History Main / Wicked

* The Literature/WickedSeries, a series of YoungAdult novels by Nancy Holder.
* [[PaulJennings Wicked!]] a series of [[NightmareFuel Nightmare Fuel]] young adult books by Paul Jennings and Morris Gleitzman.

* ''[[Film/{{Wicked 1998}} Wicked (1998)]]'', a 1998 film starring Julia Stiles.
* ''[[Film/{{Wicked 1931}} Wicked (1931)]]'', a 1931 film starring Victor [=McLaglen=].

* The Literature/WickedSeries, a series of YoungAdult novels by Nancy Holder.

* The Literature/WickedSeries, a series of YoungAdultFiction novels by Nancy Holder.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wicked_7207.jpg]]
->'''Rick:''' What are you reading?
->'''Kirsten:''' It's a queer-revisionist telling of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
->'''Rick:''' There already was a queer revision of ''The Wizard of Oz.'' It was called ''Wicked'', and it was even gayer than the original!
->--''[[RickAndSteve Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World]]''

!!For the musical adaptation go [[{{Theatre/Wicked}} here]].

A novel by Gregory Maguire [[TheMusical and later a musical]], Wicked is the story of Elphaba, who will one day become the Wicked Witch of the West. Yes, ''[[TheWizardOfOz that ]]''[[TheWizardOfOz Wicked Witch]].

Elphaba was born with green skin after her mother [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean had an encounter]] with a travelling businessman. Her mother gives birth to an armless child, Nessarose, and then later [[DeathByChildbirth dies giving birth]] to Elphaba's third sibling, her brother, Shell.

When Elphaba is older, she goes to school at Shiz, and is roomed with the pretty, popular Galinda. At first Galinda is ''not'' happy about this.

Things change, however, when Professor Dillamond, their TalkingAnimal teacher, is found dead, soon after Animal hate speech started being promoted by faculty members. Galinda changes her name to Glinda in honor of him. And the two become close compatriots. Elphaba rescues a Lion cub brought in by his replacement, and gains a passion for fighting for Animal rights. Elphaba goes to the Emerald City to speak to the wizard of this, and her life changes forever. Events push the two friends along their paths towards becoming the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Not to be confused with the Australian NightmareFuel kid's books of the same name.

The book has been expanded into a series entitled ''The Wicked Years'', now with two sequels, revolving around Elphaba's possible son Liir and the Cowardly Lion, respectively.

It now has a Characters/{{Wicked}} character sheet listed under "Literature" but feel free to make entries for either the book or the musical.

----
!!The Book contains examples of the following tropes:

* AdaptationDyeJob: Glinda is made into a blonde, while she had dark hair in the books and red hair in the 1939 film.
* AlternateUniverse: The book is set in an alternate universe of both the WizardOfOz movie and books series, which in themselves are alternate universes of each other. The musical for Wicked is also an alternate universe of the Wicked books.
* AnIcePerson: Elphaba subconsciously freezes a river in order to rescue Chistery.
* ArrangedMarriage: Fiyero was married this way before entering Shiz. Not that this mattered too much.
* BeeBeeGun: Elphaba keeps bees, and like in the original story she ends up sending them after Dorothy.
* BiTheWay: Liir, Elphaba's father, and Turtleheart are the most obvious, but you can say that pretty much everyone is open for interpretation.
* BreatherEpisode: The third book staunchly refuses to move the plot at all, and presumably pretty much covers all the loose plot holes that aren't important to the ending of the next book.
* ChurchMilitant: Nessarose, in the book; in the musical she's just an ObstructiveBureaucrat.
* ClingyMacGuffin: As much as Dorothy might like to hand Nessarose's ruby slippers over to Elphaba, they won't come off, thinking that Galinda might have put a spell on them so they'd stay stuck to her feet.
* ConvenientComa: It is implied that Elphaba carried Liir to term through this.
* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: [[spoiler: Dillamond's death.]]
* CrapsackWorld: This book basically takes every political interpretation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and makes them canon, with a spin and adds [[ItGotWorse one hundred pounds of misery on everyone that means anything]].
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding]]
* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Gender-flipped with [[spoiler: Liir, who was raped by Candle while comatose.]]
* EveryoneIsBi: In the book Oz seems to be a pretty sexually liberated world, and it's usually safe to assume a character is bisexual until proven otherwise.
* EvilutionaryBiologist: Elphaba, sort of. Teaching monkeys to speak was probably good for them, but sewing on wings ForScience? That's rather morally gray.
* FailPolish: In the book, Elphaba's described as having stringy hair, a long nose, a mannishly strong jaw, and if it weren't for her being green, she wouldn't be much to look at. But in the musical, along with most book illustrations, and fan art, she's a generically cute girl who's only flaw is being green. Though to be fair, Elphaba is also compared to her mother a few times, as far as appearance.
* FanFic: ''Wicked'' appears to be more of a fan fiction of ''TheWizardOfOz'' books and movies as a whole.
* FantasticRacism: Both against Elphaba and the sapient Animals.
* FantasyCounterPartCulture: The Vinkus to Africa.
* ForegoneConclusion: Elphaba will become the Wicked Witch, her sister will be squashed by a farmhouse, the Wizard will leave...
* {{Foreshadowing}}: One particular example [[spoiler:said by Trism to Liir]] in the second book: [[spoiler: "Are you just slow, or are you falling in love with me?"]]
* FurryConfusion: Only the Animals (note the capital "A") are fully sapient, while the regular animals are just...well, animals. Further confused when Elphaba starts experimenting on animals to see if she can teach them to become Animals. Her monkeys seem to become nothing more than talking parrots, but the second book shows that Chistory became genuinely intelligent.
* HeelRealization: The death of [[spoiler: Doctor Dillamond]] in the book was a wake up call for Galinda to re-evaluate what's important in life and stop being obsessed with popularity and being such a dumb blond.
* LesYay[=/=]HoYay: Fairly prevalent in the book, particularly on Galinda's side. Note the part where she catches her breath as she realises how beautiful Elphaba is, and that their relationship seems to have been the most meaningful one in Galinda's life. Arguable interpretation. Although she does dwell on how nervous Elphie makes her feel, and remembers sharing a bed with her. It should be noted that the only thing Glinda could remember about the Emerald City trip was that they shared a bed.
** Plus they have that incredibly emotional goodbye at the train station where they actually DO kiss- twice. And that part in the epilogue where Glinda literally feels Elphaba's death (despite not knowing exactly why she is suddenly so upset).
* LanguageOfMagic: The Grimmerie is full of this.
** Elphaba can somehow [[PossessionImpliesMastery read it without trying]], but others find it trickier.
** She does have to look hard to understand, as the words seem to move about the pages. Still does not make sense why [[spoiler: being half-earthling]] would have anything to do with your ability to read a foreign language though.
* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Elphaba and the Wizard.]][[spoiler: Liir to Elphaba, but much less of a surprise, since it's a main theme of the second book.]]
* MeaningfulName: Elphaba's name is a tribute to '''L'''. '''F'''rank '''B'''aum.
* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: As Elphaba dies after being splashed by Dorothy, she sees visions of all the major people from her life.
* PatchworkFic: For copyright reasons, ''Wicked'' is supposed to be based on the original Oz books, but both the book and musical draw heavily from the MGM ''Wizard of Oz'' film.
* PerspectiveFlip
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Elphaba starts out sympathetic, but turns ''batshit insane.''
* RapeIsLove: subverted, Liir is very distraught over losing his virginity while in a coma to a maunt who is now pregnant. But he stays with her out of obligation, although neither seem to really care much for each other.
* RapeIsOkayWhenItsFemaleOnMale: Again, mostly certainly subverted.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: The book ending. Every single sympathetic character is dead or no longer sympathetic, and the Wizard leaves for reasons mostly unrelated to their struggle. Elphaba fails at every single major initiative she attempts during her lifetime.]]
* ShoutOut from ''A Lion Among Men'':
---> '''Yackle''': [[IWasQuiteALooker I was quite a looker in my time]].
---> '''Brrr''': [[DeadpanSnarker Oh, had they invented time as long ago as that?]]
---> '''Yackle''': A comedian. [[IGotBetter I come back from the very gates of death]] to be interviewed by a vaudeville wannabe. ''[[spoiler:Bert Lahr got his start in vaudeville.]]''
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The much more cynical version.
* StartOfDarkness: For the Wicked Witch of the West
* TooMuchInformation: Dorothy explains to Elphaba that she's been trying to remove Nessarose's slippers for days. Fair enough. But did she ''really'' have to mention how sweaty her socks had gotten from wearing the slippers for so long?
* TwiceToldTale
* UnableToCry: One of the reasons why she grew up to be such a distant, cold, and antisocial was because of water burning her skin, causing her to be unable to cry without her tears painfully burning her face like acid.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:The Wizard.]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The book is much saucier than the musical. In Gregory Maguire's world, [[EveryoneIsBi everybody is bisexual]] until proven otherwise.
** To say nothing of the violence, occultism, and Elphaba being a domestic terrorist.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: That scene in the philosophy club seems like it's some kind of metaphor... a metaphor for what we'll probably never find out.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Elphaba
* WhamLine: At the end of ''Son of a Witch'': [[spoiler: "He took her to the doorway and held her up in the warm rain. She cleaned up green."]]
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Underlined in heavy red crayon in the novel. It's hard out here for an IntellectualAnimal.
* WhoIsThisGuyAgain: It's pretty easy for a lot of people to forget about Elphaba's brother Shell. He wasn't mentioned much in the first book, and was cut completely from the musical, causing his sudden appearance in the second book quite a "oh yeahhhhh...." moment for some.
* WordOfGay: Maguire has stated that "something" was going on between Elphaba and Glinda, but he [[ShrugOfGod doesn't specify what]].
* YaoiGuys: Crope and Tibbet in the first book. In the second book [[spoiler: Liir and Trism.]]

[[caption-width-right:300:''So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.'']]

->'''Kirsten:''' It's a queer-revisionist telling of ''The Wizard of Oz''

!!For the musical adaptation go [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/Wicked here]].

* FanFic: ''Wicked'' appears to be more of a fan fiction of ''TheWizardOfOz'' movie rather than the book, with passing nods to Baum's sequels.
** The book ''The Grimmerie'', about the making of the musical, explains that Maguire was specifically troubled by two plot elements: that the Wicked Witch should be killed [[AlwaysChaoticEvil just because she's wicked]], and that Glinda didn't tell Dorothy about the shoes as soon as they met. Both of these elements are movie-only; the book clearly states that the Wicked Witch [[MadeASlave enslaves people]] (but then again, so does the movie), and in the book the witch who meets Dorothy at the start is not Glinda but the Good Witch of the North (unnamed, later identified by LFrankBaum as Locasta) who doesn't know anything about the shoes and sends Dorothy to the City of Emeralds partly so she can ask the Wizard about them.
** The inability of Dorothy to remove the slippers was also a movie-only plot element.
** It's more thorny than that. Maguire's novel is actually a ContinuityNod to the original Oz novels (the curse of Nick Chopper, the appearance of Boq, Glinda being the Good Witch of the ''South'') in all but one vital respect: Elphaba being green, which was lifted from the 1939 film (in the original Oz novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", the Witch is described as being old, wrinkled and having one eye). The musical chooses to set itself firmly in the continuity of the film (under the fair assumption that the audience will be way more familiar with it than the novel) and fits the plot elements from Maguire's novel around that concept.
** Here's the quote from ''The Grimmerie'':
--->"... the future novelist dwelled on the tale's moral implications. Why did the Wizard command Dorothy to kill the Wicked Witch? Merely because she was Wicked, with a capital W? Why did Glinda the Good Witch wait until Dorothy had nearly been killed to tell her that the shoes would take her home to Kansas?"
::::Seems pretty clear that Maguire based the book on two movie-only plot holes.
*** That's where he first got the idea from, but there's a huge amount of detail from the world that is from the Oz books and not in the movie: the four lands of Oz as the most obvious example, Ozma and her line, Lurline, etc., etc.
*** Plus Elphaba's compassion for and determination to help the animals clearly came from Margaret Hamilton's dedication to said cause.
*** The series in general can be seen as an homage to ''The Wizard of Oz ''in general'', mostly the books, and some of the movie.
*** Or conversely, a homage to the movie using details from the books as worldbuilding.

* FailPolish: In the book, Elphaba's described as having stringy hair, a long nose, a mannishly strong jaw, and if it weren't for her being green, she wouldn't be much to look at. But in the musical, along with most book illustrations, and fan art, she's a generically cute girl who's only flaw is being green.
** YMMV. The book does have her described as being more attractive after her college years, at least until she goes into hiding. Fan art has a tendency to give her sharp features to match her snarky personality. See [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=elphaba&order=9&offset=48#/d2zo5te here]] [[http://www.fanpop.com/spots/wicked/images/390097/title/elphaba-fanart and here.]]
*** Likewise, she's described as essentially being her mom with green skin. Her mom is described as beautiful, and she really [[ReallyGetsAround got around]].

** The book ''The Grimmerie'', about the making of the musical, explains that Maguire was specifically troubled by two plot elements: that the Wicked Witch should be killed [[AlwaysChaoticEvil just because she's wicked]], and that Glinda didn't tell Dorothy about the shoes as soon as they met. Both of these elements are movie-only; the book clearly states that the Wicked Witch [[MadeASlave enslaves people]] (but then again, so does the movie), and in the book the witch who meets Dorothy at the start [[AdaptationDecay is not Glinda]] but the Good Witch of the North (unnamed, later identified by LFrankBaum as Locasta) who doesn't know anything about the shoes and sends Dorothy to the City of Emeralds partly so she can ask the Wizard about them.

* FanDumb: Some people actually consider ''Wicked'' canon with the original Oz books/movie.
** Considering The original Oz series had multiple authors after Baum's death, and Baum himself never one to keep up with his own continuity, it's not that much of a stretch actually.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: A serious risk with reading this book.

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:The Wizard. And ''how''!]]

* CanonDefilement[=/=]BetterThanCanon: Nearly everyone is OutOfCharacter, and the timeline is tied in knots-- but those who never cared for the original books consider this in a improvement. In the end, YourMileageMayVary.
** [[ShapedLikeItself The books should be considered as much as an AlternateUniverse to the movie as the books are to the movie.]] Likewise with the musical to the Wicked book.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: To this day, Gregory Maguire's message board is filled with people trying to understand just what the hell was up with the philosophy club scene.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Prepare to have your conceptions of every character turned on its head.

For the musical adaptation go [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/Wicked here]].

** Crope and Tibbett are more or less the epitome of HoYay

* FurryConfusion: Only the Animals (note the capital "A") are fully sapient, while the regular animals are just...well, animals.

* The scene discussing everyone's reaction to [[spoiler: Elphaba post-melt down]] doesn't give much detail, only that it was horrifying, vomit inducing, and that they aren't going back into that room to clean it up any time soon.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thewicked_2232.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed!]]

''So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.''

When Elphaba is older, she goes to school at Shiz, and is roomed with the pretty, popular Galinda. At first the two girls hate each other.

In the musical, the shallow Prince Fiyero storms in and arranges a party. Galinda sets Nessa up with her StalkerWithACrush, [[ViolentGlaswegian Boq]], and gives Elphaba her signature hat. When Elphaba gets ridiculed, Galinda takes pity on her and gives her a makeover. The two girls then become friends.

Things change, however, when Professor Dillamond, their TalkingAnimal teacher, is dismissed. Galinda changes her name to Glinda. Elphaba and Fiyero rescue a Lion cub brought in by his replacement, and a LoveTriangle is formed. Then Elphaba is invited to the Emerald City, and her life changes forever. Events push the two friends along their paths towards becoming the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West.

!!The Book:

!!The Musical:
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wicked_9971.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I have been [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming changed...for good]]."]]
* ActorShipping: Thanks to the high amount of LesYay in the script, supplemented by their professed adoration of each other in interviews, many fans have shipped original Elphie and Glinda actress Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Ironically, these rumours probably are matched only by the rumours that the two hated each other.
** The latter are Jossed and largely never heard of anymore. Both have confirmed they are friends..[[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship Very nice friends]].
* AdaptationDecay: Hardcore fans of the books do ''not'' like the LighterAndSofter adaptation.
** Nessarose's handicap. In the musical, she's your standard wheelchair-bound cripple, whereas in the book she had no arms. Probably [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that the latter would be difficult to portray convincingly onstage - and it makes the shoes' ability to help Nessa walk [[RuleOfCool much more dramatic.]]
** To say nothing of Fiyero's RaceLift and derailment into a shallow party animal, [[spoiler: becoming the scarecrow, Boq becoming the tin man, and Liir not existing.]] None of which were even remotely close to the book.
*** Fiyero's RaceLift is entirely predicated on what particular actor happens to be playing him when you look it up, and it's not like it actually changes the story any, since in the musical he's little more than a plot device.
*** Since there are no Vinkus,[[OrIsIt to my knowledge,]]you'd technically need a RaceLift.
* AdaptationDistillation: Many people who didn't care for the book consider the musical this; as it takes the best of the book and removes all the DarkerAndEdgier stuff.
* AdaptationDisplacement: Part of why fans of the book are so nervous about a movie version of the musical being made is that it will further cement into peoples minds that ''this'' is the official Wicked story, and people will continue to forget about and ignore the books.
* AffablyEvil: The Wizard. He never once directly says a single harsh word to either Elphaba or Glinda. Some performances of "Wonderful" even have he and Elphaba share a dance before it all goes to hell.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Once you take in the WordOfGod that Glinda was in love with Elphaba, it puts quite a few scenes in a new light. Likewise with the books, but more so with the musical where everything is not nearly as explicit (yet probably more so in a way) and is more covered up.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: The opening song of the musical, "No One Mourns the Wicked," where the citizens of Oz rejoice that the Wicked Witch of the West is finally dead. Of course the entire story that follows it is about how this is an entirely inappropriate response.
* AndIMustScream: Dillamond's fear regarding the Animals in Oz, and [[spoiler:his ultimate fate]].
* AngryMobSong: "March of the Witch Hunters"
* ArcWords: Replete with them. "I'm/We're/You're unlimited" stands out. "You deserve each other" is also used quite frequently. Also, "a celebration throughout Oz / That's all to do with (me / you)".
* BeautifulAllAlong: Elphaba, at least in the musical. In the book Elphaba's nanny tells her she looks exactly like her mother, except in green, and her mother just never went to bed [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean alone]] before her marriage. Or after.
* {{Bookends}}: The celebration of the Death of the Wicked Witch of the West opens and closes the show, from new angles and with slightly different moods each time.
* BSODSong: ''No Good Deed Goes Unpunished''.
* CanonDefilement[=/=]BetterThanCanon: Just like ''Wicked'' the book is to the original movie and Oz novels, so is this in turn to that book. Some [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks don't like it]] while others [[PragmaticAdaptation prefer the changes]].
* ClingyJealousGirl : Galinda is a toned down version. She did decide to get married to Fiyero on the day she met him and refused to give up on their broken relationship with a 'surprise' engagement. Nessa is a much more alarming version ...
* ContinuityNod: Not within the show itself, but several to ''TheWizardOfOz''.
-->'''Nessa:''' What's in the punch?
-->'''Boq:''' Lemons and melons and pears-
-->'''Nessa:''' Oh my!
** Another notable: Elphaba pays Nessa a visit.
-->'''Nessa:''' What are you doing here?
-->'''Elphaba:''' Well ... there's no place like home.
** StephenSchwartz has [[WordOfGod stated]] that the whole joy of the show is these nods that allow us to see how the Oz we know and love came to be. Hence in Act 1, Elphaba gradually acquires her famous witch's outfit; and in Act 2, [[spoiler:we learn the origin of the cyclone, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion.]]
* CutSong: [[http://www.theatre-musical.com/wicked/cutlyrics.html "MakingGood"]] was replaced in the final cut by "The Wizard and I" - a recording of it is included on the 5 year anniversary album. The original song in place of "Dancing Through Life" was called "Which Way's The Party" (lyrics also at the same link); that one has not been released in any official form.
* DarkMagicalGirl: Elphaba. Galinda is her MagicalGirl counterpart.
** Not quite. It's stated that Galinda/Glinda has pretty much no talent or affinity for magic whatsoever and is merely, for the most part, a public figure.
* DarkReprise: ''No One Mourns the Wicked'' and the finale.
** "I'm Not That Girl" and "A Sentimental Man" with their respective reprises would also qualify.
* DeadpanSnarker: Elphaba, especially as the story progresses.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Something has changed within me, something is not the same."
* DisneyDeath:[[spoiler: Both Elphaba and Fiyero.]] But only in the musical. In the book, [[spoiler:they both die for real.]] Some people wonder if Mcguire isn't planning on a reveal along these lines at some point, considering the curious hinting the books ending does. [[spoiler:Fairly jossed, considering in the most recent book, A Lion Among Men, when they actually find the Grimmerie and see Elphaba's symbol in it, they say she's not coming back and her time is long done.]]
** Incorrect. Elphaba's sigil shines off the page, and it does say [[spoiler: "it was not Elphaba; she was not here; her time was over and done." However, Yackle's almost immediate next words are "She's coming back--" though it is unclear whether she means Elphaba or, say, Ozma.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Probably an unintentional case, but the start of "What Is This Feeling?" sounds like its describing lust rather then loathing. With their confirmed [[WordOfGay status]] in the future, [[SchoolgirlLesbians maybe]]..
** Confirmed. In the behind-the-scenes book, the writers talk about how they picked out common phrases from romance songs to play with.
* DramaticIrony: "I'd be so happy I could melt" and a few other lines from "The Wizard and I."
** Even more poignant, from the same song: "Someday there'll be a celebration throughout Oz that's all to do...with me!" There is, but it's celebrating her death.
** "When people see me, they will scream ..."
** There's also "Life is painless, for the brainless" a line sung by Fiyero-[[spoiler: who goes on to become the Scarecrow.]]- in his introductory song "Dancing Through Life".
** Subverted by Fiyero's incredulous, [[spoiler:"Did you hear that? Water will melt her? People are so emptyheaded they'll believe anything."]] The audience thinks this is DramaticIrony and that he's wrong, but at the end it turns out [[spoiler:it really is just nonsense.]]
* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A House On Her]]: Nessarose.
* EarWorm:
** ''Popular! I'm all about pop-u-lar...''
** ''[[FoeYay Loathing, unadulterated loathing]]''
* EmergencyTransformation: Turns [[spoiler:Boq into the Tin Man.]]
** And [[spoiler:turns Fiyero into The Scarecrow.]]
* FakeWeakness: Elphaba propagates the idea that [[spoiler:she's vulnerable to water in order to fake her death]].
* FashionableAsymmetry: The guiding principle for the costumes of the ensemble in the musical production, which eventually won a Tony Award in this department.
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* [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green Skinned Oz]] BeautifulAllAlong: Elphaba
* HairFlip: "And this is how you toss your hair" * Toss* * Toss*
* HamToHamCombat: Glinda vs. Elphaba in Munchkinland
* HeelRealization: Galinda gives Elphaba the trademark black hat and invites her to the Ozdust Ballroom with the gang because she thought she couldn't "think of anyone I hate that much" to foist it on them (to which some girls respond "Yes, you do!") But when Elphaba arrives and gets ridiculed as expected, Galinda realizes how awful she's been and stops the laughing by going up and dancing with her. They evolve into friends after that.
* HeroicBSOD: "All right, so be it then!" Elphaba loses it after [[spoiler:Fiyero dies]]. In the musical, we have the ''No Good Deed Goes Unpunished'' song; in the book, she turns mute and enters a nunnery for some years.
* HollywoodNerd: Even green skin paint can't make Idina Menzel look bad. Or most of the other Elphabas. Of course, that's actually the point - people within the story ignore her beauty and focus on the green.
** And of course, to some fans, the green skin paint actually makes her [[RuleThirtyFour more]] [[FetishFuel attractive]].
* IAmBecomingSong: [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Defying Gravity]]
* IfICantHaveYou: Nessarose decides that if Boq won't give her his heart, he might as well not have a heart to give, and (improperly) reads a spell from the Grimmerie to do just that.
** In order to save his life, Elphaba turns him into something that doesn't need a heart -- [[spoiler:a Tin Man]].
* InNameOnly: The extent of the changes to the musical are such that it is this to the book.
** Though it should be said that while the purists of the book are infuriated, Gregory Maguire himself still likes it, and in fact stated that as long as the ''themes'' of the book were kept intact, the plot could change in any way necessary. After all, the book itself made [[{{Understatement}} some changes]] to Baum's Oz...
* IronicEcho: "I hope you prove me wrong! I doubt you will!"
** Also, "Everyone deserves a chance to fly!"
*** "You deserve each other!" used maaany times. Used by Galinda in Dancing Through Life as she [[spoiler:gives Elphaba her iconic hat, but also when she finds out Elphie's in love with Fiyero, and vice versa.]] Also used by [[spoiler:Nessa, in a song cut from the Cast Recording. "Alone and loveless here, with just the girl in the mirror. Just her and me, the Wicked Witch of the East...and we deserve each other."]]
*** Nessa also uses this in Dancing through Life when she tells her about her feelings for Boq: Elphaba see?/We deserve each other.
* JerkassWoobie: Nessarose [[spoiler: until Elphaba finally casts a spell allowing her to walk again, when she becomes an outright UngratefulBastard]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Fiyero tries to remain aloof and entirely self centered and succeeds for a little while, but ultimately when the chips are down he fails.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Elphaba's personal VillainSong, literally called ''[[{{NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished}} No Good Deed]]'' plays this very straight [[spoiler: before it's revealed to be a subversion later.]]
-->Let all Oz be agreed
-->I'm [[{{TitleDrop}} wicked through and through]]
-->Since I can not succeed
-->[[{{StuffedIntoTheFridge}} Fiyero, saving you]]
-->I promise no good deed
-->Will I attempt to do again
-->Ever again
-->No good deed
-->Will I do again!
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The moment the Wizard feels remorse [[spoiler:for helping to (allegedly) kill his daughter Elphaba]], Glinda [[spoiler:uses this to push him out of office and overtake OZ]]
* LesYay: Galinda and Elphaba, who sing a song entitled "What Is This Feeling?" about the passion they immediately feel upon first meeting each other.
** Subverted in that the passionate feeling turns out to be "unadulterated loathing" (Or [[FoeYay not so subverted.]]) It appears as though many of the actresses playing G(a)linda and Elphaba (especially G(a)linda) intentionally play up the gay. Constant hand-holding, longing glances, excessively touchy-feely, etc, etc.
** The original cast for Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero have stated ''WordOfGay'' quotes on multiple different occasions.
* TheLibby: Young Galinda, prior to befriending Elphaba. Once they bond, she becomes more of a SpoiledSweet.
* LighterAndSofter: {{Justified}} because you could never get away with putting many of the book's events in a Broadway musical, yet these events are also important enough to the plot that omitting them would cause AdaptationInducedPlothole. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids This has the unfortunate consequence of making adults think the book is for kids, too.]]
* TheMusicalMusical: When Glinda and Elphaba visit the Emerald City in "One Short Day", they go to watch (and somewhat participate in) Wizomania.
* LovableLibby: Galinda/Glinda, after a dose of character development
* LoveDodecahedron: Minor example. But still, arrange the diagram just right, and it comes out looking like a '''[[color:#005500:W]]'''.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Both Elphaba (sort of) and Nessarose.
* LukeIAmYourFather Somewhat inverted, [[spoiler:at least in the musical, the Wizard is the one surprised by the news; Elphaba never finds out.]]
* MagicAIsMagicA: You can't undo one of the Grimmerie's spells once it's cast, you'll have to use a different spell that MIGHT get what you're after.
* MagicalGesture: Madame Morrible's weather magic appears to operate via these
* MagicalIncantation: the spells of the Grimmerie.
* A MagicMisfire occurs when Nessa tries to cast a love spell or something from it, on the object of her affections... But unfortunately, she absolutely mangles the pronunciation. It certainly changed his heart alright, and almost killed him!
* TheMakeover: Glinda tries to give Elphaba one in "Popular", with mixed results.
* MoodWhiplash: The beginning of Act II. The people are singing about the terror spread by the Wicked Witch... and then Glinda distracts them with news of her (very public) engagement. It's a stellar propaganda job.
* MythologyGag: The ''absolutely idiotic'' idea that a person would melt if splashed with water. They use the joke a few times. [[ChekhovsGun Good thing, too.]]
* NightmareFuel: The Wizard's contraption thing could count. That giant robotic face with the moving mouth, his booming voice...*shudder*
** The Time Dragon Clock set-piece coming to life, for some. Also, some of the latter half of "No Good Deed" is decidedly unnerving in the hands of a talented enough actress (and singer).
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: This is an ongoing feature of Elphaba's life story. So much so that the VillainSong accompanying her HeroicBSOD is literally called "No Good Deed."
* NoSenseOfDirection: By her own admission, [[ShoutOut Glinda.]]
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: The Wicked Witch of the West was pretty damn misunderstood.
* PairTheSpares: Galinda attempts to do this, with disastrous results.
* PoliticallyMotivatedTeacher: Professor Dillamond is extremely passionate about his beliefs about [[FantasticRacism the prejudice against]] [[TalkingAnimal talking animals]] [[FantasticRacism in the school system]] and his fears about what is happening to them[[spoiler:, fears which turn out to be correct]].
* PromotedToLoveInterest: Fiyero for Glinda, Boq for Nessarose. Jarring considering in the books none of these characters seemed to even speak to each other that often if at all.
* PragmaticAdaptation: Some fans are of the opinion that a direct translation of the book to the stage wouldn't have done nearly as well as the LighterAndSofter version.
* ProphecyTwist: [[ForegoneConclusion In-story, anyway.]] Elphaba sees that everyone in Oz will have a celebration "that's all to do...with me!" Of course, everyone celebrates that the Wicked Witch is ''gone''.
** From the same song, "I'll be so happy, I could melt!" and "When people see me, they will scream [for the Wizard and I]".
** Fiyero's "Maybe I'm brainless" in As Long As You're Mine as well.
** "Life's more painless/For the brainless."
* ReplacementScrappy: For a small but very vocal portion of the fanbase, Idina Menzel is [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the only Elphaba.]] The rest of us understand the need for [[TheOtherDarrin replacements,]] due to the fact that the show's been running for 7 years and counting as of this entry, and Idina's career is expanding.
** Made especially ironic when a Carrie Underwood clip show was put on YouTube...set to Idina Menzel's studio recording of "Defying Gravity." The comments page exploded with Idina fans' rage [[CompletelyMissingThePoint that a pop singer was covering the song.]] As with all musicals, everyone will have their favorite portrayal of a given character. Some of Idina Menzel's successors in the role have their [[FanDumb rabid, overly-defensive fans]] as well.
* RichBitch: Nessarose. Galinda, prior to CharacterDevelopment.
* SanitySlippageSong: "No Good Deed". Once Elphaba loses Fiyero, things start to snap...
* ShallowLoveInterest: Fiyero (May be a guy, but still seems to fit it)
** Not quite. In a conversation, Fiyero claims to be "genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow", but Elphaba calls him out on it, saying "No, you're not." He plays up his immaturity and shallowness, building up a facade to hide behind.
* ShlubbAndKlumpEnglish: G(a)linda and Madame Morrible (and, to a lesser extent, most Ozians).
-->Congratulotions!
* [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen She Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Dorothy, who is only present offstage twice and in silhouette once. Also the Cowardly Lion [[spoiler:(as an adult)]], the only part of whom we see is his tail.
** [[WordOfGod According to the companion book The Grimerrie]], Dorothy and the Lion were originally both in the opening, but were written out when the writers decided that having the two most memorable characters would conflict with the idea of the show.
* ShoutOut: The stage is framed by a massive clockwork set, topped by a [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] [[NightmareFuel animatronic dragon head]] that occasionally comes to life and writhes back and forth during important/dramatic moments. The popular theory is that this represents the Time Dragon Clock from the book.
** Something of an oversight on the production team's part - the massive dragon was designed, paid for and built before anyone realised that the darn thing wasn't actually referenced in the script.
* SinglePaletteTown: The Emerald City, carried over from ''TheWizardOfOz.'' "It's all grand / And it's all green!" Stealth subversion? In the original ''TheWizardOfOz'' book, it's revealed that the Emerald City is actually built of all white stone and people wear green shades so it all looks green. Guess what the Emerald City residents are wearing on stage.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Not nearly as cynical as the book.
* SpoiledSweet: What Glinda turns out to be.
* StartOfDarkness: For the Wicked Witch of the West
* SteamPunk: The set design, with its rusty gears and cast-iron trusses.
* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Nessarose, Dr. Dillamond (left alive but mutated), and Fiyero [[spoiler: or so we think.]]
* TearJerker: "For Good". "No Good Deed" certainly counts, too. "I'm Not That Girl" is definitely a sad moment.
** Pretty much ''everything'' in the finale qualifies: "For Good", [[spoiler:the melting scene]], Chistery's first line, [[spoiler:the Wizard finding out he was Elphaba's father]], and the ending.
* TheMovie: One is being made, or at least planned to be, but there is no news on it yet.
** It seems that they're finally getting started with it, at least planning actors.
* TitleDrop: Far, far too often.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Elphaba and Glinda
* TorchesAndPitchforks: During "March of the Witch Hunters", of course.
* TransformationTrauma: [[spoiler:Boq (in the musical) becoming the Tin Man.]] The way it's played once he realizes what he's been turned into is not too far from how Elizabeth reacts to awakening as a monster in the 1994 version of Frankenstein, minus the suicide.
* VillainSong: "Dancing Through Life" for Fiyero, "Wonderful" for [[spoiler:The Wizard]], and "No Good Deed" for Elphaba. Also, not on the soundtrack [[spoiler:"Wicked Witch of the East" for Nessarose]]. As detailed on the trope page, none of them are straight examples.
* {{Wangst}}: "No Good Deed" (though YourMileageMayVary)
* WeCanRuleTogether: The point of "Wonderful". Bonus points for quoting the IWantSong.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Unlike his CompleteMonster book counterpart, the Wizard means well here, but is something of a bumbling oaf (albeit very accustomed to show business), easily manipulated by Madame Morrible.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Elphaba. You wanted to give her a big hug by the end of the play. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: the whole musical is a flashback, from Glinda's POV, to her and Elphaba's relationship.
* WickedWitch: Of course.
** While Elphaba has all the trappings of a mix between this and HotWitch, the best literal example of the trope is Madame Morrible.
* [[WordOfGod Word of Goddesses]]: Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel have said that they believe if things had gone differently, Galinda and Elphaba [[LesYay would've eventually fallen in love]].
** The same was said by some other cast members and Maguire.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Not quite zero, but Nessarose isn't a very popular ruler, mostly because of [[ClingyJealousGirl her obsession]].
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<<|TheatricalProductions|>>

* HeelRealization: The death of Doctor Dillamond was a wake up call for Galinda to re-evaluate what's important in life and stop being obsessed with popularity and being such a dumb blond.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: The [[TropeNamer Trope Namer]]. There is a song in act two with this title centered around Elpheba's [[HeroicBSOD Heroic BSOD]]

* AdaptationDecay: Hardcore fans of the books do ''not'' like the LighterAndSofter adaptation.

* AdaptationDecay: Nessarose's handicap. In the musical, she's your standard wheelchair-bound cripple, whereas in the book she had no arms. Probably [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that the latter would be difficult to portray convincingly onstage - and it makes the shoes' ability to help Nessa walk [[RuleOfCool much more dramatic.]]