Unlimited...Together We're...Unlimited

The key change that changed everything for some and something for everyone

Nov 25, 2024

The first time I heard the song "Defying Gravity", it felt as if the world cracked open. Right from the inside of that 2000 Honda Civic driving south on Interstate 95, somewhere between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. This wasn’t just another Broadway ballad; it was a moment of revelation for so many, including me.

I was a young man then, wearing the uniform of the United States Army, deep in the closet, grappling with a world that often felt too heavy to navigate. Close friends saw the anguish carried, like a compass. What they did not see however was the deep integrity desired, like an unknown destination. Nor did they see their friends being fired, cutting into our core like a fissure. It was the early 2000s and we didn’t think there would be much hope to hold on to when it came to change. It is times like these so many of us turn to art to remind us what is real, relevant and revelatory.

Who knew what a revelation it would be. Certainly not me. And then when Idina Menzel as Elphaba sang those words—“Something has changed within me, something is not the same”— I felt the stirrings of a courage I hadn’t known I could possess. Till that very key change. That is when I knew there would someday be a time when others cared to find me, at my heights of happiness, when I finally got the chance to fly…free and authentically.

This week, as I took in the story of WICKED so expansively on the big screen, I was transported back 20 years to the days of me belting its songbook from the safety of that Honda Civic, speeding on open highways to meet the magnitude of the measure of a man moved by song, a man trying to love and live defiantly.

The power of "Defying Gravity" lies not just in its soaring melody but in its message, now brought to millions more this week in cinemas across the world. New faces, new voices, same stirring soliloquy. What began as an inverse exploration of the complexities of good and evil by an unknown author nearly 30 years ago has become an intercultural battle cry for vindication and validation. The world’s chorus of vigilante voices miscast as villains now has an anthem to chant on the ascent to victory.

WICKED, from its pages, to its stages, and now to its screens shows us the power of an overdue and unapologetic declaration of self-worth amidst the brave refusal to let societal norms dictate who you should be. Back in the early 2000s, being a closeted gay man was often an exercise in restraint—fitting into expectations, hiding truths, and dulling dreams to stay invisible…to stay limited. But for many of us, especially those who wore the green, in those three-and-a-half minutes where gravity left the earth we were given permission to dream of more. To imagine dancing through life.

Elphaba’s story and Glinda’s story at first glance isn’t a love story, but for so many of us, watching, healing and reeling, it is just that. Beautifully and delicately that. The metaphor of the misunderstood outsider who learns to embrace her differences alongside the accepted and the protected is one that so much of the world needs to watch today, if not everyday. It is a stanza we know the words to all too well. So, when hearing the cry by which Elphaba proclaims “I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game” it feels so instantly etherical like someone has reached into my life and transformed my unspoken fears and longings into a battle cry.

The notes of "Defying Gravity" don’t just ascend; they soar. And don’t we all want to soar? When Elphaba declares “I’m flying high, defying gravity”, it’s more than an assertion of defiance—it’s a proclamation of freedom. For a young gay man still hiding in the shadows, that song felt like an invitation to step into the light...for the first time, and for the rest of my life. "Close my eyes and leap."

But coming out was fraught with fear of rejection, judgment, and even abandonment - a human’s greatest worry. And as I sat alone, like many did then, listening to the soundtrack over and over, I began to feel something shift. "Defying Gravity" was more than a song—it was a mantra. It whispered that it was okay to be different, that it was possible to rise above the confines of fear and live authentically and fully and faithfully.

Even now, as I sit in a theater packed with families, and multiple generations from all over the world, the memory of hearing those first few notes fills me with emotion. The orchestrations, paired this time with Cynthia’s powerful vocals, made it impossible not to feel the weight of any unvoiced hero’s journey. The bravery, the willingness to embrace who you are despite the odds, feels like a roadmap for finding your own path. I remember thinking then, two decades ago, as many young people will today, “If she could defy gravity, maybe I could too.”

As the world watches WICKED brought to the big screen in its two-part film adaptation, I am reminded of how profound that first encounter with "Defying Gravity" was for me. While we will have to wait for the second film to hear the equally emotional "For Good", which for me began it all, the impact of "Defying Gravity" remains as potent as ever. Seeing it performed in a limitless canvas and reliving that pivotal moment, was like reconnecting with an old friend who had once pulled me out of the darkness.

Today, I see how far I’ve come from the scared young man who heard that song for the first time. "Defying Gravity" didn’t just move me; it changed me. It gave me the courage to imagine a life where I wasn’t defined by fear, where I could live openly and authentically. And for that, I will always be grateful.

Thank you Stephen. Thank you Idina. Thank you Kristin. Thank you Cynthia. Thank you Ariana. Thank you Jon. Thank you Billy.

For all the Elphabas out there, still wondering if they can rise above: you can. That first step is terrifying, and we may feel like we are falling once we do, but as the song reminds us, the leap is worth it.