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Elphaba is the name given to the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway adaptation, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the witch is unnamed and we know little about her life. Elphaba is modeled after the witch as she is shown in the 1939 classic movie The Wizard of Oz: Green-skinned, clad entirely in black, and wearing a tall peaked hat. Maguire formulated the name out of L. Frank Baum's name. L. Frank Baum became El-pha-ba. In both adaptations, Elphaba is also called by several nicknames including Elphie, Fabala, and Fae.
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Elphaba in the book
Elphaba is the daughter of Melena Thropp and the Wizard of Oz (a fact which Elphaba discovers near the end of her life). Her father's origins beyond Oz is one possible explanation of her green skin, and is the reason she is able read to the Grimmerie. Through her mother, she can lay claim to the title of Eminent Thropp of Munchkinland. Frexspar the unionist minister and missionary is her mother’s husband. Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East, and Shell are her half siblings. She has a son, Liir, who was illegitimately conceived with Fiyero, and unknowingly carried to term by Elphaba in a coma. Elphaba is portrayed as an aspiring revolutionary, perhaps inspired by her childhood days in Quadling Country, whose ecosystem and people were stricken by the government’s ruthless ruby mining and road building efforts in the area. She is shown as a passionate supporter of Animal rights: (Animals, as opposed to animals, are speaking/thinking Animals.) she speaks against Madame Morrible’s anti-Animal poetry, works with the Goat Doctor Dillamond in attempting to find the biological difference between Animals, animals, and humans, protects a Lion cub in a life sciences class, and is often shown refusing to eat meat that could possibly come from Animal sources. Her revolutionary goals, however, fade after a failed assassination attempt on Madame Morrible’s life, which leads to the death of Fiyero, her lover. The theme of forgiveness plays a large role in her life after this point, as she attempts to seek forgiveness for the death of Fiyero from his wife, Sarima. Sarima, however, refuses to listen to Elphaba’s story of his death, and she is murdered by the Wizard’s forces, leaving Elphaba unsatisfied, and plunged into madness. The theme comes full circle, and is instrumental in her death: Dorothy had come to the Kiamo Ko asking her forgiveness for killing Nessarose. Elphaba dies before being able to grant forgiveness of her own. Elphaba is green, and several theories are put forward in the book to explain the phenomenon. Melena sees the color as a punishment for her infidelity to her husband, Frexspar sees it as originally as a result of his careless words “The devil is coming” on her birth day, and later as punishment for his failure to protect his parishioners from the Clock of the Time Dragon. The Wizard’s use of the Magical Elixir during Elphaba’s conception, along with the fact that the Wizard is of another world are also possibilities. Elphaba is also seemingly allergic to water. This connects to the Elphaba’s ponderings over the existence of her soul: without water, there is no baptism. The final bucket splash is described as a baptism, after which Elphaba is clearly shown to have a soul. This bucket splash also connects to the fable of Saint Aelphaba, for whom Elphaba is named, who was said to disappear beyond a waterfall, and never return. This in turn connects Elphaba with the stories that Sarima tells her children about a wicked witch who disappears into a cave. At the end of the story it's tradition that the children ask if the witch ever comes out, to which Sarima replies "not yet". At the end of the book, that dialogue is repeated, suggesting that Elphaba will eventually rise again. In interviews, Maguire has stated that the witch may die but will always come back, no matter what.
Elphaba in the musical
For the musical Wicked, Elphaba was written to be less cynical and more sympathetic than the novel counterpart. In the book, Elphaba virtually goes mad, and tries to convince herself and others that she is truly "wicked"; however in the musical, she is merely carried away by her emotions for a period. The end result in both is an unfair and distorted transformation of her reputation into a legendary figure of evil. Liir and Sarima are not present in the musical, and a love triangle with Fiyero and Glinda exists instead of that with Sarima. The young Elphaba shows interest in sorcery from the beginning of her education, as opposed to having it thrust upon her as in the book. Elphaba is explicitly shown to survive at the end, and goes to live a life beyond Oz with Fiyero, where in the book her impending resurrection is only hinted at. Elphaba is also the creator of the Tin Woodman (through a spell to save Boq, who had had his heart removed by Nessarose), the Scarecrow (through a spell on Fiyero) and the Cowardly Lion, the lion cub she saved from the class after the Goat Doctor's removal; in the books the former is a result of an ax bewitched by Nessarose, and the latter's existence has nothing to do with Fiyero, other than her slight suspicion that he might indeed be her love coming back to find her, which just proves to be a paranoid delusion. In the musical, Elphaba's aversion to water is no more than one of several ridiculous rumors started by those who fear her. Elphaba used this to her advantage by disappearing when Dorothy threw a bucket of water at her, fooling everyone into believing she was dead, even though she just went down a trapdoor. The role of Elphaba was originally played on Broadway and in London by Idina Menzel, who won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.
Musical cast
Actresses who have played Elphaba in the musical include:
Previous
- Idina Menzel (Original Broadway, Original London)
- Shoshana Bean (Broadway, US National Tour)
- Ana Gasteyer (Original Chicago, Broadway)
- Julia Murney (US National Tour, Broadway)
- Kristy Cates (Broadway Understudy, US National Tour, Chicago)
- Saycon Sengbloh (Broadway Standby)
- Brandi Chavonne Massey (Broadway Understudy)
- Jenna Leigh Green (US National Tour Understudy)
- Maria Eberline (US National Tour Understudy)
- Shona White (London Standby)
- Victoria Matlock (US National Tour)
- Julie Reiber (Los Angeles Standby)
- Coleen Sexton (US National Tour Standby)
- Marcie Dodd (US National Tour Understudy)
- Eden Espinosa (Original Los Angeles, Former Broadway, US National Tour)
Current
- Stephanie J. Block (Current Broadway, Original US National Tour, Understudy in San Fransisco Try Outs, Original Workshops)
- Lisa Brescia (Current Broadway Standby)
- Carmen Cusack (Current US National Tour, Former Chicago Standby)
- Donna Vivino (Current US National Tour Standby)
- Dee Roscioli (Current Chicago)
- Jennifer DiNoia (Current Chicago Standby, Former Chicago Understudy)
- Dan'yelle Williamson (Current Chicago Understudy)
- Kerry Ellis (Current London, London Standby)
- Cassidy Janson (Current London Standby)
- Ashleigh Gray (Current London Understudy)
- Caissie Levy (Current Los Angeles, Former Los Angeles Standby, Broadway Understudy)
- Teal Wicks (Current Los Angeles Standby)
- Hamada Megumi (Current Tokyo)
- Higuchi Asami (Current Tokyo)
- Willemijn Verkaik (Current Stuttgart)
- Yuridia (Soon to be in Mexico)
