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bluerosedreams) wrote2013-09-26 06:12 pm
bluerosedreams) wrote2013-09-26 06:12 pm
Wicked Summary, Act 1, Part 1
Act I, Part 1.
The story opens on a celebration. The Wicked Witch of the West is dead! As the people celebrate, saying things like, "No one mourns the wicked" and such, Glinda the Good arrives and explains just how dead with Witch is to assure the people. They celebrators ask what makes someone Wicked, and Glinda asks the arc lines, "Is someone born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" She then explains that the Witch had had parents--a working man who was often away and a mother who cheated. You see in the background of the play, the wife with a young man whose face remains hidden, asking her to drink with him and spend the night with him. Then, she gives birth and the child has green skin, prompting everyone to call her hideous. Her parents don't want her. The people go on to sing about how no one mourns the Wicked--but hey, Glinda tried. The celebration continues, until someone asks if it's true that Glinda and the Wicked Witch were friends. She nervously goes on to say they knew each other once in school.
Cue flashcback mode.
Glinda--at the time Galinda--arrives to school, and there, wheeling her sister whose legs don't work around in her wheelchair, is Elphaba Thropp, the green-skinned witch-to-be. Their father, the Governor of Munchkinland, gives Nessarose, his wheelchair-bound daughter, crystal slippers as a present of his affections. He then turns and warns Elphaba to take care of her. The dean, Madame Morrible, arrives, and Galinda eagerly says she's there to learn sorcery from her. Morrible says she isn't teach the seminar that semester, and shoos Galinda off, who whines that she didn't get her way for once. Then, Morrible comments on Nessa, and says that Nessa will be rooming with her. Elphaba raises a fuss, seeing her only purpose in life being taken away, and Morrible says they'll have to do something, because their father didn't even mention Elphaba would be there. She asks if anyone would volunteer to have Elphaba as a roomie, just as Galinda is turning to raise a fuss over the lessons she wanted. As she hadn't been paying attention, she just volunteered to room Elphie with her. Morrible decrees it and the two stand dumbstruck. As she begins to wheel Nessa away, Elphaba freaks out and magically pulls Nessarose back to her, taking the handles of the wheelchair and apologizing.
Morrible eagerly says not to apologize for talent and says she will take Elphaba on as her personal student, offering private lessons because she had been waiting for years for someone of Miss Thropp's caliber to arrive. She says that even the Wizard of Oz will want to meet her. Elphaba, for the first time in her life, sees the future opening up for her. As everyone goes about her business, she daydreams about a future with the Wizard, in which he'll see her for who she is and not judge her by the fact she's got green skin. She goes on to dream of a future in which she becomes his partner, and he even removes the green pigment from her skin and makes her "normal." She then goes on to have a vision of a day in Oz where there's a celebration all to do with her all across the land, thinking her future is unlimited. She returns to her room, and, well...
Galinda and Elphaba both write letters to their parents, describing their roommate and then realizing a strange and unfamiliar feeling has come over them. What they describe sounds like love, but they both pinpoint it MUST be loathing. (Spoilers: it's probably love and they just don't realize it.) The entire school sides with Galinda, who is popular, pretty and blonde. At the end, Elphaba even goes on to say, "Boo," scaring her roomie. Life continues and they go to history class, where the teacher, an animal, hands back papers. Elphaba is his star student, whereas Galinda isn't making the grade. He goes on to explain that animals are losing right, and Galinda, an airhead at the time, whines that he should be teaching history. Annoyed, he flips over the chalkboard where he'd had questions written only to find it graffitied with, "ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD." The entire class gasps and he dismisses them. Elphaba remains behind to talk to him, and he goes on about how the school used to have many animals teaching, but, well...
Something bad is happening. Animals are disappearing and losing the ability to speak and no one is really raising a fuss. Elphaba, distressed, says that someone needs to see the wizard, because that's why they have one! Doctor Dillamond slips up twice in the song and bleats like a goat instead of speaking, and he comments that if you're silenced long enough, you'd of course learn not to speak. Morrible arrives, but Dillamond chooses to be quiet about the incident. Morrible then rushes Elphaba off to her lesson with her. The sorceress-in-training comments on the ominous happenings, and then heads off to her private lessons. On the way, she's almost run over by a guy in a cart. She wakes him up and tells him off, but he shrugs it off. Just as she leaves, angry, Galinda, followed by munchkin Boq, arrives. He's trying to confess his feelings, and she's trying to get rid of him when she realizes who has arrived: Fiyero, a prince who'd been kicked out of multiple schools. She speaks to him, and Boq interrupts, seeing Galinda falling head-over-heels for him, saying they really should be studying. Fiyero grabs his book and tosses it, sending the munchkin away.
He begins a speech on how schools try to teach the wrong lessons, and that they want people to become less callow and shallow, but that studying only invites strife. So the solution? Is to dance through life like nothing matters, because the only thing that DOES matter is knowing nothing matters. He thinks life is painless for the brainless, and eventually asks where the swankiest place in town must be. Galinda says it'd have to be the Oz Dust Ballroom, and he says tonight the whole school needs to meet there. When Boq says he hopes that Galinda saves a dance for him, she turns him to Nessa and says someone would be his hero if someone took her. So Boq asks Nessa, and meanwhile Fiyero and Galinda comments they're both perfect and thus deserve each other.
Meanwhile, Nessa and Elphaba talk. She tells Elphaba not to speak ill of Galinda because she found Boq for her. She then goes on about how she and Boq deserve each other, and Elphaba, seeing her sister happy for once, goes off to see Galinda. Meanwhile, the wannabe-sorceress looks for something to wear. Her friends show her a black, pointed hat, and she disgustedly says she wouldn't wish it on anyone, she doesn't hate anyone enough for it. Her friends point out that she does, and Elphaba arrives a moment later, saying she and Nessa were just talking about her. Galinda offers her the hat, making it out to be great, and says that she and the hat deserve each other. She should wear it to the party tonight.
"I was wrong about you."
Elphaba says that then goes off. That night, at the party, Morrible arrives and brings Galinda a training wand, going on about how Elphaba threatened to quit unless she were allowed in the program, too.
"I don't know why. In my personal opinion, you don't have what it takes. I hope you prove me wrong. I doubt you will!"
Galinda, for the first time, feels bad about what she did, and shrugs it off to enjoy herself for now. Meanwhile, Boq tries to confess to Nessa that he only asked her because he felt pity for her, but she guesses. Hearing her put herself down, and seeing Galinda hanging all over Fiyero, he turns and says that he thinks Nessa is beautiful. Nessa then says that Boq is wonderful and they deserve each other. So he says they should dance. Surprised, Nessa asks, "What!?"
"Let's dance!"
And so they do. And then, Elphaba arrives in a simple, black dress and the black hat. Everyone goes quiet and clears the floor. Elphaba, having some newfound confidence thanks to Galinda, heads down and begins to dance badly. Fiyero comments on how brave she is, not caring what people are thinking of her.
"No. You're wrong. of course she cares. She just pretends she doesn't. I feel awful..."
"It's not like it's your fault."
Galinda, realizing it is her fault and that she judged Elphaba wrong, goes up to her roommate and asks to cut in. Then she dances like Elphaba was. Startled, Elphaba gestures that Galinda can have the floor. Galinda begins to slowly dance, slow enough with the obvious intention of teaching Elphaba. Her friend step up, giving her the look of, "don't do this." But she continues, and Elphaba eventually joins her. The students uneasily begin to dance as the music starts up, and Fiyero dances with both Galinda and Elphaba at the same time.