As Long as You're Mine

"As Long as You're Mine" is a song from the second act of the musical Wicked (2003) 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.

"As Long as You're Mine"
Song by Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz
from the album Wicked
Released	December 16, 2003
Genre	Show tunes
Length	3:48
Label	Decca Broadway
Songwriter(s)	Stephen Schwartz

Context

The song is sung in the second act of the musical. In the duet, as Elphaba and Fiyero 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.

Composition

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".^[6] 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]

Other versions

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]

During Ben Platt's residency reopening the Palace Theatre on Broadway, he performed the song with former Broadway Elphaba Shoshana Bean as a special guest.^[18]

It is set to appear in Wicked: For Good (2025), the upcoming second part of Universal Pictures' two-part film adaptation of the musical, sung by Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.^[19]

Critical reaction

Entertainment Weekly's Maureen Lee Lenker considers the song a fan favorite.^[15] Stan Friedman of NewYorkTheatreGuide.com thought the song contained "strains" of Pippin,^[20] while Time's Richard Zoglin felt that all the songs were "Unmemorable".^[21]