Is WICKED the musical for Unscripted?

[Sam Kennedy]

A few months ago I went with my wife to London to see the musical Wicked. Now after reading Unscripted , there seems to be a parallel:

"Dancing Through Life"

The trouble with schools is
They always try to teach the wrong lessons
Believe me, I've been kicked out
Of enough of them to know
They want you to become less callow
Less shallow
But I say: why invite stress in?
Stop studying strife
And learn to live the unexamined life

Dancing through life
Skimming the surface
Gliding where turf is smooth
Life's more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard
When it's so soothing
Dancing through life
No need to tough it
When you can slough it off as I do
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through

Dancing through life
Swaying and sweeping
And always keeping cool
Life is fraught-less
When you're thoughtless
Those who don't try
Never look foolish
Dancing through life
Mindless and careless
Make sure you're where less trouble is rife.

Woes are fleeting
Blows are glancing
When you're dancing
Through life

My interpretation: people can "dance through life", giving no thought to where they are heading. They're indoctrinated from a young age to give up 5/7ths of their life to work and stress. Why bother doing something risky like starting a business when you will be ridiculed by your peers if you fail?

"Defying Gravity"

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes
And leap...

It's time to try defying gravity
I think I'll try defying gravity
And you can't pull me down

GALINDA
Can't I make you understand
You're having delusions of grandeur?

ELPHABA
I'm through accepting limits
'Cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try I'll never know
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost

I'd sooner buy defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

My interpretation: "Gravity" is the force of the masses, trying to keep you down in a mediocre life. Some people notice this, and get tired of sucking up and "climbing the corporate ladder", and instead decide to move into the fastlane, however there's no guarantee things will work out, but deep down you know the path you're on conflicts so strongly with your values and beliefs that you just need to trust your instincts, close your eyes and leap.

"Popular"

When I see depressing creatures,
With unprepossessing features,
I remind them on their own behalf
To - think - of
Celebrated heads of state,
Or specially great communicators!
Did they have brains or knowledge?
Don't make me laugh!
They were POPULAR!

My interpretation: If you decide the play the corporate game, it doesn't matter how good you are at your job, you need to be good at telling people what they want to hear. The popular people lead, whether or not they are qualified to or not.

"Wonderful"

I never asked for this
Or planned it in advance
I was merely blown here
By the winds of chance
I never saw myself
As a Solomon or Socrates
I knew who I was:
One of your dime a dozen
Mediocrities

Then suddenly I'm here
Respected - worshipped, even
Just because the folks in Oz
Needed someone to believe in
Does it surprise you
I got hooked, and all too soon?
What can I say?
I got carried away
And not just by balloon:

Wonderful
They called me "Wonderful"
So I said "Wonderful" - if you insist
I will be "Wonderful"
And they said "Wonderful"
Believe me, it's hard to resist

My interpretation: The Wizard can be thought of any self-help/financial "guru", they are where they are because people say they are "wonderful" at what they teach, regardless of if it actually brings results.

That's just my thoughts after seeing the musical, did anybody else see this and have similar thoughts?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

did anybody else see this and have similar thoughts?

Wish I could say, saw the musical far beyond what my memory can recall.

Many of the words do resonate however...

I'm through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game