NPR “Fresh Air”: 'I'm telling a silent story': Paul Tazewell on 'Wicked' and the magic of costume design

Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell has been enchanted by Oz and Munchkinland for most of his life. Growing up, it was an Easter tradition for his family to watch the annual TV broadcast of The Wizard of Oz. Tazewell remembers being struck by the visuals of the 1939 film.

"Going from sepia tone in Dorothy's house to technicolor when she enters into Munchkinland — that's one of the most magical transitions that I can remember," he says.

Tazewell worked to capture the same magic in Wicked: For Good. When Glinda descends from her bubble in iridescent blue and lavender, or when Elphaba sweeps through the sky for the first time in a weathered trench coat and trousers, their clothes are an integral part of the story, telling us who these women have become.

"I see my work as a costume designer to be one of a storyteller, and I'm telling a silent story," Tazewell says. "It reveals itself adjacent to the performances of the characters."

Link: https://www.npr.org/2025/12/01/nx-s1-5621908/wicked-costume-design-paul-tazewell