The History of Oz

The popularity of the Wicked series has been larger than ever these past few months with the release of its movie adaptation. This is to be expected — we have seen it with many other on-screen adaptations in the past such as the recent resurgence of Dune in the past few years or The Lord of the Rings in the early 2000s, or even Hamilton back in 2020. Movie adaptations tend to bring in a whole new audience simply because, well — movies are more accessible.

Many people are aware that Wicked, before its debut on the big screen last November, was a Broadway musical, but many of them do not know that it is also a book. Published in 1995 by author Gregory Maguire, the first book of four in the Wicked saga set the basis of what would become the hit Broadway musical, and eventually a blockbuster film. All three adaptations draw on the story of The Wizard of Oz, opting for a focus on the story’s main villain, the Wicked Witch of the West. Or as we know her, Elphaba. The book specifically takes on much darker topics and goes way deeper into Elphaba’s (and Glinda’s, the Good Witch of the North) story, but it never made a very prominent impact until it was adapted for the theater.

The Wicked Broadway premiere occurred on June 10, 2003 starring Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. Both have since become highly renowned actresses in the past two decades, with Menzel best known for starring in Frozen and Chenoweth acting in the first Descendants movie. Since then, there have been numerous cast changes with the current actors of Elphaba and Glinda being Mary Kate Morrissey and Alexandra Socha respectively. 

Now the movie Wicked, though it is based off of two other things (the book and the movie), has its own unique parts to it as well. Elphaba’s main defining trait is her green skin which she is increasingly ridiculed for both during the time the movie takes place and when she was younger. This really represents the treatment that many people of color have to go through during their lifetimes. The choice to cast Cynthia Erivo, a black woman, as Elphaba in the movie was a really amazing move. Every other person who played Elphaba before then, except for Alexia Khadime from 2008 to 2010, were white, so casting a person of color in the movie adaptation was a perfect fit. That, along with the chemistry between Erivo and Ariana Grande who plays Glinda is what makes this movie such a great adaptation. 

The Wicked movie definitely was not its first adaptation and with how Popular (pun intended) the franchise is, it is safe to say that it likely will not be the last. Twenty years of Defying Gravity on Broadway with its numerous records and accomplishes, and just recently doing so again on the big screen, Wicked has been and continues to be an iconic and out-of-this world production. We know that No One Mourns the Wicked, but I don’t think that we will be mourning Wicked anytime soon.