Paul Taswell

You know, I was talking about how Cynthia was cast.

You know, it was the first time that a Black woman had ever been cast in that role.

which is surprising because the whole point of the story is that she is, you know, being ostracized or vilified or, you know, that she's othered because of the color of her skin.

Now, it's a direct connection to, you know, the racial structure of, you know, even our country.

There are so many similarities in the emotional story for a person of color and how that relates to Elphaba.

Just lately, people have talked about it.

They call it the sex cardigan.

It came out of, very literally, an organic decision of what does Elphaba have access to?

And living alone, what choice would she make when she's, you know, looking for a robe, some way to be protective and warm?

And the sweater is one of comfort.

When you put someone in a cardigan or in a sweater, what you're doing is you're creating, you know, there are many different ways

you know, connections that we have.

Sometimes it's a hand-knit sweater, so it means, you know, you're connecting it to the person who actually made it, you know, which might be a mother or a grandmother or an aunt.

So that gives you comfort.

You know, you think about a boyfriend sweater.

And that, again, is there's the idea of an oversized, comfortable, something that you could wrap in, how it makes you feel.

I get that.

It's operating as her robe for that moment and for her in exile, and she is making a softer choice alone in her surroundings of roots and vines and all the elements that are around her.

And you can imagine that, you know, because she's crafting all of that.

You know, she's got a loom in her live space, in her treehouse, where she's weaving her own clothing.