Wicked

Unlimited....my future is unlimited...

Last night I went to see Wicked. It's been my favorite musical since high school and I hadn't seen it since 2009, so I was long overdue for a viewing.

I love this musical for so many reasons.

I have always felt connected to Elphaba, the main character. The outcast girl with few friends because people saw her and viewed her as different. The quirky smart girl that always knew the answer and everyone hated her for it. The girl who felt so self-conscious about herself that she never considered herself beautiful.

In addition to awesome characters and awesome music, I am always struck by the many messages within the show itself.

In Defying Gravity, by far my favorite song in the show, Elphaba stands up for what she believes in and decides that no one is going to hold her back. She takes a stand against what she feels is wrong and realizes that she really can be powerful.

And then, of course, through some pretty freaking awesome theater magic, she actually defies gravity.

(it's a moment in the show that always puts the biggest smile on my face)

The show also has an interesting running commentary on the silencing of large groups of individuals. In the case of Wicked, the Animals have been silenced by an oppressive force.

*SPOILER ALERT*

No seriously I'm about to talk about things that aren't necessarily on the soundtrack.


Once the Wizard makes his presence known and his lack of powers are revealed, Elphaba discovers that he is the person behind the oppression of the Animals. He comments that where he comes from the way to unite people is to give them a good enemy to fight against. Elphaba accuses him of lying and he responds "only verbally. The truth is not a thing of fact or reason. The truth is something that everyone agrees on. Where I come from we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it history." It's moments like these when you can see that while being a fun and entertaining show, there is some social commentary laced within the lines.

Even happy songs like "Popular" have lines like "Celebrated heads of state or especially great communicators...did they have brains or knowledge? Don't make me laugh, they were popular!" Whenever I hear this line I think of just how true it is.

*SPOILERS END HERE*

I could go on all day about Wicked and its deeper meanings. But I also contemplated writing my senior thesis on it before I settled on Thomas Jefferson in fear that if I wrote my thesis on Wicked, I would end up hating the show for a bit.

But sometimes I wonder if maybe I would have enjoyed it just a bit.