Friday, August 18, 2006

Wicked Treatment

My band (DCDD's Captiol Pride Symphonic band) is performing selections from Stephen Schwartz's score for the Broadway show Wicked. It's great music and I'm looking forward to conducting it.

In my experience as conductor for DCDD I've found living composers to be quite responsive to questions about their work. Unfortunately Mr. Schwartz is not one of them. An emailed question to him was answered by a snarky, smart-ass reply by his assistant.

My question was this:

Elephaba's motif heard throughout the show (on the words "Unlimited") are the interval of an octave...the same interval as the first two notes of the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The chorus "She's Dead" that opens the show also is an octave. Composers often take song fragments of others to build their own works and I wondered if this were the case here.

Schwartz's assistant's reply to my question was "listen to more than the first two notes and get back to me."

That would have been a good joke had he then gone on and answered my question.

Gregory MacQuire who wrote the book Wicked said somewhere (I wish I could find it) that the name Elphaba -- three syllabols -- is consistent with the three syllabols of Dorothy and even Margaret (Hamilton). If the structure to Elphaba's name could be based that way it's not too out of the pale to think that the first two notes of the motif associated with her in the show is a subtle link to Dorothy's song from the movie.

I love the show and music Wicked...but I do think the ending, however pleasant, is a total cop-out. Elphaba betrays her ideals, the very thing that made her unique. Sneaking off doesn't seem true even to the watered down version of her character that appears on the Broadway stage.

And now I don't think much of the character of Mr. Schwartz's associates.

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