SPOILER ALERT
It is infused with humor and also political and social themes. Adultery, illegitimacy, discrimination, animal cruelty, government corruption, back-biting, distrust, physical disability, and mental anguish.
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When Elphaba is born green, her father, Frex is disappointed and ashamed. We (the audience) discover that Elphaba's mother has been having an affair and her paramour has given her a green elixir to drink during her pregnancy.
For the audience animal lovers, it's exciting to see animals able to speak and function in a human world. Later political forces in Oz conspire and succeed in taking away speech from the animals. Elphaba wants to fight against this but she pretty much stands alone.
When Elphaba's sister, Nessarose is born, she is the apple of their father's eye. Because Frex insisted on the mother, Melena consuming a particular flower so that the second child wouldn't be born green, the sister is unable to walk and Elphaba is made her caregiver.
Preparing for college, Nessarose is given a pair of silver slippers by their father. Elphaba receives nothing. Though she is smart and capable, Elphaba is looked down upon, teased, shunned and ignored because of her color and her plainness. College is where they meet Galinda who later changes her name to Glinda. I won't dwell on Glinda other than saying she was your typical self-centered, rich, snotty, popular, mean girl. BUT, later Glinda and Elphaba become friends after they become roommates in college.
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| A view of the stage before the musical begins |
The head school mistress, Madam Morrible, though sees something special in Elphaba and takes her under her wing grooming her and teaching her the ways of wizardry. By and by Madam Morrible gives
Elphaba a book, The Grimmerie, to decipher that no one else has been able to do. Elphaba is able to decode the symbols. It is then discovered that Madam Morrible has really been doing all of this for self gain. She takes her findings and Elphaba to The Wizard who has limited powers. The Wizard wants Elphaba to give wings to all of his monkeys so that they can act as spies to the animal kingdom. Right about here is where we find out that The Wizard is really Elphaba's birth father.
Elphaba realizes that the school mistress and the Wizard are the ones who took away the animals speech and that she has been duped. Determined not to be a part of this evil, Elphaba takes the Grimmerie and hides in a tower. Since they have developed a friendship, Glinda is with her. Elphaba asks Glinda to fly away with her so that they can rid Oz of wrong and evil doings and restore it to an orderly government. Glinda won't go because she is a shallow person and afraid of losing her popularity.
And that's just ACT I
That's all ***
