Wicked Script

Erydian

Screen fades onto the feet of dwarves. They are sloshing through the moonlit woods, carrying something massive, indicated by off-screen grinding noises. What looks like fog is soon realized as smoke. The camera cuts up to their faces, we see them grunting as they pull. The camera pulls back behind them, and we see the base of the Clock of the Time Dragon. It pans up and slowly zooms out, showing the immensity of the construct. It should look exactly like the picture in Chapter 1 of the book, except two large, black stone dragons should tower over the right and left of the stage like lion statues outside of a gate. The construct should be roughly the height of a large tree. We struggle to comprehend how the few dwarves pull the machine.

The camera cuts to the town.

MUNCHKINLANDER 1

Do you hear that?

WIFE OF MUNCHKINLANDER 1

It sounds like a machine.

The camera returns to the clock, which is now being lifted onto the Yellow Brick Road. The wings of the dragon on top spread wide as fire bursts skywards from its mouth. Its eyes glow solid yellow in the night. As the device moves now, it bumps and grinds over the cobblestone, ominously noisy.

The camera cuts to the town again.

MUNCHKINLANDER 2

Look! Over there!

MUNCHKINLANDER 3

The Clock of the Time Dragon!

MUNCHKINLANDER 4

Quickly! Everyone, come see! It's the Clock! They've brought us the Clock of the Time Dragon!

The clock is carted forward and stops. The dwarves disappear behind it.

All over the village, people are whispering and running forth. Outside of the Emminent Thropp's manor, two munchkins stand before a window, probably Gardeners.

MUNCHKINLANDER 5

Come on! Let's go see it!

MUNCHKINLANDER 6

What news could it have for humble folk like us?

MUNCKINLANDER 5

Well, let's find out! Put your tools down!

As they run off, we see, just for a half a moment, an oil can in the window on the sill. Before we have time to take it in, the camera returns to the Clock of the Time Dragon, which is now gathering an immense crowd.

A DWARF appears on the stage.

DWARF

Who wants to see a show?

The crowd roars in anxiety.

DWARF

Who wants news from the Emerald City, from Kiamo Ko, from the Vinkus, and Shiz! Who wants to be amazed by the magic of the great and powerful Clock of the Time Dragon?

The crowd is so excited, we feel as if people may pass out.

DWARF

Then hold onto your things and gather your eyes upon the stage. This stage… of enchantment!

(The DWARF disappears in a cloud of smoke.)

No One Mourns the Wicked begins.

Atop the construction, one of the strange monkey-like creatures that open the original play twists a crank in the stomach of the dragon. Smoke comes from the mouths of the dragons on stage, and a mysterious green light appears, a cross between a flame and a glow. It explodes, and on stage, we see the appearance of the wicked witch's large cloth hat, just as we do in the original play. As the music surges, a wooden bucket lowers from somewhere higher and spills on the hat. The hat whips into the air as if caught by an unseen wind and then flaps forward terribly fast, suddenly a black curtain across the stage from dragon to dragon.

The DWARF appears above everything.

DWARF

Good news!

She's dead!

DWARF and UNSEEN CHORUS FROM INSIDE THE CLOCK

The Witch of the West is dead!

The Wickedest Witch there ever was,

The enemy of all of us here in Oz,

Is dead!

We see GLINDA as the MUNCHKINLANDERS join the song. She is sitting in her bubble, which has not changed much from the original show, but it does have a pink bubble emanating from the metal. She looks sad, almost heartbroken, but she sits up from her pink seat and folds it up into the metal circle.

MUNCHKINLANDERS
Good news!

Good news!

MUNCHKINLANDER 7

Look! It's Glinda!

GLINDA has put on a perfect smile. All traces of her prior sadness are completely gone. The pink sphere around the bubble is absorbed by the metal ring.

GLINDA

It's good to see me… isn't it!

(The MUNCHKINLANDERS laugh.)

No need to respond. That was rhetorical!

My fellow Ozians.

Let us be glad!

Let us be grateful!

Let us rejoice to find that goodness could subdue

The Wicked workings of You-Know Who.

Isn't it nice to know

That Good will conquer Evil?

The truth we all believe'll by and by

Outlive a lie for you and—

MUNCHKINLANDER 8

Glinda! Exactly how dead is she?

GLINDA (somewhat surprised that she was interrupted)

Well… (Settling down) Because there has been so much rumor and speculation: innuendo… outuendo… Let me set the record straight.

According to this Time Dragon Clock, the melting occurred at the Thirteenth Hour. The direct result of a bucket of water thrown by a female child. Yes.

The Wicked Witch of the West… is dead!

MUNCHKINLANDERS cry out in excitement.

DWARF

No one mourns the Wicked

MUNCHKINLANDER 9

No one cries "They won't return!"

MUNCHKINLANDERS

No one lays a lily on their grave…

MUNCHKINLANDER 10

The good man scorns the Wicked!

MUNCHKINLANDER 11

Through their lives, our children learn.

MUNCHKINLANDERS

What we miss, when we misbehave.

GLINDA

And Goodness knows

The Wickeds' lives are lonely

Goodness knows

The Wicked die alone

It just shows when you're Wicked

You're left only

On your own

MUNCHKINLANDERS

Yes, Goodness knows

The Wicked's lives are lonely

Goodness knows

The Wicked cry alone

Nothing grows for the Wicked

They reap only

What they've sown

MUNCHKINLANDER CHILD

Glinda… (She tugs GLINDA's dress.) Why does Wickedness happen?

GLINDA
That's a good question. One that many people find confusifying. Are people born Wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them? After all, she had a childhood. She had a father, who just happened to be the governor of Munchkinland. (This causes some surprise and murmur in the crowd.)

In the midst of that speech, GLINDA gestures towards the Clock, and the camera zooms in on the black curtain which stays closed. As everything goes to black, we can barely see the red glow of the eyes of the dragons stage left and stage right. Suddenly, FREX turns on a lamp, and we see an entire living room, and no longer any more of the Munchkinlanders, no matter how the camera turns.

FREX

I'm off to the assembly, dear.

GALINDA (echo)

She had a mother. As so many do.

MELENA

Hurry back.

FREX

How I hate to go and leave you lonely.

MELENA

That's alright - it's only just one night.

FREX

But know that you're here in my heart

While I'm out of your sight.

(FREX leaves the house.)

GLINDA (echo)

And like every family - they had their secrets…

A mysterious man whose face is hidden as MELENA dims the light appears. He is her sly LOVER. In one gloved hand, he carries a rectangular bottle filled to the brim with emerald liquid. They dance together as he sings.

LOVER

Have another drink, my dark-eyed beauty.

I've got one more night left, here in town…

So have another drink of green elixir,

And we'll have ourselves a little mixer.

Have another little swallow, little lady,

And follow me down….

(He pulls her onto the bed and draws the curtain.)

GLINDA (echo)

And of course, from the moment she was born,

she was - well - different

A goat-like MIDWIFE appears at the bedroom door and pulls open the bed curtain, followed by FREX. MELENA is alone on the bed, but pregnant. We know time has passed, maybe by a lighting change as the curtains are flung open.

MIDWIFE

It's coming!

FREX

Now?

MIDWIFE

The baby's coming!

FATHER

And how?

MIDWIFE AND FREX

I see a nose!

I see a curl!

It's a healthy, perfect,

Lovely, little -

The Midwife lifts baby ELPHABA who is solid green.

FREX

Sweet Oz!

MELENA

(spoken) What is it? What's wrong?

MIDWIFE

How can it be?

FREX

What does it mean?

MIDWIFE

It's atrocious!

FREX

It's obscene!

MIDWIFE AND FREX

Like a froggy, ferny cabbage

The baby is unnaturally

MUNCHKINLANDERS (Still not visible.)

Green!

FREX (Quiet the first time and then loudly)

Take it away…. Take it away!

The camera is suddenly back at GLINDA, who lowers her arm away from the stage as the black curtains close. We do NOT see the previous events behind the curtain. The stage is noticeably empty.

GLINDA (Lost in a sympathetic reverie, she still stares at the stage.)

So you see - it couldn't have been easy!

MUNCHKINLANDERS (Cold and distant, they break GLINDA's trance)

No one mourns the Wicked!

Now at last, she's dead and gone!

Now at last, there's joy throughout the land!

And Goodness knows

We know what Goodness is.

Goodness knows

The Wicked die alone!

GLINDA (The remorse momentarily returns.)

She died alone…

MUNCHKINLANDERS

Woe to those

Woe to those

Who spurn what Goodnesses

They are shown!

No one mourns the Wicked!

GLINDA (Powerful again, chin up in the air.)

Good news!

MUNCHKINLANDERS

No one mourns the Wicked!

GLINDA

Good news!

MUNCHKINLANDERS

No one mourns the Wicked!

Wicked!

Wicked!

GLINDA

Well, this has been fun! But as you can imagine, I have much to attend to, what with the Wizard's… unexpected departure. So, if there are no more questions…

The DWARF is seen atop the Clock with mysterious awareness. He stands cockily, though we can't see his face, but we can envision a smirk.)

DWARF

Glinda! Is it true that you were her friend?

The crowd murmurs in fear and surprise.

GLINDA
I… well I… yes.

The crowd murmurs again.

GLINDA

Well, it depends on what you mean by friend!

GLINDA wiggles her index finger and the bubble lowers to the stage. She steps out in front of the black curtain.

GLINDA

I did know her… that is… our paths did cross. At school.

The crowd backs up slowly.

GLINDA (Somewhat desperately)
You must understand. It was a long time ago!

Most of the crowd is gone.

GLINDA
And we were both very young.

The screen blurs.