“Wicked” has won more than 90 international awards, remained the top-grossing Broadway production for nine consecutive years and broken theater house records in every city it has visited.
And yet, no one can settle on the overall theme of the tale of Oz’s best-known witches.
In his 2007 op-ed, Gregory Maguire said his book by the same name and the musical adaptation is a cautionary tale of how self-righteousness can stifle personal growth and community dialogue.“Wicked” has won more than 90 international awards, remained the top-grossing Broadway production for nine consecutive years and broken theater house records in every city it has visited.
And yet, no one can settle on the overall theme of the tale of Oz’s best-known witches.
In his 2007 op-ed, Gregory Maguire said his book by the same name and the musical adaptation is a cautionary tale of how self-righteousness can stifle personal growth and community dialogue.
“No one in ‘Wicked’ demonstrates perfect judgment — certainly not the heroines, Elphaba and Glinda,” he wrote. “The cost of the choices one has to make may bankrupt even the morally soundest among them.”
Alison Fraser said she sees this theme in her character, Madame Morrible, who is the catalyst for many of the play’s major moments.
“I have played many villains in my career, and one thing they have in common is that none of them viewed themselves as villains. Madame Morrible is no exception,” she said. “She doesn’t realize that of all the characters in the play, she, because of her actions, is the only one that unequivocally deserves the epithet ‘Wicked.’”
Fraser, who will continue her run as Morrible through this weekend, said that to her, though, the theme of “Wicked” can be summed up in just one word: Reason.
“What the world perceives as ‘evil’ or ‘good’ has been presented as such by biased parties,” she said. “Deciding which is which, or what the shades of grey are, can only be done after careful assessment of facts and careful judgment.”
Jonathan Cruz, senior English major, said he sees something very different in the play. After watching “Wicked” last Thursday, he said he was a little let down by what he saw as the play’s theme: Romance.
Cruz, who had read Maguire’s much darker novel, said the play seemed to be a love story more than anything else.
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“It’s kind of like, ‘oh yeah, I had an epiphany,’ but it was always after a scene with a ‘love interest’ kind of thought process behind it,” he said. “It completely changed to a love story, and I was kind of disheartened by that.”
Nick Adams, who was cast as the free-spirited Fiyero, said he sees the theme not so much as being about love, but about acceptance. Fiyero, he said, becomes almost a completely different character between the first and second acts — and it’s because he learns to accept things about himself and others.
“He’s completely changed by the end,” Adams said. “Elphaba has such a huge effect on him that he learns to care. That is a huge part of the theme of acceptance, for my character at least.”
The production’s company manager Steve Quinn said he sees many themes within “Wicked,” but said that that’s not the thing that draws attendees.
“I think people can relate to it on many different levels,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone that’s gone through life that hasn’t felt a little like the green girl; like the outsider and the outcast. I think that our story tells people ‘it’s ok to be different.’”
Jyllian Roach is the editor-in-chief for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Jyllian_R.
