Glinda+(with+a+silent+ga)



In the novel's [|Broadway musical] adaptation //[|Wicked]//, Glinda (originally played by [|Kristin Chenoweth]) is one of the two female leads as the musical focuses on her friendship with Elphaba (the young woman who becomes the infamous [|Wicked Witch of the West], originally played by [|Idina Menzel]). As in the novel, Glinda is characterized by her popularity and ambition and goes by the name of Galinda Upland (who hails from the Upper Uplands). She and Elphaba cross paths while attending Shiz University, and while the two girls dislike each other at first, they eventually become best friends. Galinda enrolls in [|Madame Morrible]'s sorcery tutorial, but is precluded from entering when Morrible decides to tutor Elphaba privately. Later, however, Elphaba convinces Madame Morrible to admit Galinda to the sessions. Glinda is rather irritated by Doctor Dillamond's constant mispronunciation of her name (he has difficulty pronouncing the first 'a', and so calls her "Glinda", to which she often responds that "It's //Ga//linda. With a 'Ga'"). It is therefore somewhat ironic that she, herself, constantly makes the mistake of addressing [|Boq], a [|Munchkin] boy who is infatuated with her, as "Bick". As in the novel, Galinda later shortens her name to Glinda (telling the Wizard of Oz that "the 'Ga' is silent" when she introduces herself to him). She does this to mark the firing of Dr. Dillamond, but also in an attempt to impress [|Fiyero], her love interest. When Elphaba decides to rebel against the [|Wizard], she offers Glinda the chance to go with her, but Glinda decides to stay behind and realize her opportunities with the Wizard, ultimately sealing her destiny to become "Glinda the Good." She shares a relationship with Fiyero, but is oblivious to his increasingly strong romantic feelings toward the now villainised Elphaba. When the two eventually run off together, Glinda is left heartbroken and enraged, but later realises that Fiyero really does love Elphaba. She is present when the Wizard sends witch-hunters to kill Elphaba, and, unable to stand by while her friend is killed, she goes to [|Kiamo Ko] to warn her of the impending danger. Before being supposedly melted by Dorothy, Elphaba makes Glinda promise not to clear her name, and gives her the [|Grimmerie], a legendary spellbook. Glinda tells her that of all the friends she has had, Elphaba is the only one who really mattered, and the two Witches acknowledge that each has been changed by their friendship. Glinda then confronts the Wizard with the revelation that Elphaba was in fact his own daughter, and forces him to leave Oz, before having Madame Morrible arrested, thus exacting long-overdue [|justice] for Elphaba. She announces to the citizens of Oz that she will try to help them recover in the aftermath of the past few years, and that she wishes to truly earn the title of 'Glinda the Good'.

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