I hope this is all right. I saw that we had a thread for musicals in general, but maybe not one for specific musicals (and the musical thread hasn't been posted in in over three years), so I hope it's all right that I created a thread for the musical Wicked, so Harthad and I can take our discussion here instead of spamming the "What happened today?" thread. XD

Anyway, for those of you who do not know, Wicked is a musical based on the bestselling book by Gregory Maguire Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It focuses on the story of Elphaba, the girl who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, who would become Glinda the Good Witch, and follows their story before Dorothy dropped into Oz. It tells of the friendship between the two girls, that is threatened when Elphaba becomes 'wicked' in the eyes of the people of Oz, though she is really only trying to do good. It is a story of inner beauty and strength, about friendship, about unrequited love, and about taking a stand for what you believe in and defying gravity. Wicked is my favorite musical, I have seen it twice already and would see it again in a heartbeat. I adore the music, and it breaks my heart that I don't have the vocal range to be Elphaba, my voice is more suited to the role of Galinda. XD I do plan on being Elphaba for Halloween this year, as I did last year, when the children of the professors at my college come to trick-or-treat in the dorms (a couple days before Halloween) I wouldn't call myself a Wicked expert, but I am totally obsessed. Wicked is like my LotR of musicals. XD

So, let the discussion begin! Has anyone else seen it? Who is your favorite Elphaba, either that you've seen or listened to? What is your opinion on the upcoming movie in 2014? What is your favorite song in the show?

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I've got a kind of love/hate relationship with Wicked atm. I love the book (though Son of a Witch is better) but the stage show left me a little cold. I didn't like the ending of the show much, and it felt a little babyish after how dark and edgy the book was in places. Plus to sound a little bit 'hipster' I find it incredibly annoying how everybody loves it so much. Defying Gravity is an epic song, but it's become like 'I dreamed a Dream' from Les Mis, 'Memory' from Cats or 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' in that they are So overplayed and over-sung, they just start to drive you mad if you hear them too many times.

Saying that I'm still working on Defying Gravity (after finishing For Good) in my singing lessons at the minute as it's a 'scary' song, which I can easily sing properly somewhere like in the shower, but is more daunting to perform

I did enjoy the show when I saw it, but it left me feeling a little disappointed. I mean I knew all the songs and I'd read the book prior to going, I just expected it to be amazing and it wasn't. To be fair I didn't have the best seats and the cast seemed to act 'down' into the front row which didn't help much. Rachel Tucker was Elphaba when I saw it, she was really good (so glad she used and English accent not Irish), But Lee Mead as Fiyero was the real star. He has an amazing voice. period. But live it's so smooth and flawless.

Kerry Ellis I think is my favourite Elphaba, unfortunately I didn't see her in Wicked or WWRY, but she was Nancy in Oliver at Drury lane when I saw that and was utterly amazing- she's got so much depth, and an almost gravelly quality to her voice (I love her album , her recording of No-one but you on the WWRY album and the rock cover of Defying Gravity is also amazing). Plus she lives local to me (saw her at King's Cross Station!) which gives me a bit of geographical bias. I think everyone has got to love Idina as well, because you can't not really though her diction can be so iffy!

I didn't know that there would be a Movie, I'm kinda hoping that they base it off the book if they do it, as the stage play has a very distinctive look, and because of Tony Award performances, Glee, Ugly Betty etc , people are familiar that Wicked looks a certain way. I think people would be disappointed if it wasn't exactly like the musical. They managed it with The Producers using a lot of the broadway sets/ props/ costumes etc but made it bigger so, maybe they could do the same?

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Well, I just finished the novel a bit ago. I have 5 songs from the Original Cast album on my iPod, and the rest I've been listening to on Grooveshark. So what I'm really familiar with is the music, not the show. And from what you guys are saying, I'm guessing it's not like the book? Not really, if at all? Could someone please enlighten me on the storyline of the musical, as compared to the book?

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Okay, well, first of all, Nessa is in a wheelchair in the musical instead of having no arms--you probably got that. It's a lot easier to stage, you see. XD Fiyero isn't all blue and diamond-y either...he's really cute. The rest are spoilery, beware....

Fiyero does not die, as he does in the book--instead, Elphaba casts a spell on him that will prevent him from dying when the Wizard's guards beat him...this spell inadvertently turns him into none other than the Scarecrow. Boq becomes the Tin Man in a similar fashion. The famous ruby slippers are silver in the beginning, given to Nessa by their father, and Elphaba turns them red when she casts a spell to make Nessa walk. I can't remember any other differences...lots of characters in the book never make it into the musical.

Personally, I think all of the changes are for the better. I've always preferred the musical to the book.

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^Same here. The book was just too odd for me. I read it before going to see the show, and was quite relieved that they sugar coated it a bit. It also made for a more cohesive and translatable story for stage, since the book jumped around too much to really work.

I've seen Wicked twice and enjoyed it both times, but it isn't my favorite musical ever. It's fun. The second time I saw it I really loved the Galinda, way more than my recording of Kristin Chenoweth. She was more toned down, I guess - she didn't get on my nerves as much. And we had a fantastic Elphaba that night. Fiyero was better the first time I saw it though.

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