Reflective Essay On The Play 'Wicked'

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When I first heard about Wicked, I was 14 years old and clueless about the world of musical theatre. It wasn't until the next year when I saw this show live that I had completely been changed for good. As I saw the show just mere months after deciding that I wanted to pursue performance after my O levels, Wicked truly did a number on me. I remember sitting there at the end of act 1 where Elphaba is up in the air belting about how no one is going to stand in her way of chasing her dreams just awestruck during the intermission. I even took my phone out and made a note about how there was truly a difference watching Defying Gravity on a screen and live. Back then of course, as a new 15 year old who had yet to go through major life decisions, Elphaba was everything I wanted to be. She was unafraid of chasing her dreams and unapologetic in who she was. But a couple of months into being 16, I realised just how much of Glinda I actually am. Glinda is someone who has so much more lying beneath the surface. Under all the pink frills and …show more content…

And this is what makes Glinda a more relatable character than what is seen on the surface. Her internal journey is revealed over the course of this song. This responsibility of having to pretend that she is against the “Wicked Witch” when she clearly knows the truth scares her more than actual wickedness because she knows she has to face her true self and not the persona she puts out there for people to see. Throughout the song Glinda is constantly trying to convince herself that she is happy and content with the way things have played out but it is only when she is left all alone that we truly see how making the choice of not leaving with Elphaba, the choice of doing what is expected of her and not what she truly wants, has completely destroyed