I am personally ambivalent about the score from Wicked, because I think Stephen Schwartz is very firmly a second-tier musical composer whose shtick is combining conspicuously "look-at-me-I-am-clever"-to-the-point-of-glibness lyrics with decent pop-rock orchestration, but... it mostly works here! (I do think all the good songs are clustered together in the show's first act, though.)
But something that I do like about the score - and Glinda's part in it more broadly - is that I get the impression that the glibness of some of the lyrics here is deliberate? It stands out in "Defying Gravity" when Glinda's got a few lyrics in counterpoint between Elphaba's verses - a baroque midsentence rhyme (something something something "we planned, you're" / something something "delusions of grandeur") that really stands out relative to how straightforwardly anthemic Elphaba's lyrics are. The ridiculous "absurd degree"/"verdigris" line in "The Wizard and I" is also about the most ridiculous/naive belief Elphaba has at that point of the play/film. So... IDK, maybe that's all deliberate.
Is "Pippin" on your radar? Pretty much everyone agrees it's the most successful of Schwartz's musicals, and it's doing something... kind of similar...
I am the wrong person to ask! I would say, in general, I do not care for musicals. If not for my wife, I probably would not have seen any musicals in the last decade.
So I don't know nothing about Schwartz or what else he's done.
That second footnote is surprising, considering how the musical makes Elphaba naturally talented with magic, even if she can't control it! I've seen the musical once, but I don't remember the musical focusing in on Glinda's lack-of-talent as much as the movie did.
I was rooting for Ariana in the role of Glinda, because while her talent is hard to deny I don't think she's demonstrated this level of range as a pop singer before. She's also got comedy talents, which seems to me that she took notes while she was on Nickelodeon. I think she might be the strongest part about the overall movie!
And, yeah, the book is just wildly different and often presents the opposite of what the movie presents. It's quite strange that this adapted that novel because of how different they are.
Considering your song pick, might be worth noting that when Glinda sings the high notes she is lying. I can't recall who confirmed this (so it's possible it's fanon) but it adds another layer to her songs.
You mean at the end of the song? I'd be curious to see what about those is her lying. Lyrically, it seems to be straightforwardly clear that she mourns for Elphaba and that Elphaba died alone.
And I think the tension within the song is that Glinda and the Munchkins are, in a sense, speaking past one another. The Munchkins interpret her part as being in concert with hers, while she is really in private opposition.
That's my read anyway! I'd be curious to hear how other people interpret this song.
I am personally ambivalent about the score from Wicked, because I think Stephen Schwartz is very firmly a second-tier musical composer whose shtick is combining conspicuously "look-at-me-I-am-clever"-to-the-point-of-glibness lyrics with decent pop-rock orchestration, but... it mostly works here! (I do think all the good songs are clustered together in the show's first act, though.)
But something that I do like about the score - and Glinda's part in it more broadly - is that I get the impression that the glibness of some of the lyrics here is deliberate? It stands out in "Defying Gravity" when Glinda's got a few lyrics in counterpoint between Elphaba's verses - a baroque midsentence rhyme (something something something "we planned, you're" / something something "delusions of grandeur") that really stands out relative to how straightforwardly anthemic Elphaba's lyrics are. The ridiculous "absurd degree"/"verdigris" line in "The Wizard and I" is also about the most ridiculous/naive belief Elphaba has at that point of the play/film. So... IDK, maybe that's all deliberate.
Is "Pippin" on your radar? Pretty much everyone agrees it's the most successful of Schwartz's musicals, and it's doing something... kind of similar...
I am the wrong person to ask! I would say, in general, I do not care for musicals. If not for my wife, I probably would not have seen any musicals in the last decade.
So I don't know nothing about Schwartz or what else he's done.
That second footnote is surprising, considering how the musical makes Elphaba naturally talented with magic, even if she can't control it! I've seen the musical once, but I don't remember the musical focusing in on Glinda's lack-of-talent as much as the movie did.
I was rooting for Ariana in the role of Glinda, because while her talent is hard to deny I don't think she's demonstrated this level of range as a pop singer before. She's also got comedy talents, which seems to me that she took notes while she was on Nickelodeon. I think she might be the strongest part about the overall movie!
I agree about Grande! She made the movie for me.
And, yeah, the book is just wildly different and often presents the opposite of what the movie presents. It's quite strange that this adapted that novel because of how different they are.
Considering your song pick, might be worth noting that when Glinda sings the high notes she is lying. I can't recall who confirmed this (so it's possible it's fanon) but it adds another layer to her songs.
You mean at the end of the song? I'd be curious to see what about those is her lying. Lyrically, it seems to be straightforwardly clear that she mourns for Elphaba and that Elphaba died alone.
And I think the tension within the song is that Glinda and the Munchkins are, in a sense, speaking past one another. The Munchkins interpret her part as being in concert with hers, while she is really in private opposition.
That's my read anyway! I'd be curious to hear how other people interpret this song.