no one mourns the wicked (happy Wicked day!)

Music: No Good Deed from the Wicked Sountrack

"Listen up, Munchkins. Stop your singing, stop the dancing. The Wicked Witch [of the West] is no longer dead." (New York Newsday)

It's Wicked Day today.

True to my word, I am now listening to the Wicked the musical soundtrack, and I have my copy of Wicked the novel in front of me.

I want to write a lengthy review of the novel, but I'm not really in the right frame of mind right now. I want to say something totally cool and memorable about the musical, but I've never seen the whole thing, just snippets from YouTube and other reliable sites. I want to sing along with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, but my singing voice, uh, sucks (for lack of a better term). I want to do something special, something Wicked-related today, but all I can do is write this not-a-review-of-the-novel blog entry and hope that this will do.

I wonder if copying the blurb from the book will suffice (and will not earn me a lawsuit). Heh. Worth a shot.

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West--a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of and evil.

And then I guess I can share the YouTube link to one of my favorite songs from the musical, Defying Gravity (because I cannot upload the music clip directly from Taka). Yes, yes, this is the same song that Glee did a cover for. But seriously, the original is SO much better. Haters be damned.

And then I can point out how I find it cool that in the early part of the novel, when Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) was still a student in Shiz, she was still called by her given name (and nickname Elphie, by her close friends), while in the latter part, when her identity as the Wicked Witch was established, she was referred as merely "the Witch" and never by her name anymore. Of course, this is only so far as the third-person storyteller goes. The actual characters in the book still called her by her name, as far as I can remember.

And then I will recommend the novel to everyone and anyone who cared to read this not-a-review-of-the-novel post. People, read Wicked, the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. As the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram said, "Gregory Maguire's prose will get you, my pretty." (At least I didn't say 'my precious.') It will be quite a ride, a "fresh look at Oz's crankiest control freak, a tale from somewhere under the rainbow." (Fresno Bee) And yes, in layman's terms, it will be worth it.

And to close off, here's another YouTube link of another favorite song from the musical, Dancing Through Life. I'll even give you parts of the lyrics as a bonus.

Fiyero

The trouble with schools is
They always try to teach the wrong lesson
Believe me, I've been kicked out
Of enough of them to know
They want you to become less callow
Less shallow
But I say: why invite stress in?
Stop studying strife
And learn to live "the unexamined life"...

Dancing through life
Skimming the surface
Gliding where turf is smooth
Life's more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard?
When it's so soothing
Dancing through life
No need to tough it
When you can sluff it off as I do
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through...

Dancing through life
Swaying and sweeping
And always keeping cool
Life is faught less
When you're thoughtless
Those who don't try
Never look foolish
Dancing through life
Mindless and careless
Make sure you're where less
Trouble is rife
Woes are fleeting
Blows are glancing
When you're dancing
Through life...

Click here for the complete lyrics, plus the story of the song.

Happy Wicked Day to all!