| As Long as You're Mine | |
| Artist: | Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz |
| Album: | Wicked |
| Released: | December 16, 2003 |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Genre: | Show tunes |
| Label: | Decca Broadway |
| Length: | 3:48 |
"As Long As You're Mine" is a song from the second-act of the Grammy Award-winning musical Wicked by Stephen Schwartz. 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.
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.
The basic tune was originally written by Stephen Schwartz, in the early 1970s.[8] [9] 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". 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]
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]
Entertainment Weeklys Maureen Lee Lenker considers the song a fan favourite. Stan Friedman of NewYorkTheatreGuide.com thought the song contained "strains" of Pippin,[18] while Times Richard Zoglin felt that all the songs were "Unmemorable".[19]