Lyrics To Wicked

As spelled out in the opening song-and-dance sequence, Elphaba will become the Wicked Witch of the West by show’s end. Following some shenanigans at Shiz, a trip to see the Wizard ends with some spells gone wrong. (Flying monkeys, anyone?) Elphaba hops on a broom and goes on the lam, leaving her more popular friend Glinda behind to keep up appearances in Oz and marry Fiyero, captain of the guards. Rumors that Elphaba is a fugitive “wicked” witch are circulated by the Wizard’s press secretary. Cue inside-the-Beltway sniggers. “The truth is not fact or reason,” the Wizard observes. “The truth is just what everyone agrees on.”

But back to Fiyero for a minute. It’s a shame that Colin Hanlon, the charming actor who sings the would-be showstopper “Dancing Through Life,” can’t really sing and really can’t dance. On press night, successive big numbers showed that the tech crew and musicians should attempt a few tweaks. The 20-piece orchestra is pumped through massive speakers in the Opera House, resulting in homogenized accompaniment that sounds less than live. There’s little variance in dynamics, and that detracts from hits like “One Short Day” and “Gravity.”

Stephen Schwartz’s songs succeed not only because they’re catchy, but because they both reveal characters’ thoughts and propel the plot forward. In Glinda and Elphaba’s closing duet—just before a girl named Dorothy bursts in with a bucket—the two witches ask: “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.