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Wicked: The Musical

2024; Elsevier BV; Volume: 63; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.001

1527-5418

Elizabeth Lobel, Thomas Pak,

Gothic Literature and Media Analysis

On Thursday, October 26, 2023, with a group of fellow AACAP annual conference goers, we saw the musical Wicked. Wicked is a beautiful and thought-provoking musical, telling the Wizard of Oz story from the perspective of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. In the musical, Elphaba starts out life at a disadvantage, as she is born with green skin. She is rejected from the beginning, with her father declaring "take it away!" (act 1, scene 1). The story picks up as she starts boarding school, largely to care for her younger sister, Nessa. Elphaba continues to experience discrimination, and her frustration boils over as magic. The professor Madame Morrible witnesses the event and recognizes Elphaba's talent with magic and encourages her. Meanwhile, Elphaba is assigned to room with Glinda who seems to be her complete opposite. While they start out loathing each other, they eventually become best friends. Throughout the story, Elphaba becomes increasingly aware of injustices in her world, develops unexpected allies and enemies, and eventually confronts Dorothy.