2. In the movie, we see more of Elphaba's backstory, which helps us connect and relate to the character more.

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Fun facts:

• Gregory Maguire gave the Wicked Witch the name Elphaba based on L. Frank Baum's initials, L.F.B., El-pha-ba.

• Stephen Schwartz convinced Gregory Maguire to give him the rights to Wicked by showing him the opening song of the show, "No One Mourns the Wicked."

• The musical made back its $14 million investment in just 15 months.

• In 2017, Wicked became Broadway's second highest grossing musical, behind The Phantom of the Opera.

• Stephen Schwartz wrote the role of Glinda for Kristin Chenoweth, with her personality influencing the character.

There are 450 costumes, 240 pairs of handmade shoes, and 90 wigs in Wicked. It also takes half an hour for the actress playing Elphaba to put on her green makeup every night.