3-peats: Score Edition: Wicked

Recently, we started a series of Broadway 3-peats, celebrating artists who we think had three great successes in a row. We will be continuing that series, but today we are starting a similar series aimed at all of you Broadway score lovers (just like us). We will highlight 3 songs in a row - no skipping - in a score that we love. I thought I'd start with the show that is big in today's media, Wicked!

Broadway 3-peats

Score Edition: Wicked

There are plenty of songs in Stephen Schwartz's iconic score - "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" come readily to mind. But these three songs in a row are favorites of mine. A production number, a fun character number, and an introspective song together not only entertain, but propel the action, reveal character and establish significant relationships.

 

1. "Dancing Through Life" - Fiyero, Galinda, Boq, Nessarose, Elphaba and Shiz Students

There's a lot to unpack here, and all of it good. The orchestrations are dramatic and rich, the tune a real toe-tapper. I particularly like the word play that reveals character - Fiyero constantly referring to not thinking and being brainless (the foreshadowing!), the manipulations of Galinda, who comes across as so good and selfless, even though she avoids Boq's attentions by pairing him off with Nessarose, and how she tries to humiliate Elphaba with that famous hat. It's so perfect that none of it works the way she wants it to. Every time I listen to it, I get more out of it, and that, 20+ years later, is a big plus!

 

2. "Popular" - Galinda

This bouncy little ditty is a well-earned crowd-pleaser, and one of my favorite show tunes of all time. I love it because the song is catchy as hell, and the character-driven lyrics are hilarious and telling. Galinda is still self-absorbed and shallow, but for the first time in her life she is letting herself care for another person. It's her first step toward becoming a good friend. And that she does it all for another woman is just wonderful. At this point a make over is all she has in her wheelhouse, but it's the intention behind it that shows real growth.

 

3. "I'm Not That Girl" - Elphaba

This is the antithesis of "Popular" in terms of tone and sound. A simple monologue with soft strings and piano, we learn a lot about Elphaba here. She's just shared an important moment with Fiyero after the terror of the classroom/animal rights scene. She feels something she's not allowed herself to feel before, but as the song progresses, you can hear the walls go up as she guards her heart from breaking. She sees it as it is - he would be good for her, but he only has eyes (at this point, anyway) for the blonde girl who is just like him: pretty and vacuous.

What 3 songs in a row do you like from Wicked? From your favorite Broadway scores? Let us know and maybe we'll write about that next!