The “Wicked” nation is still relatively young, like the musical itself. This year marks its 21st anniversary on Broadway, and the touring version has consistently crisscrossed the country since its earliest days, thrilling audiences with its revisionist version of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz.”
In this telling of the American fairy tale, the hero edit goes to Elphaba Thropp, the naturally gifted sorceress who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch, memorialized by her school-days friend at Shiz University by Galinda Upland. Galinda is perky, blonde, self-involved and universally adored, presumably from the moment she trilled into the world.
