Episode Details

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I listened to The Life of A Show Girl in its entirety on an early morning train ride to a different borough this morning. I will probably listen to it again when I venture to yet another borough later today. And then when I get home, I will dance around my house and dance to The Fate Of Ophelia choreography while I make dinner, before collapsing into bed.

But for now, I sit here powered by caffeine and the 50-degree weather that finally made it possible for me to wear a turtleneck. And since I can’t blast The Life of A Showgirl in public without raising a few eyebrows, I thought I’d write to you about the Wicked parallels I’ve found in what I am declaring a no-skip album.

THERE ARE WICKED FOR GOOD SPOILERS AHEAD. Proceed at your own risk!

That being said, if you are a Swiftie who isn’t into theater, or a theater kid that doesn’t love Taylor — I think there’s something for both sides of the Venn Diagram here. And if you fall in the middle like me…well you’re in for a treat.

And if you’re definitively not in either of those camps, here are a few other reading suggestions for you.

(That last one is now my most read ever.)

Okay! Last chance to turn back, here come the Wicked spoilers! Maya and Craig, if you are still reading, stop reading.

THE FATE OF OPHELIA

So deeply Elphaba and Fiyero coded. From ‘I heard you calling on the megaphone’ to ‘eldest daughter of a nobleman.’ (If Elphaba’s father Frexspar Thropp has no haters, I am dead.)

There’s also the shared fate between Ophelia and Elphaba — dying due to being submerged in water (drowning and melting, respectively).

In Wicked Act II, Fiyero literally becomes the Captain of the Wizard’s Guard just so he can “hone his powers” and help find Elphaba. He is literally calling for her on the megaphone because he literally wants to see her all alone and save her from being persecuted.

All that time I sat alone in my tower, you were just honing your powers.

And if you’d never come for me, I might’ve drowned in the melancholy

No longer drowning and deceived, all because you came for me

Fiyero is by no means a Disney prince rescuing Elphaba from a tower (neither is Taylor.) He is very instrumental in helping her flee from the Wizard’s Guard, and eventually from Oz altogether.

And while Elphaba does keep herself physically safe while in exile, Fiyero will save her heart, and wake her up to all kinds of feelings she’s never felt, when they hook up in that forest (so much more on that to come).

It’s ‘bout to be the sleepless night, you’ve been dreaming of…

Also, a notable mention for