Warning: This story contains spoilers for "Wicked: The Musical"
1. The characters now known as Witch's Father and Witch's Mother at one time had actual names. Originally they were known as Frex and Melena, respectively. The more descriptive current names were adopted in order to more clearly illustrate their role in the story of the Green Girl.
2. Many of the denizens of Oz that Glinda and Elphaba meet when they first arrive in the wondrous Emerald City were originally intended to be riding Segues and bouncing across the stage on Anti-Gravity® boots.
3. Although most of us are familiar with the Wicked Witch of the East's Ruby Slippers from the movie "The Wizard of Oz," the jeweled shoes worn in "Wicked" by Elphaba's sister Nessarose are silver. This was done intentionally to match the silver shoes from L. Frank Baum's original books of the stories of Oz. Because MGM decided to change the shoes to be red in the film, the rights to that scarlet version belong to them.
4. In the original San Francisco production and the first year or so of the Broadway production, the show opened with a 12-foot-tall witch's hat melting into the stage, signifying the death of the Wicked Witch of the West.
5. Changes happen quickly when a Broadway musical is being created. Shortly before the move to San Francisco for the out-of-town tryout, a large scene featuring Elphaba and Madame Morrible was cut down significantly. The large scenic piece originally designed for this scene was already built and on a truck to the theatre in San Francisco. Because the new scene was too short to necessitate such a large set, the scenery was left on the truck and never saw the light of the stage.
6. The green girl's name, Elphaba, is derived from the initials of the author of the original Oz books, L. Frank Baum.
7. Elphaba's black dress isn't just black fabric. It is made up of dozens of colors and textures of fabric, sewn together in complex patterns. Not only does this give the dress lots of movement, but it also adds a lot of depth when by the multi-colored lights on stage.
8. The Ozian Official, the character who reveals to the students that Animals of Oz can now be prevented from learning how to speak, was originally a much more demented and diabolical character named Professor Nikidik. That original character took much more joy in performing experiments on the poor little lion cub than the close-to-the-vest Ozian Official.
9. Gregory Maguire's book "Wicked" is a very complex story to weave into a Broadway Musical. Striking the right balance between detail and pacing can be tricky. The first performance of the pre-Broadway run in San Francisco was almost three and a half hours long. Over subsequent weeks, the storyline was streamlined and cut down to the version we know today which runs about two hours and forty-five minutes.
10. Fiyero's featured song "Dancing Thru Life" was originally a different number called "Which Way is the Party." It portrayed Fiyero as a party animal, just looking for a good time. "Dancing Thru Life'" however, elaborates more on Fiyero's overall life philosophy and adds a layer of depth to the character.
11. The special paper eaten by Dr Dillamond has to be stored in a humidor, usually used for storing cigars. The paper has to be kept at just the right humidity so that it makes the proper ripping sound, and can also be swallowed easily by the actor. This is especially important because he needs to sing his song "Something Bad" shortly after eating the paper.
12. Elphaba's broom, her hat, and Glinda's wand all have "stunt doubles" so that the more elaborate versions won't get damaged during the fight scene in Act II.
13. Elphaba's green makeup isn't applied in the same way that normal makeup is applied. It is applied with a wet brush almost like a paintbrush. Because human skin reflects light in a specific way, the makeup is applied very thinly so that the actress' skin partially shows through the green color. This gives the green skin a certain luminescence, adding to the realism of the character.
"Wicked" is playing at the Fox Theatre through January 3rd.
