The History & Legacy of WICKED (FULL DOCUMENTARY)

WICKED is one of the most successful musicals in history. But just how bumpy was the Yellow Brick Road to Broadway? Come along as we explore the history and enduring legacy of WICKED, featuring interviews with WICKED cast members Ben Cameron (OBC), Kathy Deitch (OBC), Laurel Harris (Elphaba on Broadway and Tour), and Ginna Claire Mason (Glinda on Broadway and Tour)!
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Follow us on Instagram: @behindthe.magic
Follow Laurel Harris on Instagram: @laurelnyc
Follow Ginna Claire Mason on Instagram: @ginnaclaire
Follow Ben Cameron on Instagram: @bendoesbroadway
Follow Kathy Deitch on Instagram: @ladeitch
Connect With The Cast
Ben Cameron - BroadwayPlus.com/BenCameron
Kathy Deitch - [e-mail]
Laurel Harris - BroadwayPlus.com/LaurelHarris
Ginna Claire Mason - DoubleNameWitches.com
Behind The Curtain explores the histories of Broadway shows, from the flops to the long running hits. Find out all the drama that happened on and off the stage of your favorite Broadway shows!

[@j.r.taylor1997]

I saw wick live on Broadway I'll I have to say is it's a totally different experience live... hits different and the energy is 100 times more powerful. I cried at the end of act one and two. Bootlegs don't do it justice

[@andyhannon255]

Saw it on the West End, can confirm :)

[@vicentehizon6202]

Seen it twice, first in 2014, and another time in 2017, and I can easily confirm as well.

[@jessibug78]

Seen it 10 times…. Live is epic, each and every time!!!

[@Vrinara]

As a former Theater kid. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard some sort of wicked song in our old talent shows and broadway themed shows we did. I've heard Popular so many times during my high school years. Wizard and I, Dancing through life. I think the only song from Wicked I didn't hear any of my classmates sing, was Wonderful. One of my oldest best friends who I sadly lost contact with Preformed Defying Gravity for my whole school. And she legit sent shivers down my spine. She was one of the best singers at my school. But when she sang the last bit of Defying Gravity and hit that final note. I was stunned. While Wicked has never been my favorite Musical. (That goes to Rent) I have seen a few bootlegs online and every actress KILLS it. My personal favorite is Kerry Ellis.

[@oliviawalton6890]

I saw wicked back in January of this year. And I have to say it is probably the greatest musical I will ever see in my life. This documentary give me a much deeper appreciation for the show. And it’s story about started and how it became a success is really inspiring. Just wanna repeat this is one of the enjoyable documentaries I’ve seen in a while. The ending of the video made me cry, stitching videos different people, singing, defying gravity was beautiful.

[@carlableiker3752]

What a fantastic video! Really interesting, and incredibly well made. Thank you for including Danna Paola in that ending montage- the youngest pro Elphaba ever at 18(!) and she killed it. Again, loved this whole thing from start to finish ❤

[@RileyLastname]

I'm watching this bawling my eyes out at Ginna Claire Mason telling me that "we have been through a frightening time" and then saying "it's good to see me isn't it"... yes, it is! This documentary was incredible and I didn't expect to be this emotional over it.

[@roisinnigcrainn7722]

This is so valuable to me as an aspiring Elphaba! Thank you for handing us all this research on a silver platter. The work you've put into this is outstanding. Keep it up!!

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thanks for watching! Can’t wait to see you as Elphaba someday! 😊

[@roisinnigcrainn7722]

@@BehindTheMagic Aw thank you! 😊💚

[@lcps6805]

Oh my God I'm so weak I cried at the defying gravity compilation at the end. Thank you for putting this together!

[@softweebtrash]

Me too

[@marefreed4140]

Thank you for making this documentary, Patrick. I'm crying and crying and crying.

[@milesjasper9660]

I can't believe this incredible video was made about the impact of wicked and you managed to not mention glee once 😂 thats amazing, great video!

[@osakibilaye-benibo9100]

The casting section left out Fiyero. I think that's one of the most egregious instances in the show, considering that book Fiyero is explicitly non-white.

[@Nikki-mx5my]

I just finished the book recently and yeah, agreed.

[@benschaeffer8102]

DEFINITELY! I think Fiyero should ALWAYS be cast by an actor/singer of color, and they didn't even do that in the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked. Norbert Leo Butz was DEFINITELY white.

[@HigherQualityUploads]

If blackwashing is so accepted (look at all the blackwashed historical dramas these days,) then whitewashing should be too

[@PirateNikki]

🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ I saw Chicago on Broadway and they had a black girl playing Velma Kelley even though she’s supposed to be white. And just saw Wicked where Nessa Rose was black even though her parents were both white.. But Who cares? Everyone needs to stop focusing so much on race.

[@cayh3039]

@@HigherQualityUploadswhitewashing is the norm already…

[@musicalmagpie741]

“There are bridges you crossed you didn’t know you crossed until you crossed”. Gosh, that line hits hard for some reason. Every time I see this show I look forward to this exact moment. The sentiment, the lyrics and the way the entire orchestra crescendos might be my favourite musical moment in the show. It’s hard to understand from the quality of this recording or even the cast recording but this moment never fails to give me goosebumps and, personally, runs it home that this is Glinda’s story. I truly think she had a tremendous character arc that eclipses Elphaba. Elphaba was a rebel from the start. It was Glinda who had to develop as a character and by the end she has. When she is in the bubble for the final time and reprises a line from “For Good”, thinking her husband and best friend are dead when they’ve pretty much deceived her and run off together causes my sympathy to fall towards Glinda as she’ll live the rest of her days with that guilt. Probably said more than I needed to but after seeing Wicked again recently it just cements my feelings about the two characters. Edit - they weren’t married, sorry.

[@huntergibsonchannel]

Glinda and Fiyero were engaged but not married

[@musicalmagpie741]

@@huntergibsonchannel whoops, sorry. My mistake! Thanks for the correction. Why did I think they were married…? Anyway, I still think it was a rotten move on both their parts at the end.

[@johnhill7722]

My favorite moment in the show! That line there are bridges you cross.. show the transformation of Glinda!

[@musicalmagpie741]

@@johnhill7722 precisely! :-)

[@Kaylin777]

I saw Wicked in 2019 and I was blown away by the entire cast! I love Broadway and these documentaries are cool as well.

[@kazza6078]

LOVED this and will rewatch this again and again

[@BehindTheMagic]

So glad to hear that! 💚

[@user36able]

This was so incredibly well researched and put together. I love WIcked and Ihought I was fairly knowledgeable about Wicked but I learned so much - I am so curious about the non-replica production, and so thrilled to learn that there has finally been a black Galinda and a black Elphaba (although it's disappointing that there haven't been a lot more and that they didn't start doing this until what seems like fairly recently). I think you did a fantastic job weaving together the disparate parts of the Wicked phenomenon, with all the stuff about the adaptation process, the backgrounds of the creative team, the story of how the show changed between it's first tryout and Broadway, its initial reception (it was so cool that you had interviews with members of the original cast!!), the critical and hehe popular responses, the expansion beyond Broadway, its impact on pop culture and global impact, its legacy and how it needs to change - it was so comprehensive! You reminded me of how moving this story is, and how musical theatre can unite and inspire people and be a force, hehe "for good". Thank you so, so, so much for this peek behind the curtain and for shedding some light on the mysterious process of how Broadway musicals (or hit Broadway musicals) are put together. You are a "wickedly talented" documentarian indeed! I feel like I'm going to come back to this video a lot - but in terms of your future videos - might I suggest Phantom of the Opera as a topic?

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thank you so very much! So glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@elizabethmorris197]

After all these years, I still get goosebumps. Always will be my fave musical

[@nicholasgo3454]

Thank you for making this video! I absolutely love wicked, and this entire documentary is such a treat :)

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thanks for watching! So glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@queenmedesa]

Screw the critics, this is a great musical!

[@BehindTheMagic]

Agreed!

[@Jabroniville]

Awesome! Good to see the whole thing posted at once! Super-fascinating stuff! So that's the full story of Block's removal- it always bugged me how "The Grimmerie" glossed that over so bad- I had to look it up online later. I didn't realize it was the director. This is also the first time I'm learning about how contentious the creative process was between the various people in charge. The funeral scene's deletion is a fascinating bit, too- it's more of a neat thing shown in the Gershwin Theater now ("this cost a million dollars and we got rid of it!"), but I didn't know the full backstory. The Tony Award not going to the show struck me as interesting, but they've since gone back from rewarding the big "commercial" hits, right? I didn't know it was such a big thing to lose award after award. Is Kathy there saying that they lost best score because of the Wizard songs & "Dancing Through Life"? Were those especially derided? I found the Wizard's songs the most forgettable, but not every "Avenue Q" song is great. As much as I tire of hearing about the feud, it obviously needed to be touched on- good job on that with the nuance to it. Kathy points out it was just different philosophies and temperaments coming together, which I've read elsewhere (probably because Cheno seems very "Type A" and never screws up, while Idina is famously a bit of a mess). The line about "bit of a mess" and how professional Cheno was (that appears in "The Grimmerie" and other sources) always interested me. And to be honest, I think most people with professionalism wouldn't just go "yeah they hated each other". I've a friend who knows someone who worked on the show and she said the feud wasn't real, "but she would never have told if it was". Grey confessing to a feud is pretty surprising because of that. I listened to a podcast interview Ken Levine did with Winnie Holzman and I found it interesting how it was non-stop praise for Cheno, and Idina was almost never mentioned. I was very curious about the omission there.

[@BehindTheMagic]

So glad you enjoyed it! Yes, The Grimmerie glosses over A LOT. They definitely paint a more rosy picture of what went down behind the scenes. I strongly recommend reading “Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz”. It gets into all the drama! Even more than I was able to include in this video! 😂

[@Jabroniville]

Haha, I just found out the friend of a friend I referred to (who was in the original cast) was in fact the lady interviewed in these very videos. I should check that book out- I wonder what else went down. I’m really curious why Idina is sometimes so avoided in a lot of the official things.

[@sketchytwin113]

Im guilty of watching a bootleg of Wicked! It was great though! However being in a rural state I didn't have the chance (or money.)to see it in person. I was close once. However my group decided to choose Phantom (which was fantastic!) So I decided to save up for the day it returned to Nashville. I saw the schedule for this year's tour, almost cried tears of joy and my mom got me tickets for an extremely early Christmas gift! This October, I'm finally seeing Wicked in person!!

[@johdz2525]

How was it!?

[@sketchytwin113]

@@johdz2525 it was... FANTASTIC 🤩 I'll never be able to watch the wizard of Oz the same way ever again, but it was everything that I've dreamed of!!!!

[@ItsJuleen]

What a wonderful job you did on this documentary! Loved it so much. Thank you!

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it! 💜

[@user-qs4nn4eo3m]

I'm literally sitting here with tears in my eyes. No words.

[@anahicarreon7982]

Great documentary!! I loved that you included different Elphabas at the end, I got so excited to see Danna Paola since she was my first Elphaba and the reason i fell in love with Wicked💚 (fun fact: she was 17 years old when she auditioned for Elphaba, making her the youngest actress to ever have played this iconic role 👀)

[@DaFilmakerDrew]

That ending. Excellent editing. Ya boys in tears. Woop I WANNA DO THAT TOO!!!!

[@blaineandersonshairgel2258]

Gravity?defied Gonna be? popular No one? Mourns the Wicked Hotel? Trivago

[@claires1347]

Fantastic documentary, love your videos!

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thank you so much! So glad you’re enjoying them! 😊

[@charlottegordon8959]

This is absolutely amazing!!! More more more!!! Enjoyed this before a busy shift on a MH ward in Scotland U.K. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Thank you ☺️

[@ashtonweaver8140]

i watch wicked in february of 2019 when jessica vosk was elphaba and it was just magical. it was even better as ryan mccartan and kevin chamberlin were a part of the cast as i had watched them on disney channel as a kid.

[@glindesign]

Absolutely Loved this! Thank you so much for creating this 💖✨

[@BehindTheMagic]

So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@craigrm74]

Patrice Tipoki, a Maori/Irish/Chinese woman, played the role of Elphaba full-time in the 2015 Australian production.

[@anahicarreon7982]

She's Satine's understudy in the Australian production of Moulin Rouge, isn't she?

[@craigrm74]

@@anahicarreon7982correct

[@SteAndKel]

In response to the ending of this video. Now the movie version of wicked will star Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The movie will arguably be the definitive version of wicked that gets passed through the generations. Elphaba will be black and I’m sure it’ll change the casting for the stage show going forward.

[@sethstrattan7380]

Ariana Grande is gonna play Glinda and I just hope she brings that Kat personality for her especially during the ‘Popular’ section. I just hope Feyro will be African American like he is in the book.

[@starry_ally]

@@sethstrattan7380 Jonathan Bailey got casted as Fiyero

[@cc-vn7qp]

The movie so far isn’t looking too great in terms of production. I don’t think any film will replace this stage show.

[@eternalbliss330]

@@cc-vn7qpwhat are u talking about😭

[@evan4905]

A notable point unaccounted for... Block did open the first national tour but only for the fact that the opening date was signifiantly delayed. She had sustained an injury during rehearsals and was out for a few weeks. Kristy Cates (u/s Elphaba) filled while she was out and played those initial previews.

[@BehindTheMagic]

Very interesting! Glad she recovered before opening night!

[@bcoleman519]

This is so good, well done and thank you!

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thank YOU! 💜

[@anniefinch6843]

I remember seeing this show at the William Saroyan theater in Downtown Fresno with my mother. But the movie The Wizard of Oz one of my favorite movies came into my mind.

[@alvinmedina7121]

the show truly touches you

[@lonellfletcher]

I think the rumors about issues between Kristen and Idina is mainly BS. I don't think the issues were that big, at least not as big as the issues between the creatives.

[@drewsome]

awesome documentary dude you clearly worked really hard on this and it shows

[@patrickhueyatthepodium229]

Excellent Documentary!

[@joselgarlitos6368]

great docu! thank you!

[@lisaschaffel266]

I love Wicked the Musical, it is one of my favorite broadway musicals 🎵🎵🎶🎤🎤

[@rafieburgos5529]

I really like your channel!!! You should do more history videos!!! Keep up the good work!!!

[@RvingtoDisney]

Love this. Awesome editing too.

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thank you so much! I’m still trying to refine my editing skills and make them even better! ☺️

[@peterhutley4254]

I enjoyed the book and was a little disappointed that some more serious elements were left out , but I understand that they tried to lighten the story somewhat for a “family friendly” show. As a gay man I felt the show communicated directly to someone who is viewed as different, despite their talent and use in society. Loved it! Pete Hutley, Newcastle, Australia.

[@alexonmymind4925]

Love it x thank you

[@BehindTheMagic]

Thank you for watching! 💚

[@AAC-qd2vn]

When’s the next video coming out?! These are so well made!

[@officialjustingallagher]

Avenue didn’t deserve the Tony. Clearly Wicked was better, it is still running.

[@gstone8255]

👏👏👏 Finally someone said it ❤

[@franc5148]

45:50 i'm crying so much, sobbing

[@vlalelrlila]

1:06:51 As a Mexican I'm so happy you included the Mexican performance, fun fact, Danna Paola is the youngest actress to play Elphaba, she was just 17 when she started. She did not disappoint at all by being so young. And I think thats why since the beginning there were always 2 elphabas, not an understudy but another main, they shared the shows from the start and until the end, eventually there were also 2 Glindas so by the end there was a lot of different experiences on each show depending on which Glinda and which Elphaba were programed

[@janinehenderson7501]

The London production had two black actresses Alexia Khadime and Lucy St Louis as Elphaba and Glinda at the same time.

[@heresalook]

40:50 I always knew of Wicked (mainly from commercials promoting whenever it came to my town) but Popular Song is what made me wanna see it on Broadway one day! I’m a fan of Ariana so I loved the song immediately! I remember looking up the sample and reading the entire plot of the show on Wikipedia out loud to my little brother 😂 and my parents eventually getting me the soundtrack. I still have yet to see it live but hopefully one day I will! 💚

[@rissyroooh4315]

Wicked is the reason why I'm doing musical theatre. I loved the book and I've seen a video of the full cast. I love Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. I'm going to see it in on Broadway this month! I'm so excited!! It'll probably never happen but my dream is to play Elphaba one day. I can relate with her so much.

[@heresalook]

This is such a great video essay (and the perfect way to prepare for the Wicked movie coming out in November!) 👏🏾

[@BroadwayGuy]

"AVENUE Q" winning Best Musical Tony Award instead of "WICKED" is insane and mind-boggling.

[@rafaelaveralugo7626]

I have mixer feelings about For Good. I love the vocals, and it was the first song I heard from this musical. On the ither hand, I always know what’s coming next

[@haruyukiarita6472]

Not sure is this correct, but I heard Kristin left the show early because of medical reasons. Anyway, they are still sisters and Krisin performed For Good almost every of her show with multi-languages version of Popular. They still love the show. Thank you for gehteraing all these information so I can now introduce Wicked to my friends and see if they wanna join me to the sing along in movie coming out later this year.

[@alvinmedina7121]

this is awesome

[@franc5148]

i haven't watched Wicked yet i was waiting for the moment it really talked to me. watching this amazing documentary has made that possible i'm ready to watch wicked now 💕💕

[@BehindTheMagic]

You’re gonna love it! 💜

[@gracefutrell1912]

You forgot to mention the Joker and Cruella ripped off the twist parent that was in the book and the musical and Cruella ripped off the green Elixir thing with the necklace do believe we might have a black Elphaba someday I hope .

[@TherealRNOwwfpooh]

We are getting a black Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande as Glinda for the 2 _Wicked_ movies. The thing is, as much as people make the connection between _Wicked_ & racism, it has source OZ author L. Frank Baum and of course, character actress Margaret Hamilton & Hollywood matron Billie Burke from the 1939 MGM film to thank for the creations of Elphaba & Galinda, because Gregory MacGuire said himself he had Margaret Hamilton on the brain (and in his heart & nerves, too) when penning the 1995 novel, which begot the 2003 (and long-running) musical that will be getting a movie done in two parts due to the story's depth & cultural impact. Here's to hoping the film adaptations hold up to the legacy of the stage productions & the influences that proceeded them all, including the 1939 MGM film.

[@gstone8255]

I agre Joker and especially Cruella ripped that twist of hard 😄👍❗️

[@meltedmarshdaddy]

This is great I have watched it multiple times. Please do this for the Book of Mormon!

[@gyufrtsgftrs436jjg]

This was fantastic!!!!!! Please do all musicals lol.......one on Chicago would be FANTASTIC ❤

[@gstone8255]

This is my Favorite musical ever ❗️❤️

[@gstone8255]

This is my Favorite musical of all time 🥰❤️❗️

[@alvinmedina7121]

I saw an early tape . I knew it was beyond brilliant

[@lynneformato9163]

Patrick -you are absolutely amazing-you need to share with the Elon MT Lit class!!!! Congratulations!

[@jazlynnunez09]

W thank you for this

[@HigherQualityUploads]

35:43 Oh wow, I didn't know the show I saw was the first of the 2nd Tour! There was a lottery and I won two tickets :P

[@adri.c4]

No bc that aunt cathy part had me crying

[@Velvet-rs1pw]

Wicked is such a special musical to me since it was the first musical I saw

[@gracefutrell1912]

What’s your opinion about the casting announcements in the film

[@franc5148]

48:30 okay, im not okay

[@mjdally82]

“Take that Cats” 🤣🤣🤣

[@theshadowdirector]

In terms of the lack of diverse casting, I wonder if the shadow of the original Oz film caption played a part in that bias?

[@Cornphobe]

i too am sad they cut where is the party. that sound sounds like a banger

[@JordanJunco]

I’m hoping it will be in the movie, I know they said a couple of sings that were cut from the original will be in the movie!

[@tarinblanding1584]

I'm going to be the first black person to play Elphaba full time someday.

[@franc5148]

57:05 dilo reina💕💕💕

[@BroadwayGuy]

BEYOND FASCINATING & BRILLIANT!! I feel sorry for Stephanie J. Block. Not that I begrudge Menzel anything-- but Block's dismissal seems particularly unfair and unjustified. At least Block did the first national tour. I had no idea there were so many disputes and an open war between Schwartz, Holman, the director and producers. Fascinating!!!

[@alvinmedina7121]

SJB is a beyond brilliant , wicked I love you

[@theshadowdirector]

Wizard of Oz not as beloved by London audiences? I mean I don't know how much it relatively compares to the States but the story is pretty heavily baked into pop culture here too.

[@danielstewart6509]

what if Dianna Agron plays the role of Galinda , Melissa Benoist plays the role of Elphaba , Betty Buckley plays the role of Madame Morrible etc.

[@Cyno_gaming]

I absolutely love Ms. Agron but she doesn’t have the range to play Galinda

[@cashaetaylor7466]

I really don't like the white singing in the beginning... really doesn't sound like nothing. However, the Wicked movie trailer made me want to look up the book... and I LOVE IT!!!❤

[@DM-br7vt]

That is why I felt like Menzel voice range didn't work with her. Blocks range works way better.

[@grendelentertainment9642]

i dont even like Wicked, but man this was a great video!

[@BehindTheMagic]

Wow, that means a lot! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@mjdally82]

How on earth do you work on broadway and they don’t give you a little recording of your starring role??!! Not the whole show obviously and not until well into the life of the show… but seriously what do they expect about the existence of bootleg recordings then…??

[@Mrajtheartist]

💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💞💕

[@suzannefraser4966]

Will never understand how Avenue Q won the Tony

[@noelmaisonet]

The end with the defy gravity moments from everyone was a bit much 😭😭😭 don’t mind me

[@Pianorockstar_]

Even if this drama happened between kristin & Idena, the tabloids are in this to create drama. Kristin was offered a role from the west end & glinda role from wicked.

[@movieandtvseriesclips2805]

When are you upload new Videos?

[@AnimeSquirrel]

I'll never understand why "critics" even have a job ever. Not once have critics been right, and an audience is wrong. Critics are consistently ignorant and often moronic about absolutely everything.

[@houselemuellan8756]

Adele Dazeem

[@erinsmith1819]

1939 Wizard of Oz by far is the best movie and for the time how great it looks stuff today sometimes don’t even look as good and I read somewhere that they wouldn’t even be able to make that today because it would cost so much money nowadays in the remakes, they try to change it too much and we get too modern and that makes it terrible in my opinionI’ve never seen the wicked movie. I’m gonna listen to see what I think because I have always wondered about the backstory of the wicked witch of the West and the good witch Glenda.

[@elinat2414]

Avenue Q was a charming show, but it doesn't hold a candle to the powerhouse that is Wicked. I am still shocked to this day how it is possible that Avenue Q swept that Tony season. As I am writing this in 2023, a production of Wicked is currently running here in Sydney, still a hit with audiences 20 years later. The Tony voters got it very very wrong that year.

[@L1623VP]

I saw Wicked in its first national tour out on the west coast and I have to say that the review by Variety at 13:47 is right on. I'm not a theater snob, but I have to say that I'm flabbergasted at the mass appeal of this show beyond that of young girls between the ages of 10 and 20. It's such a weak show, particularly the book (script) and music. Aside from Kristen Chenoweth's performance, the whole show got a poor review in The New York Times on its Broadway opening. While it wasn't a hatchet job, it was a fair review. There's a reason it didn't win the Tony Award for Best Musical or Best Score. It's just so sad the public flocks to mediocre stuff like Wicked because it's built in to pop culture when there are far better shows out there.

[@BroadwayGuy]

I will never understand why the forthcoming "WICKED" movie is being released in two parts-- as two separate movies in 2024 & 2025. It seems so unnecessary to me, but there are egos involved, I'm sure. I guess the powers that be want to expand it, make a franchise out of it, or want to make more $$$ out of it.

[@shannonceleste5557]

They're adding 2 new songs and extra aspects of the original story. Stephen Schwartz himself confirmed that the additions will be positive for fans of the show

[@TherealRNOwwfpooh]

@@shannonceleste5557 They're also including some elements from MacGuire's novel that the musical ignored/left out/glossed over. Hopefully, this means more pro-LGBTQ+ content (since both G[a]linda & Elphie are CANONICALLY BISEXUAL -- mutually for Fiyero AND EACH OTHER -- with book! Gelfie sharing a bed at Shiz University as well as the room they stayed in at The Emerald City [ahead of their audience with Elphie's disgraced charlatan of a biological father] AND the two witches kissing ON THE MOUTH during what would be key moments in the book that are favorite songs in the musical [i.e. during "One Short Day" and "Defying Gravity", respectively]) & less "Elphie was born out of statutory RAPE between a drunk Marlena (Munchkinland governor/roving preacher Frex's promiscuous wife) & The Wizard (who gave Marlena some of the liquid inside of his green vial, which is what led to Elphie's signature green skin color)" content. Sure, we know we're getting kid versions of both Elphie & Nessa in the movie (thanks to kid Elphie showing up in both the teaser as well as the first trailer for the upcoming pair of films), but I don't think people would want to get into the complicated mess that is the witch sister's parentage, since not even favorite daughter Nessa is actually Frex's daughter either, since Nessa was actually the lovechild of Marlena & the married couple's officially unanimously shared lover Turtle Heart, a man from the Quadling country who had tragically died quite suddenly following their -- that is, Frex, Marlena & Turtle Heart -- last threesome just before Nessa was born; That said, it was Turtle Heart's death & consuming too many milkflowers (which were administered by Frex himself to his wife in an attempt to prevent Nessa from turning out green like Elphaba before her) which caused Marlena herself to die after giving birth to Nessa. All of this extra backstory was a series of unfortunate circumstances that Frex unjustly blames Elphie for, even if it was Frex's, Marlena's, and Turtle Heart's own adulterous decisions which consequently led to Nessa's crippled state & it was consuming too many milkflowers that genuinely caused Marlena's death rather than anything Elphie ever did (which, in this case, was to simply exist as the daughter Frex & Marlena were ashamed by, meanwhile Ness received all of the praise in the world in stark contrast). And in the grand scheme of things, all of what has happened led to a torrent of unfortunate circumstances that Elphie definitely should not be blamed for. In fact, the book doesn't mince words & basically makes it unequivocally clear that, even as a child, Elphie was being scapegoated for being different.

[@jasonkingsley9134]

Idina Mendel would’ve continued on with Wicked if Kristen Bell acted the role of Glinda, the witch of the north. Because in Frozen Elsa & Anna were sisters in that film. If you want Wicked to be that popular, cast the same stars from the original Disney popular film that they’re casting from.

[@TherealRNOwwfpooh]

Uh, _Frozen_ was Disney giving _The Snow Queen_ a _Wicked_ makeover. _Wicked_ was already a massive hit before _Frozen_ was even an idea. Furthermore, unlike Elsa & Anna, Elphaba (eventual Wicked Witch of the West) & Galinda (future Glinda the Good) were collegiate rivals-turned-dormitory-roomies-turned-semi lovers-turned-bittersweet friends.

[@ESCAerial]

I won't hear any Avenue Q slander.

[@supajibabu9077]

ate

[@alvinmedina7121]

kristen .omg

[@PirateNikki]

Alli Mauzy was the best Galinda for sure. Kristen chenoweth is a close 2nd

[@doctorfate6414]

In the heights was a disaster. Who the hell said that it was a hit musical? As it happens I'd rather Wicked stay a musical than to ever be made into a movie. Making it into a movie with only take away from its magic in my belief.

[@BehindTheMagic]

Watch that part again. I never called In The Heights a hit movie. I made this video before the film came out.

[@TherealRNOwwfpooh]

Tell that to the MGM film that _Wicked_ takes much of its influence from.

[@TheAdventurer1]

A chick musical - observe all the teenage girls sobbing.