What is the theme of Wicked by Gregory Maguire?
Act I After the Overture, the citizens of Oz gather to celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the West (“No One Mourns the Wicked”). Glinda descends in her bubble to confirm the circumstances of the Witch’s melting by Dorothy. The scene then shifts to a flashback of the birth of the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp, daughter of the governor of Munchkinland. Elphaba suffers an unhappy childhood, facing discrimination because of her skin color and being raised only by her widowed father, the Governor of Munchkinland. At Shiz University, Elphaba first encounters Galinda, a spoilt and popular Uplander (“Dear Old Shiz”). Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz, has decided that since Elphaba’s younger sister, Nessarose, is in a wheelchair and the favorite daughter of Governor Thropp, it would be best for her to share Morrible’s accommodations. No arrangements have been made for Elphaba, and Galinda accidentally offers to share her private suite. Elphaba is angry, as she has always looked
