 The novel , described as a political , social and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil , takes place in the Land of Oz , in the years leading to Dorothy 's arrival . The story centers on Elphaba , the misunderstood , smart , and fiery girl of emerald @-@ green skin who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda , the beautiful , blonde , popular girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good Witch of the South . The story is divided into five different sections based on the plot location and presents events , characters and situations from L. Frank Baum 's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ( 1900 ) and its 1939 film adaptation in new ways . It is designed to set the reader thinking about what it really is to be ' Wicked ' , and whether good intentions with bad results are the same as bad intentions with bad results . Schwartz considered how best to condense the novel 's dense and complicated plot into a sensible script . To this end , he collaborated with Emmy Award – winning writer Winnie Holzman to develop the outline of the plot over the course of a year while meeting with producer Marc Platt to refine the structural outline of the show , spinning an original stage piece rather than creating a strict adaptation of Maguire 's work . 
