Reece’s analysis on the Elphaba Act Two Dress that no one asked for

Walking through the Theatre and Performance exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum was one of the coolest experiences of the trip so far. There were so many amazing set models and costume pieces ranging from Lawrence Olivier’s Hamlet costume to a costume that Dua Lipa wore on her most recent tour.

            For this blog post, we have to choose an artifact from the museum and connect it to a show that we have seen and/or studied. So for this assignment, I have very predictably chosen the act two dress that Elphaba wears in Wicked. If you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE Wicked. Like an abnormal amount. So when Shawn told us that they had one of the Elphaba Act Two dresses, I was immediately on the lookout for it. When I found it, tears immediately came to my eyes, and I kid you not, I just stood in front of it for like five minutes. But I digress, we get it, Reece loves Wicked…we knew this. Moving on.

            I want to take a second to do some analysis on the dress itself… which shocker, is the entire point of this blog post. So just a quick refresher on the second act of Wicked for those who have only seen the movie. After Elphaba defies gravity and we get the iconic battle cry, around five years have passed when the orchestra begins to play the act two opener, “Thank Goodness”. In this time, Elphaba has been completely exiled from Oz, freeing endangered animals from the Wizard’s control. The costume designer for Wicked, Susan Hilferty talks about Elphaba’s Act Two dress being a piece of “found costuming”. Meaning, Elphaba has been rummaging through the woods, and this dress is meant to be made from the fabrics and materials that Elphaba have found on her pilgrimage. When you look at the garment, you will see layers and layers of different colored fabrics and textures, meant to resemble this journey. This outfit appears in the show in a particularly important part of Elphaba’s character arc. This outfit is meant to resemble Elphaba’s call to action to help these animals who have been silenced by their government. I think the reason that Elphaba has always been so inspiring to me is because what she does on her journey is so similar to what I want to do in my artistry. Seeing this dress in person was such a surreal experience and one that I will never forget.

-R