"One Short Day" is the 9th song in the 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...

. It is also the opening number to Wicked in Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan

, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...

. It takes place during the "Emerald City" scene, where the two witches (Glinda

Glinda

Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 and Elphaba

Elphaba

Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...

) first go to the emerald city to meet the wizard. The song includes many different costumes and characters but ultimately ends with the two girls going to meet the wizard.

Plot

The song starts with Elphaba leaving for the Emerald City, Fiyero and Galinda watching. Galinda, trying to impress Fiyero, changes her name to Glinda in honor of the beloved Doctor Dillamond. Fiyero was not impressed, so Elphaba invites "Glinda" to the Emerald city. The girls are so happy to be there, saying that they "belong there"; Elphaba being green, and Glinda being grand. They are dazzled by the wonders of the city. They then see the show "Wizamania", a show about the wizard. The song ends with Elphaba and Glinda affirming their friendship and seeing the wizard.

Set Design

The set in this scene is very simple. There is a green "OZ" sign at the back surrounded by other green lights. The cast (except for Glinda and Elphaba) are all dressed in green. When Glinda and Elphaba go to see the show-within-the show, a green curtain descends from the rafters.

Commentary by Stephen Schwartz (as said in "Wicked The Grimmerie")

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...

said that this was the third song written for Wicked. He wanted this to be one of the "fun" songs in the musical. It was supposed to be like "two girls spending a day in Paris".