WICKED STORES
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I'd like to meet:
MEET THE CHARACTERS:
-Character: Elphaba, (nickname Elphie) the green girl who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West
Elphaba is the intense, broody, smart heroine who often carries a sense of burden of her oddness.
In the musical we meet Elphaba for a moment as a baby and then as a teenager. She would like it if Ozians could accept her, setting aside their prejudice for her natural hue. Everything changes when she meets Galinda, Fiyero, and the Wizard. In her transition during "Defying Gravity," she expresses her new goal and role as someone striving to right the wrongs in Oz.
Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire invented the witch's name "Elphaba" based on the name for the author of The Wizard of Oz. L. F(rank) B(aum). L-F-B = Elphaba.
-Galinda, (Glinda) The blonde who becomes "Glinda the Good" Witch
In the musical they introduce Glinda as her younger self, Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, a blatantly self-centered young blond. Gregory Maguire disassociated her from an archetypal "good" to make her a pretentious goodie goodie. The musical's writers juxtaposed the two women who were superficially "bad (or misfit)" and "good" but underneath were nearly the opposite (until Glinda evolves as a person).
-Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz University.
In the musical, her talents in sorcery are rather limited (although she recognizes talent in others). She doesn't influence the fate of the three witches in the musical in the same way as she does in the novel. She pursues her connections with Oz's chief. Her misuse of power is her undoing. Morrible is the only classic villain in this musical tale.
-Fiyero, a handsome prince, fellow student, and love interest.
Fiyero is a Winkie prince. The Winkies inhabit one of the regions of Oz (as in Frank Baum's original). He begins as a carefree college-age hedonist who invites fellow students to party. He transforms as his romantic interests shift...
-Dr. Dillamond, a professor at Shiz University who happens to be a talking Goat, and someone Elphaba befriends.
-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
As in the movie, the Wizard of Oz is an old carnival huckster who blew into Oz in a hot air balloon and became a false-faced leader. But there's a twist in both Maguire's novel and the musical with regard to the relationship between the Wizard and Elphaba. [I wont' give that one away but if you read the novel carefully you will know what happens]
-Nessarose, the Witch 's invalid sister
Nessarose Thropp is Elphaba's sister. Gregory Maguire named her after Virginia Woolf's sister Vanessa, known as "Nessa." According to the novelist, she was born both crippled and armless. On stage she has arms but is in a wheelchair.
-Boq, an unusually tall Munchkin from Munchkin Land with eyes for Galinda/Glinda. In the novel he is less significant than in the musical.
-Frex and Melina
The novel's early chapters set Elphaba's parents at odds at before birth. Readers learn about Melena, a former aristocrat who is terribly unhappy with her husband Frexpar, (a zealous missionary minister in the book). Her tactics for emotional survival include chewing on the leaves of a local narcotic plant and engaging in semiconscious affairs. From her first pregnancy comes a green-skinned child and though it is assumed that Frexpar is the father, there is some doubt. Between that, the daughter's odd color, and her queer behavior, the discombobulated parents create an estranged home life for their first child.
In the musical, Melina and Frex appear for only a few minutes during the birth scene at the end of Act 1, Scene 1. Frex is no longer a minister, but the Governor of Munchkinland. He cares only for his second child, Nessarose, which adds to Elphaba's frustrations.
-Other Various Characters:
-The Midwife
-Ozian Official
-Chistery
-Monkeys
-Students
-Denizens of the Emerald City
-Palace Guards
-And Other Citizens of Oz
WHO'S WHO IN WICKED? ON BROADWAY |
BROADWAY CAST
ON TOUR |
TOURING CAST
IN CHICAGO |
CHICAGO CAST
IN LOS ANGELES |
LOS ANGELES CAST
IN LONDON |
LONDON CAST
IN JAPAN |
JAPAN CAST [NO BIOS/PICTURES AVAILABLE]
IN AUSTRALIA [COMING TO MELBOURNE IN '08] |
AUSTRALIA CAST [TO BE ANNOUNCED]
IN GERMANY |
GERMANY CAST [NO BIOS/PICTURES AVAILABLE]
For the productions with no casts listed, if you really want to find out you will have to search for it on your own. Sorry!
And also check out the Germany production's pro-shots! I think they're really good. Even though I don't know what they're saying, they sound good. Haha.
One more thing...it looks to me as if Wicked's taking over Europe. Whoa! Hehe.
Click to picture below to see the official Wicked fan forums!
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Music:
THE ORIGINAL WICKED LA CAST CATFIGHT/CORNFIELD SCENE.
EDEN ESPINOSA - ELPHABA, MEGAN HILTY - GLINDA, KRISTOFFER CUSICK - FIYERO.
EDEN DOESN'T CATCH THE HAT [IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN SOMETIME, RIGHT? IT'S PRETTY HARD TO CATCH SINCE IT'S REALLY LIGHT. WE AREN'T PERFECT :D], SO IT LOOKS AS IF ELPHABA WAS REJECTING IT BECAUSE SHE WAS MAD AT GLINDA, BUT OH WELL MEGAN STILL CARRIES ON WITH THE SCENE AND IT'S STILL AMAZING.
ENJOY! :]
