As director Jon M Chu’s first instalment of the mega-musical adaptation Wicked arrives in cinemas, a new audience of fans is connecting with Stephen Schwartz’s memorable score. Featuring hits including Popular, The Wizard and I and For Good, the musical is particularly loved for its celebration of female characters in song.
Unlike many Broadway shows, Wicked’s heroes Elphaba (played in the film by Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (by Ariana Grande), both women, dominate the song list. They frequently sing together, whereas other musicals typically feature duets that focus on a romance between a male and female lead.
At the heart of Wicked is the anthem Defying Gravity, which closes act one of the stage production and serves as the finale to Chu’s film. It begins as an argument between Elphaba and Glinda as they debate how to solve a mutual predicament. Elphaba explains her feelings to Glinda and asks her to leave Emerald City with her.
They dream about becoming a united front but, in the end, the song climaxes with Elphaba breaking free and accepting the consequences of embracing her magic.
Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.
The journey of the song, which begins as a conversation and ends with a battle cry, epitomises a classic musical theatre finale, as it gains momentum and rises in key.
Using similar values to Schwartz’s lyrics to Go the Distance from Hercules (1997) and his song When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt (1998), Defying Gravity is particularly special because Elphaba goes on a journey with her best friend Glinda as her audience.
Many musicals feature a rousing act one finale led by a female protagonist. For example, Mama Rose regathers her strength to make her daughter Louise a star during Everything’s Coming Up Roses in Gypsy, which has just returned to Broadway. However, Defying Gravity transcends its context in Wicked by focusing on the theme of trusting yourself and believing in who you are without compromise.
Wicked is an exploration of stigma (aimed at Elphaba in the show) and where it leads, and Defying Gravity is a watershed moment. Erivo described it as an important moment in which Elphaba resolves to “not allow the things that have hurt her, that have stripped her of her humanity to keep her down”.
As well as offering empowering representations of its female characters and of female friendship, Wicked is one of many queer-coded musicals. These are shows where LGBTQ+ identities or themes are unnamed but can be easily identified. Theatre professor Stacy Wolf has suggested that Wicked “does more than portray women as powerful and as friends; it presents the story of a queer romance between Elphaba and Glinda”.
This places Defying Gravity alongside the queer anthem Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz, another musical adaptation based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s novel. In fact, in Defying Gravity Schwartz quotes The Wizard of Oz composer Harold Arlen’s melody in a motif set to the word “unlimited”, which can be heard several times throughout Wicked.
Defying Gravity also uses a similar structure of escalation to another queer anthem, I Am What I Am from the musical La Cage Aux Folles. It also inspired Let It Go from Disney’s Frozen (also sung by Idina Menzel, the first Broadway Elphaba), which has its own queer history.
Read more: How Frozen became the catalyst for Disney's shift from male-centric tales
If Somewhere Over the Rainbow imagines whimsical escapism from an unfriendly world and I Am What I Am is fierce about being rejected by the people you love, Defying Gravity is about the power of choosing and forging your own path, with or without help.
The stirring accompaniment and building vocal line connect Defying Gravity to a tradition of classic musical theatre showstoppers. Meanwhile, the musical style and message of self actualisation recognises more modern values.
As Wicked arrives in cinemas, the message of Defying Gravity feels especially timely. Its core sentiment that “everyone deserves the chance to fly” speaks to so many people – the centre piece of a powerful musical about embracing our differences.
Hannah Thuraisingam Robbins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
