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Are the final chords of WICKED an homage to WEST SIDE STORY?

Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 12:31 pm EDT 10/29/15

similar themes, no?

Gotta wonder if Stephen was throwing some props to Lenny.

- GMB

Link YouTube: WEST SIDE STORY finale

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re: Are the final chords of WICKED an homage to WEST SIDE STORY?

Posted by: Chromolume 01:59 pm EDT 10/29/15
In reply to: Are the final chords of WICKED an homage to WEST SIDE STORY? - GrumpyMorningBoy 12:31 pm EDT 10/29/15

Yeah - I don't know if it was a deliberate homage/steal lol, but I remember the first time I heard the recording and thought, "really, Stephen???"

Musically, the only major difference is the suspension/resolution of the "Somewhere" melody, as opposed to just straight triads on the "wicked" chords.

On the other hand, I love when people discover that the "unlimited" theme is a deliberate reference to the opening of the "Over The Rainbow" melody. Which of course makes a lot more sense than a West Side Story reference lol.


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unlimited / Over the Rainbow

Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 11:46 am EDT 10/30/15
In reply to: re: Are the final chords of WICKED an homage to WEST SIDE STORY? - Chromolume 01:59 pm EDT 10/29/15

I'd never caught that reference!

And I'm not one of those huge WICKED fans, so there's a ton of stuff I really don't know about the show.

I'd guess, however, that Stephen Schwartz wrote the finale for WICKED without realizing the pull quote from the "Somewhere" chords at the end of WSS. Surely someone must have pointed it out during development, but I'd guess it was no more intentional than PHANTOM'S "Come to Me, Bend to Me" or MISS SAIGON's "There's A Small Hotel."

- GMB


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