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| "No Good Deed" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Idina Menzel | |
| from the album Wicked (album) | |
| Released | December 16, 2003 |
| Recorded | November 10, 2003 |
| Genre | Show tunes |
| Length | 3:30 |
| Label | Decca Broadway |
| Songwriter(s) | Stephen Schwartz |
"No Good Deed" is a musical number from the hit Broadway musical Wicked . It is sung by Elphaba, the main character of the show. [1]
Performed towards the end of Act Two, the song springs from Elphaba's rage over her continuously thwarted efforts to do good and her inner turmoil about her intention for doing so. It explores the ideas of goodness and wickedness, which are central to the musical's theme. In the song she lists what she perceives as her failures at goodness, including anger with herself over Fiyero—her lover who is being concurrently tortured by the Wizard's guards over her whereabouts—the death of her sister, and the capture and dehumanisation of her favourite teacher, Dr. Dillamond. It occurs while Elphaba believes that Glinda has used her sister's death to lure her into being captured by the Wizard's Guard. She is distraught at being vilified by the Wizard's propaganda and the hatred of the citizens of Oz, and decides she will no longer attempt to do good. The song begins with Elphaba screaming "Fiyero" but instead of being an unhitched scream, she actually sings a high note that is a minor second above the tonal centre of the song. This creates the effect of a scream, as the note is very high and dissonant, but it is much more controlled and musical than an actual scream. [2] It then moves into a chant of magical words making it the most chilling and foreboding of all the musical's numbers. Schwartz is quoted as likening No Good Deed to an opera aria:
Originally it was sung by Tony Award Winning actress Idina Menzel, who is known for, as Ben Brantley of the New York Times describes it, her "iron strong larynx". Stephen Schwartz composed it specifically to showcase Menzel's belting talent, in addition to giving her a second-act solo song. Idina Menzel, herself, has been quoted as saying that this song was her favourite to sing in the show as it 'reminded her of her Bat Mitzvah.'
The song was translated into eight languages, along with the musical. Among these, the German version, sung by Dutch actress Willemijn Verkaik, was featured on the 5th and 10th Anniversary Wicked albums. [4] [5] In Willemijn's 10-year career in the show, she performed this song in three languages - German, Dutch and English. In an interview, she said that for German and Dutch, this song was the hardest to sing in the musical, while this was not the case in English. Instead, the hardest for her was The Wizard and I in the English-language productions. [6]
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on Broadway, she has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation. Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include a Tony Award and a Daytime Emmy Award. In 2019, Menzel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in The Wicked Years series, and was followed by Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz.
Elphaba Thropp is the protagonist in the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, in its musical theatre adaptation Wicked, and in the musical's upcoming two-part film adaptation. The character is identified with the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. The musical is told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba and Galinda. Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wonderful Wizard, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fall.
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"The Wizard and I" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is primarily a solo number for the character of Elphaba, serving as her "I Want" song, though the character Madame Morrible also sings in the introduction to the song.
Louise Dearman is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked. Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any production of Wicked full-time. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, Sarah Brown and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Daisy Hilton in Side Show. She released her solo albums, You and I, Here Comes the Sun and It's Time, in 2005, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
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Wicked Part Two is an upcoming American epic musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The sequel to Wicked (2024), it is the second of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz, before and after Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the plot will cover the events of the musical's second act, following Elphaba and Galinda's friendship being put to the test as they embrace their new respective identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North, and how the consequences of their actions will change all of Oz forever.