Elphaba

"Elphie" redirects here. For people and with fictional characters with similar names, see Elfi.

Elphaba
The Wicked Years character
Myra Ruiz as Elphaba in the musical theatre version of Wicked, Brazil 2016
First appearance	Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995)
Created by	Gregory Maguire
Based on	Wicked Witch of the West by L. Frank Baum
Portrayed by	Idina Menzel (musical adaptation) Cynthia Erivo (Wicked, Wicked: For Good)
In-universe information
Full name	Elphaba Thropp
Alias	Wicked Witch of the West
Nickname	Elphie
Family	Oscar Diggs (father) Nessarose Thropp (half-sister)
Significant other	Fiyero Tigelaar
Children	Liir Thropp (son)
Religion	None (atheist)
Nationality	Ozian

Elphaba Thropp (/ˈɛlfəbə ˈθrɒp/ ^ⓘ) is a fictional character created by Gregory Maguire as the protagonist of his 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. She also appears in the novel's musical theatre adaptation, as well as the musical's two-part film adaptation, Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025).

Elphaba is a reimagining of the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In Baum's novel, the Witch is unnamed and little is explained about her life; Maguire's Wicked creates a backstory for her and explores events in the Land of Oz through her perspective. Elphaba's name was formulated from the pronunciation of Baum's initials ("L.F.B."), while her appearance was modeled after Margaret Hamilton's portrayal of the Witch in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz: green-skinned, clad entirely in black, and wearing a tall peaked hat.

In the musical

Elphaba is one of two lead characters in the musical adaptation of Wicked, alongside Galinda Upland / Glinda the Good. The role was originated on Broadway and the West End by Idina Menzel, who won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.

As musical book writer Winnie Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill, "It was Maguire's brilliant idea to take this hated figure and tell things from her point of view, and to have the two witches be roommates in college, but the way in which their friendship develops – and really the whole plot – is different onstage." Schwartz justified the deviation, saying "Primarily we were interested in the relationship between Galinda – who becomes Glinda – and Elphaba...the friendship of these two women and how their characters lead them to completely different destinies." In addition to this change in focus, other major plot modifications include Fiyero's appearance as a scarecrow, Elphaba's survival at the end, Nessarose using a wheelchair instead of being born without arms, Boq having a continuing love interest for Glinda – and eventually becoming the Tin Woodman instead of Nick Chopper, the complete cutting of Elphaba's years in the Vinkus, the deletion of Liir's birth, Fiyero not having a wife and children, and Doctor Dillamond not being murdered.

Film portrayal

Cynthia Erivo portrays Elphaba in the musical's two-part film adaptation, Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025), while Karis Musongole portrays her as a child. For her performance in the first film, Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.