Are the witches in wicked gay
The Wizard of Oz (1939) never spoke to me as a child. Quite the opposite, in fact; it terrified me. Certainly, the story is unsettling: Being swept away in a tornado is no one’s idea of a good time. But it was not that, nor was it the drabness of Dorothy’s life on the farm.
It was the costumes.
I was terrified of anyone or anything in costume as a kid: mascots, the Easter Bunny, a mall Santa minding his own business. All of them were suspect to my childish eyes, and one look at the Tin Man had me begging my father to return to golf. Harrowing, to think I was so upset I wanted him to set on golf.
Wicked, though, was different. I had interpret Gregory Maguire’s book by the time I got tickets as a Christmas gift, and I was…perplexed, to say the least, as to how they planned to make a musical out of a book rather light on whimsy and rather thick on fascism and subjugation of people of diverse races. And yes, the musical greatly diminishes the political uprising that is, I would say, about 87% of the manual. Honestly though, sitting in that theater, I don’t think I could own told you what the book was about by intermission. That’s how rapid it (say it with me, and get
Ariana Grande & Kristin Chenoweth Agree ‘Wicked’s Glinda “Might Be A Little” Queer
As Wicked takes the box office by storm, Ariana Grande and Kristin Chenoweth are reminding audiences who was the original “friend of Dorothy.”
While discussing her portrayal of Glinda in the Jon M. Chu-helmed feature adaptation of the Broadway musical, Grande responded to fans who think the Nice Witch is queer-coded, as well as those who “ship” her and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo).
“Whether it’s romantic or platonic, Glinda might be a petite in the closet,” Grande told Gay Times. “You never know. Give it a little age. I mean, it is just a true love, and I think that transcends sexuality. It’s just kind of a deep guard within each other. And that’s why they probably ship it.”
Chenoweth, who originated the role in the 2003 Tony-winning stage musical, shared her successor’s view on Glinda. “I idea so too way back when….” she commented on an Instagram post featuring Grande’s quote.
Erivo also commented on the “true love” her character shares wit
Musical review throwback: queer coding in “Wicked”
“Wicked” is a sensational musical that explores the origin stories of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Excellent Witch of the South from “The Wizard of Oz.” Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, its protagonists Elphaba and Glinda navigate the highs and lows of their fierce, tumultuous relationship while trying to rescue Oz from the conniving Wizard.
Since it debuted on Broadway in 2004, “Wicked” has been hugely popular amongst the queer people. While the musical features no explicitly queer characters, Maguire is openly gay and many media analysts have noted multiple elements of the show that aid as obvious metaphors for queerness.
Firstly, Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship contains heavy homoerotic undertones. Although both women pursue romantic relationships with the charming prince Fiyero, most of the plot focuses on the connection between Elphaba and Glinda. Some critics view Elphaba and Glinda as bisexual or pansexual, while others argue that both women are coded as lesbians and their interest in Fiyero develops as a reaction to societal expectations and compulsory heterosexuality.
Rega
What is the innateness of evil?
This is the doubt that the much celebrated musical Wicked thrusts upon us – and it is no coincidence that the framework of evil is something that everyone in the LGBT community knowingly or unknowingly, has had to grapple with. Even today, there are those who tell us that by virtue of who we passion, we are damned, in other words, evil. When I came out in the 1980s, our redefinition of bad became an oft repeated slogan: the moral majority is neither.
But somehow the accusations never go away. As Gregory Maguire, readings/appearances of the novel that the compete is based on -- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West -- writes, “It isn’t firm to find corrupt in this world,” said the Witch. “Evil is always more easily imagined than good, somehow.”
Wicked, the musical, has been around for a while -- and has reached the mega-hit pinnacle of becoming a cliché. As I tell my students, a cliché is a word or phrase that is so overused that it is in need of further definition. And my definition of