Elphaba Thropp () is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of ''Wicked (Maguire novel), Wicked'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many of Maguire's adult novels are ...

's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' Wicked: For Good'' (2025). She is a reimagining of the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. In the Baum novel, the Witch is unnamed and little is explained about her life; ''Wicked'' creates a

backstory A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's prepara ...

for her and explores the world of ''The Wizard of Oz'' from her perspective. Elphaba is modeled after Margaret Hamilton's portrayal in the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'': green-skinned, clad entirely in black and wearing a tall peaked hat. Maguire formulated the name "Elphaba" from the pronunciation of Baum's initials—"L.F.B.". In-universe, she is also nicknamed "Elphie", mostly by Galinda Upland.

Characterization

As Winnie Holzman observed in an interview with ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'', "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." Schwartz justified the deviation, saying "Primarily we were interested in the relationship between Galinda – who becomes Glinda – and Elphaba...the friendship of these two women and how their characters lead them to completely different destinies." In addition to this change in focus, other major plot modifications include Fiyero's appearance as a 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, the complete cutting of Elphaba's years in the Vinkus, the deletion of Liir's birth, Fiyero not having a wife and children, and Doctor Dillamond not being murdered.

Portrayals

The role was originated on Broadway and the West End by

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in Musical theatre, musicals on Broadway theatre, Broadway, she has been Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed the "Queen of ...

, who won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...

portrayed Elphaba in the 2024 film adaptation of the musical's first act, for which she was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

, and will reprise the role in the 2025 adaptation of the second act. Karis Musongole played the character as a child in the first film.

References

{{Wicked films Characters in Wicked Fictional activists Literary characters introduced in 1995 Fictional characters with precognition Fictional kidnappers Fictional nobility Oz (franchise) witches Characters in American novels of the 20th century Female characters in film Female characters in musical theatre Female literary villains Female film villains Fictional characters incorrectly presumed dead Fictional characters who use magic Oz (franchise) characters Musical theatre characters Fictional atheists and agnostics