By: Nyla Louise Rteimeh, Staff Writer
The musical Wicked stemmed from The Wizard of Oz franchise, beginning with the books, then the musical, and then the most recent movies; but what are the differences between the three?
Wicked, the novel written by Gregory Maguire, began similar to the musical and movie; the birth of Elphaba. Elphaba’s birth was everything but normal because she was born green; no, it’s not genetics. It’s alluded to that her mother had an affair with the wizard, who gave her mother a green elixir, which had the side effect of turning Elphana green. Her father connected the dots and grew to resent his daughter. The book does have much more details about her childhood, while the musical is lacking in context for Elphaba’s deformity. The movie has more emotional depth relating to Elphaba and her upbringing- but, still, nowhere near the amount of detail in the book. Her sister, Nessarose, is not green- but she is disabled. In the movie/musical, she’s portrayed in a wheelchair, but in the book Nessarose was born without arms. The book explains how her disability was a birth complication, stemming from her mother consuming milk flowers to prevent her from being green. Nessarose being paralyzed in the legs is because of the same reason, but they lack an explanation and instead it’s just implied. The lack of this detail in the movie makes the resentment Elphaba’s father holds towards her less obvious.
Once Elphaba arrives at Shiz University, she encounters Galinda, who in the book is characterized as a spoiled, elitist. In the musical/movie, her character is not as cruel- she is seen as stuck up, but still portrayed as a good person. In all versions, Madame Morrible takes Elphaba in as her student after seeing the powers she possesses. One of the major differences between these three adaptations is that Dr. Dillamond, both Elphaba’s and Galinda’s teacher (who also happens to be a goat), is killed off in the book. The novel is much darker than the movie and musical, and Dr. Dillamond is assassinated because of the upcoming feud between humans and animals. The movie and musical are much more lighthearted, and instead Dillamond is removed as a teacher and silenced. Regardless of which version you turn to, Elphaba is deeply radicalized by what happens to her teacher, a huge turning point in her character arc. Galinda reacts to the death, or removal, of Dillamond too, although still battles with her ignorance. In all versions, Galinda changes her name to Glinda in the name of Dr. Dillamond who struggled in saying the first syllable of her name.
Galinda’s and Elphaba’s friendship grows after being chosen as roommates which leads them to their trip to the Emerald City to meet The Wizard of Oz. Initially, the trip to see the wizard is being marketed to Elphaba as a way for her to improve Oz for the greater good, but she quickly realizes that the wizard has the intentions of using her as a weapon. Elphaba, in all versions, flees in the name of remaining true to herself. There are very few differences between the adaptations in this portion of the story, but it is notable to mention that Elphaba’s escape in the musical/movie is much more dramatic in comparison to the book- listen to Defying Gravity, and you’ll agree.
After Elphaba’s dramatic exit, the wizard convinces the people of Emerald City that Elphaba is evil, giving her the name the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda now being referred to as Glinda the Good. Nessarose steps into the spot of governor after her fathers passing, and has found love in Boq, a munchkin boy she met at Shiz. Boq sorrowfully admits to her that he doesn’t love her- and instead, loves Glinda. He tries to leave, but Nessarose has grown very fond of Boq- so fond that she restricts the rights of all Munchkins simply so he cannot leave her. This storyline remains the same throughout all three adaptations; just some present it as more extreme than others. Nessa essentially enslaves Boq and he now treats her as more as her boss and less as his lover; in response, Nessarose attempts a love spell. Nessa has no experience in the field of magic, and proceeds to shrink his heart, killing him. Elphaba casts a spell, turning him into the Tin-Man, in an attempt to save his life. Out of all of them; the movie, musical, and book, the book is by far the darkest; Nessarose’s tyrannical rule is most obvious in the book, and her enslaving Boq is said more outright than the other versions. The musical tones this down quite a bit.
The remainder of the storyline isn’t changed much throughout each adaptation. The most notable change is that in the book, Elphaba dies. She dies with the belief that everyone hated her, the ending is tragic and unresolved; again, the book is much darker. In the musical/ movie, Elphaba fakes her death and escapes with the Scarecrow, who was her love interest throughout the movie. Glinda attempts to reconstruct Oz, but in the process loses the two most important people in her life: Fiyero (the Scarecrow) and her best friend, Elphaba. Regardless of the type of media, Wicked is truly an amazing piece of media that reflects political differences and touches many people’s hearts; its resurgence in popularity is well deserved and I greatly recommend exploring the franchise beyond the recent movies!