Last night with some friends, I watched the Broadway musical "Wicked". It's the second (I think?) broadway musical that was brought here in the Philippines, the first one was Phantom of the Opera. Unfortunately, I was not able to catch Phantom, so I made it to a point to not let "Wicked" passed me by. This post will feature my own interpretation of the story, so if you don't want to be disillusioned don't attempt to scroll down.
It was my first time watching wicked and I must say I love the story as well as its musical arrangements. Why do I love the story? Hmm.. it's because it really depicts the reality of life; that you can never really trust anyone, not even your friend/s, or even your so called "inspiration", which in the case the so called "the great and powerful wizard of Oz. (Sounds dark eh?). It's dark indeed but very real that can happen to anyone, it's a reminder that we are not living in the ideal world and to not trust easily.
I must say, I fell in love with the character of Elphaba in an instant, in fact, I actually pity her for not knowing the true color of her friend Glinda. She was blinded by the pretentious friendship offered to her, just because deep within her, she wanted to belong and she thought she found that with Glinda.
Well, a lot of people may not agree with me, but after the show, I just developed a very deep hatred with Glinda, the so called "good witch" of the north. I think it was Glinda who sent Elphaba to doom, the person behind the death of Nessarose and used Elphaba's friendship to get things that she always wanted to be. She is a pretentious, selfish, bitch. Oops. Sorry, pardon my words. Even in the ending, where she had all the chance to redeem Elphaba, she had all this sorts of "denying her" as her friend, when ironically it was Glinda who told Elphaba that she was her "best friend".
So, what were Glinda's wicked deeds for me? I list it down, you may or may not agree with me, but that's how I see and heard it. I even went back listening to the soundtrack again, and it always gives me this interpretation. So here are the top 10 wicked deeds of Glinda for me.
- She used Boq so Fiyero will not see Nessarose, sister of Elphaba who is equally beautiful.
- This leads to the lonely life of Nessarose and unhappiness of Boq who always longs for Glinda up to the last minute that forces Nessarose to be "wicked" to get his heart.
- She pretends to be good in giving Elphaba the "witch hat" which she really hates and in fact mocks her.
- She helped Elphaba to save face in the party, not because she was guilty, but because Fiyero is watching. It was also during the party that she realized that she could use the "goodness" and "gullibility" of Elphaba to fulfill her dream (it was during this stage of the story that she was taken by Madam Morrible to be an apprentice at the request of Elphaba).
- She knows that Elphaba's heart is good, so when Elphaba is leaving for Emerald City, she appeared to be pitiful, hence Elphaba ask her to come with her, fulfilling Glinda's dream to meet the Wizard.
- Also in the train, she knows that Fiyero is already falling for Elphaba, because they shared the same perspective on fighting for the rights of the animals, but instead, Glinda, changed her name to appear that she is too is one of them, when in fact she was not.
- It was also Glinda, who fed to the Wizard and Madam Morrible Elphaba's weakness which is her sister.
- Also, in the Wizard of Oz, it was Glinda who led Dorothy to the Wicked witch and even thank her for killing the wicked witch. "You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage."―The Good Witch of the North
- In the later scenes, she ensure that she would not blow her bluff and show her true intentions to Elphaba. So she went back to Elphaba to warn her of the deeds of both the Wizard and Madam Morrible, it was also during this scene that she mocked Elphaba of wanting the red shoes so badly. I believe if you are a true friend, you will know how that thing will be really important to your friend.
- Lastly, after hearing that Elphaba is dead, she went persecuting Madam Morrible and the Wizard. Why? There is no threat to her assumption to the highest seat in Oz. It only shows that she doesn't want to share it with Elphaba. She even forsake her. Fiyero knows this, that's why he prevented Elphaba from telling her the truth.
Hahaha. Sorry for the Glinda fans out there, I just really hate her. Anyway, I really love the show and if given another chance, I will watch it again, maybe next time I'll try giving Glinda the benefit of the doubt. LOL. I was "wicked-fied", isn't it obvious? Hahaha.
