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Which Wicked Act One Song Is Your Favorite?

By , a Vulture contributor covering TV and pop culture
Photo: Universal Pictures

Normally, when a beloved Broadway musical gets adapted for the screen, a couple of songs end up cut for time. But when Wicked premieres on November 22, we’ll get to hear everything in the songbook — well, at least the songs from the first half of the show. While splitting Wicked into two films gave the story enough breathing room to keep tracks that otherwise might have been cut — like “Something Bad” and “Sentimental Man” — it also means we have to wait another year to hear Ariana Grande’s “Thank Goodness.” Anyway, with a brand-new version of the show’s Act One score on the way, we figured it was time to reacquaint ourselves with these songs by ranking them from the most iconic to the most skippable (or, to quote Doctor Dillamond, baaaaaad).

But ranking is dangerous work, especially when it involves a rabid, opinionated fandom. Since I don’t want to get jumped outside the Gershwin, I turned to a group of Wicked superfans and scholars to share their expertise: Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi of the Sentimental Men podcast, comedian and New York’s social-media editor Zach Schiffman, and drag queen Reese Havoc (a.k.a. theater-marketing superstar Austin Spero). Don’t be offended by our frank analysis.

11.

 “Dear Old Shiz”

“Glinda, is it true you were her friend?” isn’t enough to save this transitional song from last place. It’s largely a flashback vehicle, taking us from Glinda announcing Elphaba’s “death” in the opening to their first meeting at Shiz. Nobody’s singing this at Marie’s Crisis.

  • “It’s the only truly diegetic song in the show. ‘One Short Day’ has the Wizomania moment, but it’s so funny that ‘Dear Old Shiz’ is a real song.” —Zach Schiffman
  • “I understand its purpose. It’s fine in the show. I skip every time I listen to the cast recording.” —Quincy Brown (Sentimental Men)
  • “This makes me nostalgic for a school I never even went to.” —Reese Havoc (Austin Spero)

10.

 “Something Bad”

This song should give pause to anyone with paws ears. It’s honestly a hugely important moment in the story but loses a lot of its gravitas because (onstage at least) it’s sung by a man dressed as a goat baa-ing.

  • “I understand this is ultimately what Wicked is about. But it’s a skip for me. The song does really HIT in the movie though.” —Q.B.
  • “All love to Bill Youmans because that’s a legend. I know we all want to skip this one, but our finger hovers a little longer over the ‘next’ button just because we feel like part of us owes it to Dr. Dillamond.” —R.H.

9.

 “A Sentimental Man”

With both “Something Bad” and “A Sentimental Man” being so low on the list, a pattern emerges. We do not listen to Wicked to hear men sing (unless they’re wearing tight pants).

  • “The namesake of my podcast. Delivers crucial plot information. I rarely return to it on the cast recording.” —Q.B.
  • “Who careeeees. Who carrrreess. You’re really in that theater trying to fast-forward. Worst song in the show, period. And telegraphs the plot twist to high heaven that, even for a show like Wicked, feels a little too on the nose.” —R.H.
  • “‘Sentimental Man’ is an awesome song.” —Z.S.

8.

 “I’m Not That Girl”

This is a perfectly good song. It succeeds at everything it’s setting out to do and pulls all the heartstrings it’s trying to pull. But it’s really just a layup for its far more impactful reprise sung by Glinda in Act Two. More on that next year.

  • “Completely underrated and gorgeous. One of the few quiet moments we get in the show and the low-note ending is perfection. I won’t tolerate any criticism of it.” —Q.B.
  • “‘I’m Not That Girl’ is such a fucking snooze. Of course you are not that girl, you are green and honestly you have a boring personality! And it’s this weird alto moment that I don’t care about. Go back to belting, honey.” —Z.S.
  • “There’s something so horny about unrequited love.” —R.H.

7.

 “Dancing Through Life”

One question changed the world forever: “What’s the most swankified place in town?” That led us to the Ozdust Ballroom, where we hear a massive amount of story play out right in the middle of this song — ultimately helping make this cast recording cohesive, even for those who might not have been able to see it onstage.

  • “Blows through a Herculean amount of plot in an easy-breezy beautiful song. Glinda’s ‘It’s really, um, sharp, don’t ya think?’ section is SUCH an ear worm.” —Q.B.
  • “It’s the most Wicked song, like the most iconic Wicked-y lines. It’s hilarious out of context. You can’t sing it at an audition because every lyric is crazy. It has the most universal title, but then it’s the craziest song ever.” —Z.S.

6.

 “No One Mourns the Wicked”

I’ll never forget when Queen Elizabeth died and that night the West End production had to open with “Good news! She’s dead!” This song kicks the show off at a full-speed sprint, taking advantage of the audience’s foundational Wizard of Oz knowledge to dive right in. In composing this song, Stephen Schwartz had the unenviable task of basically writing his own “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead” — and he did just that, but better. And with a green baby!

  • “‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ goes impossibly hard, and it’s bold of Stephen Schwartz to essentially have a mob song be the opening number — genuinely a subversive technique.” —Z.S.
  • “From the roaring dragon, flying monkeys, into the downbeat horns and culminating in Glinda’s bubble entrance … truly thrilling musical theater.” —Q.B.
  • “The best opening number in musical-theater history and I do mean that in a world where ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ exists. That being said, it has never made sense to me why Glinda is giving a press conference to just a random group in Munchkinland. You’d think she’d have gone for a more national stage.” —R.H.

5.

 “Popular”

A tour de force for any Glinda to show off her vocal and comedic chops, this song has everything that really counts. Its only real pitfall is that it’s already gotten its flowers, costing it a few spots on this list in favor of songs that haven’t yet gotten to be quite as … popular. Lar.

  • “A contemporary musical-theater classic. What else can be said?” —Q.B.
  • “‘Popular’ is an undeniable classic of the musical-theater canon and still suffers from being severely underrated. I feel like we sort of take ‘Popular’ for granted these days as a serviceable uptempo when it was the ONE when Wicked first came out. I know it’s on all the T-shirts, it’s in the pop-culture mind, but I can promise, still, no one will rank it first. It’s like ‘The Climb,’ by Miley Cyrus, to me, where people are like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a good one, I like it,’ but are you LISTENING? That’s an all-timer. What Kristin did is GOAT status. It’s clown, it’s showmanship to the highest degree, yet her intentions are so pure.” —R.H.

4.

 “What Is This Feeling?”

If someone thinks the title of this song is ‘Loathing,’ they’re a fake fan and you should cut them out of your life. A true romp to listen to, the song brilliantly sets up not only the dynamic between Elphaba and Glinda — but also Elphaba’s isolation by having the entire student body rally behind Glinda in chorus. And it’s so fun to sing, how can you blame them?

  • “It so beautifully sets up the intrigue and fascination that Elphaba and Glinda have for each other under the veil of disgust. Also the ensemble choreography during this number is incredibly underrated. I always end up watching THEM over the witches during that part.” —Q.B.
  • “As a kid, this was my favorite because I was addicted to the concept of having a frenemy.” —R.H.

3.

 “One Short Day”

A world-building, friendship-building bop of epic proportions. This should have been Wicked’s radio single. (Broadway shows should have radio singles.)

  • “Can never not think about the explosion of green euphoria that happens onstage during this moment. And we get the iconic line ‘THE WIZARD WILL SEE YOU NOW.’” —Q.B.
  • “‘One Short Day’ is the sleeper emotional heart of the show. These two women finding a shared belonging in the city of their dreams … I’m tearing up. While I did learn the word hoi polloi from this song, even the strongest among us still don’t know every word to the Wizomania sequence.”—R.H.
  • “Maybe sacrilege to say, but if I have a least favorite song in Act One, it’s the Wizomania section of ‘One Short Day.’ ‘One Short Day’ has such a kick to it and the Wizomania section just grinds it to a halt. The time signature changes and it never gets back to its kick.” —Kevin Bianchi (Sentimental Men)
  • “‘One Short Day’ is the only reason ‘Defying Gravity’ works so well, because it sets the tone so clearly that then ‘Defying Gravity’ feels shocking.” —Z.S.

2.

 “Defying Gravity”

Heard of it? Undeniably the most famous song from the show, and with good reason — “Defying Gravity” leaves you gagged for the majority of intermission and has taken on a life of its own outside the show. It’s why Amy Adams did it at karaoke that one time.

  • “The Act One closer of the century. Thrilling from start to finish and the flying stagecraft HOLDS UP.” —Q.B.
  • “It’s just not a song I return to. Don’t get me wrong, it’s so good, Stephen did his big one, but staging aside, it’s not the flagship Wicked moment for me in a way the culture would have you believe.” —R.H.
  • “‘Defying Gravity’ is an amazing song and an amazing Act One finale, but it’s not a complete, contained song — it’s a plot-moving song.” —Z.S.

1.

 “The Wizard and I”

While “Defying Gravity” might get all the attention, “The Wizard and I” is the better song. It’s about who Elphaba is, whereas “Defying Gravity” is about what she does. And if the foreshadowing in “A Sentimental Man” is too on the nose, “The Wizard and I”’s is artful, winking at what the audience thinks they know about what’s to come. I mean, she’d be so happy she could MELT? There’s a reason this song is held in such high esteem.

  • “‘The Wizard and I’ in many ways is like Howard Ashman plagiarism. It’s such an Ashman ‘I Want’ song, but ‘Wizard and I’ blows basically all of his ‘I Want’ songs out of the water … except MAYBE ‘Part of Your World.’” —Z.S.
  • “I am not a singer, but I once sang ‘The Wizard and I’ for an audition and bitch, I booked. ‘A celebration throughout Oz that’s all to do with me’ is such an iconic line, like being 7 years old and hearing that, even I was gagging.”—R.H.
  • “For the actress, it’s such a flex to come straight out the gate with this song. And for the audience, it’s so thrilling. Plus, each time she says ‘the wizard and I’ the ‘I’ becomes more and more prominent until she holds out that big glorious last note. But sometimes I yearn for Elphaba’s cut ‘I Want’ song, ‘Making Good.’ ‘The Wizard and I’ focuses so much on Elphaba’s ambition, but ‘Making Good’ was such a well of background info on her.” —K.B.
  • “Whenever I listen to this song, I think about the Stephen Schwartz anecdote about how they were trying to crack this number and then sat down and thought about what made Idina Menzel a singular performer. Audiences expect her bombastic belt, so let’s craft a song that makes you WAIT for it. Making the moment she finally gives it to you all the more exciting.” —Q.B.

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Which Wicked Act One Song Is Your Favorite?