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As Long As You're Mine

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"As Long as You're Mine"
Song by Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz
from the album Wicked
ReleasedDecember 16, 2003
GenreShow tunes
Length3:48
LabelDecca Broadway
Songwriter(s)Stephen Schwartz (music) Winnie Holzman (lyrics)

"As Long As You're Mine" is a song from the second-act of the Grammy Award-winning musical Wicked by Stephen Schwartz, with lyrics by Winnie Holzman. It is a duet between Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Fiyero, with whom she is in love. It was originally performed by Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz, who played the roles of Elphaba and Fiyero, respectively, in the original Broadway cast.

Context

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The song is sung in the second act of the musical. In the duet, as Elphaba is on the run from the Wizard's forces,[1][2] the two express their newly discovered love for each other.[3][4] At the end of the song, Elphaba confesses that she feels "Wicked" for the first time. This is a play on the moniker she has been given, and the British slang term wicked, a reference to the fact that Fiyero has been romantically involved with Elphaba's closest friend, Glinda,[5][6] and Elphaba's first move into the world of romance, in contrast to the feelings expressed in I'm Not That Girl.[7] However, Elphaba senses that her sister Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East, is in danger, and runs to her aid.

Composition

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The basic tune was originally written by Stephen Schwartz, in the early 1970's.[8][9][10] He used it in Wicked as the opening theme, and the basis for the only love duet in the musical and, for this reason, he wanted a sensual and passionate score, but also aggressive and "dark".[6] The song begins with the first notes of No One Mourns the Wicked, but played on the piano and with some electric bass with a faster rhythm, the same chord progression becomes the basis for a romantic duet.[10][11]

Other versions

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Eden Espinosa recorded a version with David Burnham for his self-titled album in 2007.[12]

Lee Mead performed an all-male version with fellow "Any Dream Will Do" alumni Daniel Boys at Boys' cabaret event in August 2014, having also recorded a version with Rachel Tucker for his 10th anniversary album in February 2014.[13]

Willemijn Verkaik and Kevin Tarte recorded a version of the track for Tarte's 2014 album "Reflection".[14] For the musical's fifteenth anniversary special for NBC, A Very Wicked Halloween, Ledisi and Adam Lambert performed the song.[15][16]

For Playbill's "Pride in Times Square" event in June 2024, recent Broadway Elphabas Talia Suskauer and Lissa deGuzman sang the song together.[17]

Critical reaction

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Entertainment Weekly's Maureen Lee Lenker considers the song a fan favourite.[15] Stan Friedman of NewYorkTheatreGuide.com thought the song contained "strains" of Pippin,[18] while Time's Richard Zoglin felt that all the songs were "Unmemorable".[19]

References

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  1. ^ Russo, Gillian (January 11, 2023). "All the songs in 'Wicked' on Broadway". New York Theatre Guide.
  2. ^ Swain, Marianka (November 18, 2022). "A complete guide to all the songs in 'Wicked'". London Theatre.
  3. ^ Devlin, Caitlin (October 8, 2024). "Every song from Wicked, ranked". Ticketmaster UK.
  4. ^ Brunsdon, Hay (June 3, 2024). "A Definitive Guide to Wicked Songs". LondonTheatreDirect.com.
  5. ^ Jerrica Tisdale (March 30, 2024). "7 Wicked Songs And Scenes I Can't Wait To See In The Movies". CinemaBlend.
  6. ^ a b "Wicked – Songs | Stephen Schwartz Answers Questions About Wicked's Score" (PDF). StephenSchwartz.com.
  7. ^ Edith Salfinger BA BA (September 2020). "Ich Gehoer Nur Mir" Politics, Sex, Aan Emancipation: Female Empowerment In Musicals (PDF). Uni-Salzburg.at (MA thesis).
  8. ^ Laird, Paul R. (September 2017). Everett, William A. (ed.). The Cambridge companion to the musical [3rd edition]. Cambridge University Press. Page 12 "How to Create a Musical: The Case of Wicked". ISBN 9781316335468 – via dokumen.pub.
  9. ^ Bowkett, Ian (13 September 2021). "A conversation with Stephen Schwartz: Pippin, that Wicked movie and an astonishing career as a composer". MusicalTheatreReview.com.
  10. ^ a b "Wicked – Musical Themes". MusicalSchwartz.com. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
  11. ^ "As Long As You're Mine by Wicked (Original Broadway Cast) Chords, Melody, and Music Theory Analysis". Hooktheory.
  12. ^ "As Long as You're Mine - Wicked lyrics". MusicalSchwartz.com.
  13. ^ Trewhela, Lee (21 June 2018). "TV singing star says he will play a pop-up show in Cornwall tonight for pasties". CornwallLive.com.
  14. ^ "Recording "As Long as You're Mine" by Kevin Tarte & Willemijn Verkaik". MusicBrainz.org.
  15. ^ a b Lenker, Maureen Lee (October 29, 2018). "The 5 best moments in A Very Wicked Halloween". Entertainment Weekly.
  16. ^ Sharpe, Lynn (April 1, 2024). "Ariana Grande Already Nailed One Wicked Song (But She Won't Sing It In The Movie)". ScreenRant.com.
  17. ^ "Video: See 2 Elphabas, Talia Suskauer and Lissa deGuzman, Duet 'As Long As You're Mine' at Playbill Pride". Playbill.com. 29 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Wicked reviews". New York Theatre Guide. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016.
  19. ^ Zoglin, Richard (November 17, 2003). "Theater: Which Witch Was Wicked?". Time. Archived from the original on July 8, 2007.
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