Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wizard of Oz, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fate at the accidental hands of Dorothy.

Its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Galinda, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero and Joel Grey as the Wizard.

[5] A two-part film adaptation was directed by Jon M. Chu and starred Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, with extended cameos by Menzel and Chenoweth.

[8] The novel, described as a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil, takes place in the Land of Oz, in the years surrounding Dorothy's arrival.

Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill that: "It was [Maguire's] brilliant idea to take this hated figure and tell things from her point of view, and to have the two witches be roommates in college, but the way in which their friendship develops—and really the whole plot—is different onstage.

"[13] Other major plot modifications include Fiyero's appearance as the Scarecrow, Elphaba's survival at the end, Nessarose using a wheelchair instead of being born without arms, Boq having a continuing love interest for Glinda and eventually becoming the Tin Woodman instead of Nick Chopper, cutting Elphaba's years in the Vinkus, the deletion of Liir's birth, Fiyero not having a wife and children, Doctor Dillamond being fired instead of being murdered, and Madame Morrible going to prison instead of dying.

Joe Mantello was engaged as director and Wayne Cilento as choreographer, while designer Eugene Lee created the set and visual style for the production inspired by W. W. Denslow's original illustrations for Baum's novels and Maguire's concept of the story being told through a giant clock.

Elphaba is distraught and furious that Glinda has given Nessarose's enchanted shoes to the house's occupant, Dorothy Gale, and the two get into a physical fight that the Wizard's guards eventually break up.

Block with Schwartz at the piano, "I'm Not That Girl" by Kerry Ellis (featuring Brian May on guitar), Menzel's dance mix of "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" sung by LeAnn Rimes and Delta Goodrem.

[41] The cast included Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Robert Morse as the Wizard, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, Michelle Federer as Nessarose, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, John Horton as Doctor Dillamond, and Kirk McDonald as Boq.

Block as Elphaba, Derrick Williams as Fiyero, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond, Logan Lipton as Boq, and David Garrison as the Wizard.

[49] The cast included Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba, Kate Reinders as Glinda, Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, Telly Leung as Boq, Heidi Kettenring as Nessarose and Gene Weygandt as the Wizard.

The cast included Megan Hilty as Glinda, Eden Espinosa as Elphaba, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Adam Wylie as Boq, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, and John Rubinstein as the Wizard.

[53] The cast included Teal Wicks as Elphaba, Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Nicolas Dromard as Fiyero, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, David Garrison as the Wizard, Deedee Magno Hall as Nessarose, Tom Flynn as Doctor Dillamond, and Eddy Rioseco as Boq.

[57] The production was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic[58] and resumed performances on August 3, 2021, with Talia Suskauer as Elphaba, Allison Bailey as Glinda and Curt Hansen as Fiyero.

Original London cast members included the return of Idina Menzel as Elphaba,[64] Helen Dallimore as Glinda, Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible, Adam Garcia as Fiyero, Martin Ball as Doctor Dillamond, James Gillan as Boq, Katie Rowley Jones as Nessarose and Nigel Planer as the Wizard.

[78] In late August 2024, with the release of the new Wicked movie, it was announced that Danna Paola and Cecilia de la Cueva will dub the voices and singing of Elphaba and Glinda respectively, in Spanish, reprising the roles they both played on stage in 2013.

[citation needed] On September 5, 2021, a brand new production of Wicked opened at the Neue Flora Theatre in Hamburg, produced by Stage Entertainment again, which previously had presented the show in Stuttgart, Oberhausen, and The Hague.

[105] A full Japanese production of Wicked by the Shiki Theatre Company opened in Tokyo, Japan, on June 17, 2007, and subsequently moved to Osaka, Fukoka and Nagoya, before closing in Sapporo on November 6, 2016.

Their co-stars included Tiago Barbosa as Fiyero, Marcelo Médici as The Wizard, Diva Menner as Madame Morrible, Cleto Baccic as Doctor Dillamond, Nayara Venancio as Nessarose and Dante Paccola as Boq.

The production also starred Diluckshan Jeyaratnam as Fiyero, Anders Gjellerup Koch as The Wizard, Cecilie Thiim as Madame Morrible, Christian Lund as Dr. Dillamond, Marie Louise Hansen as Nessarose, and Jens Kau Wahlers Nielsen as Boq.

[141] In its out-of-town tryout in San Francisco, audience reaction was generally positive, and although critics tended to compliment the aesthetic and spectacle of the show, they disparaged the book, score, and choreography.

[142] Dennis Harvey of Variety praised the production as "sleekly directed", "snazzily designed", and "smartly cast", but disliked its "mediocre" book, "trite" lyrics, and "largely generic" music.

[149] Conversely, Ben Brantley in the New York Times loved the production but panned the show itself, calling it a "sermon" that "so overplays its hand that it seriously dilutes its power", with a "generic" score.

Although Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph described it as "at times... a bit of a mess," he praised Holzman's script, described Kenneth Posner's lighting design as "magical" and lauded Menzel's Elphaba and Helen Dallimore's Glinda.

[152] Michael Billington of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars and remarked on the competence of all the lead actors; however, he complained that Wicked was "all too typical of the modern Broadway musical: efficient, knowing and highly professional but more like a piece of industrial product than something that genuinely touches the heart or mind.

"[153] Paul Taylor of The Independent called the topical political allegory "well-meaning but also melodramatic, incoherent and dreadfully superficial" and criticized the acting, songs and book, concluding that "the production manages to feel at once overblown and empty".

[196] On August 29, 2021, the PBS network aired a Wicked concert special, which was also hosted by Menzel and Chenoweth and featured Rita Moreno, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana DeBose, Gavin Creel, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Isaac Cole Powell and Gabrielle Ruiz performing many of the musical numbers.

[220] "Defying Gravity" is featured in the Glee episode "Wheels," where Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) sing it separately in a competition for the lead solo from the first season.

Media as diverse as the anime series Red Garden, the daytime drama Passions and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels have all parodied Wicked's songs and characters.