No One Mourns the Wicked
Encyclopedia
"No One Mourns the Wicked" is the opening musical number performed in the hit Broadway
musical Wicked
, composed by Stephen Schwartz
.
throughout Wicked, but is introduced in its main form as the show's prologue. Following the overture
, the citizens of Oz
(mostly Munchkin
s) emerge, joyously celebrating the death (by melting) of The Wicked Witch of the West
. The song introduces the audience to the character of Glinda, who appears to be celebrating her death along with the others. However, her verses of the song seem to be an attempt to create sympathy toward the Witch. "And goodness knows/the wicked's lives are lonely/goodness knows the wicked die alone" (this is most likely to show her capacity as "good" as opposed to actually publicly defend the Witch). It is here that Glinda poses the question, "Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" She takes the audience through a flashback to the Witch's birth, showing how she was conceived illegitimately, born green-skinned (after her mother drank a potion simply called "Green Elixir"), and consequently rejected by her father and cursed to a difficult childhood. The main events of the show occur through another flashback immediately following this song's conclusion.
The song is reprised in several parts during the show, including the act one finale, "Defying Gravity
" (Look at her, she's Wicked, get her! No One Mourns the Wicked!) and the entr'acte. It is also briefly sung in the show's finale, as the show's ending occurs chronologically at about the same time as its opening.
The opening few notes of the song are also repeated at the beginning of 'As Long as You're Mine' and after Elphaba sings 'Fiyero' for the second time in 'No Good Deed'. Also the tune for this song is played and sung at the beginning of 'Thank Goodness'. This song is tonal.
created for Wicked
, after the unused song Making Good. Its context changed a great deal as workshop tryouts continued. It began originally as a television reporter speaking about Elphaba's death, then interviewing the scarecrow, who sang the song's main theme. At this point, the scarecrow subplot had not been added and Glinda's role was much smaller. However, when Kristin Chenoweth
joined the project, Glinda's role was expanded and so it was determined that she would be involved in the opening number. Schwartz also wanted to utilize Chenoweth's high soprano, so created an extra counterpoint for Chenoweth to sing in the song.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, composed by Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
.
Context
"No One Mourns the Wicked" eventually becomes a musical motifMotif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
throughout Wicked, but is introduced in its main form as the show's prologue. Following the overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
, the citizens of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
(mostly Munchkin
Munchkin
The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...
s) emerge, joyously celebrating the death (by melting) of The Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. The song introduces the audience to the character of Glinda, who appears to be celebrating her death along with the others. However, her verses of the song seem to be an attempt to create sympathy toward the Witch. "And goodness knows/the wicked's lives are lonely/goodness knows the wicked die alone" (this is most likely to show her capacity as "good" as opposed to actually publicly defend the Witch). It is here that Glinda poses the question, "Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" She takes the audience through a flashback to the Witch's birth, showing how she was conceived illegitimately, born green-skinned (after her mother drank a potion simply called "Green Elixir"), and consequently rejected by her father and cursed to a difficult childhood. The main events of the show occur through another flashback immediately following this song's conclusion.
The song is reprised in several parts during the show, including the act one finale, "Defying Gravity
Defying Gravity (song)
"Defying Gravity" is the signature song from the musical Wicked, composed by Stephen Schwartz, originally recorded by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on November 10, 2003, and released on December 16, 2003...
" (Look at her, she's Wicked, get her! No One Mourns the Wicked!) and the entr'acte. It is also briefly sung in the show's finale, as the show's ending occurs chronologically at about the same time as its opening.
The opening few notes of the song are also repeated at the beginning of 'As Long as You're Mine' and after Elphaba sings 'Fiyero' for the second time in 'No Good Deed'. Also the tune for this song is played and sung at the beginning of 'Thank Goodness'. This song is tonal.
Development
This was the second song Stephen SchwartzStephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
created for Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, after the unused song Making Good. Its context changed a great deal as workshop tryouts continued. It began originally as a television reporter speaking about Elphaba's death, then interviewing the scarecrow, who sang the song's main theme. At this point, the scarecrow subplot had not been added and Glinda's role was much smaller. However, when Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
joined the project, Glinda's role was expanded and so it was determined that she would be involved in the opening number. Schwartz also wanted to utilize Chenoweth's high soprano, so created an extra counterpoint for Chenoweth to sing in the song.