This post has taken too long to come out! A recent weekend in London reminded me of it and so here it is!
As a belated birthday treat I headed to London to stay with my sister and saw the musical magic of Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz. It’s been running at the Apollo Victoria London since September 2006 and the original Broadway production launched the careers of people like Idina Menzel, so I’m not going to bore you with a review when there are billions of them out there.
I didn’t realise until a close friend mentioned it was her favourite book that Wicked isn’t just based on The Wizard of Oz, but it’s a novel in its own right. The Programme has an article by the author that was a great little read when I was tucked up in bed in a post-Wicked afterglow (anyone caught themselves humming ‘defying gravity’ only to then belt it out over the washing up? Just me?)
So I thought it would be worth a read. This
spur of the moment decision (along with the idea to blog about it) is why I
love my kindle- one quick tap and it was mine to read! (The ease of purchase
also means that most of my money goes on books, but they’re so much cheaper I
feel like it’s ok).
I’ve started this post before reading it and
I’ll admit I have my reservations- when it comes from book to film adaptations,
I stand by the book all the way. However, when it’s a musical adaptation,
that’s a bit of a game changer. I love
me a musical. Seriously. There were many looks of concern when I told my
flatmates that during essay stress, I watched Legally Blonde: The Musical until 2am to calm me down.
Wicked is one of the big Broadway
musicals- the production is a big blowout number. After all, it’s been so
successful, why wouldn’t they go for it! Even in the dress circle seats we had
(complete with my sister on a booster cushion so that it wasn’t restricted view
for her) it was an immersive experience. The music was really only a
significant, but not dominant part of it. The stage, set, costumes and overall
production were out of this world. Can the book really live up to such a show?
For starters, the book is worth the
introduction- I didn’t realise, but Gregory Maguire is/was an
American who lived in the UK when he was writing Wicked- meaning that some of my literary heroes inspired his work-
he mentions C.S. Lewis, Wordsworth and Coleridge. I seem to just really like
his ‘voice’- the article he wrote for the programme was interesting and easy reading,
much like this introduction. So far so good!
I have now finally finished the book- hence it's almost been a long time between starting and finishing this post! So without spoiling anything, here are my thoughts in comparison to the musical.
Just a quick side note: read the book. Just do it. Also, go and see the musical. Doesn't matter which order, just do it. If this is all you take from this post, I'll be happy.
The basic plot line: Set in Oz, Elphaba is born green- causes a bit of stir and she's deemed really really odd, but not evil. She grows up, meets Glinda and a few others at university. Most important out of these is Dr Dillamond, her tutor who is also a talking goat (notice the C.S. Lewis connection?). He tells her that the Wizard isn't as great as everyone thinks because he's passing new laws to oppress these talking animals. Elphaba takes up his cause against the Wizard and is named and enemy of the state. From there on it follows her struggles against the Wizard and the public smear campaign he sets up against her, before coinciding with the story of The Wizard of Oz.
I love this book, because it's an easy read that actually still requires your brain to engage in some pretty topical ideas- ultimately the idea that 'one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist'- Maguire makes the witch of the west out to be a full character, rather than the 2-dimesnsional baddie that we know from Oz.
In that sense, both book and show are pretty similar- but they don't have all the same characters, or follow the same story. In fact, the story that the show picks up on makes me love it even more.
In the book, they talk of 'the clock of the time dragon' a weird wind up play with puppets- all run on cogs. The description in the book of this construction I realised fits the set design of the show entirely. Later on in the book, Elphaba watches another show in the clock of the time dragon that ends up being scenes in the Musical. Essentially, the musical picks up on the themes of the book and projects them through the play that is within the book, rather than the plot line of the book itself.
It sounds a bit confusing, but in all honesty it relieved me to see such a clear connection between page and stage because I was so worried that they would have created a watered-down adaption- in fact for a very long time while reading, I was pretty angry that they had. However, by taking on one aspect of the book that is distinguished as separate from the main plot line but still with all of my favourite characters in, it's pretty clever.
It also makes me kind of pleased that all aspects of the show are inspired by the book in some way- not just the story but the set, music (Elphaba in the book is known as an amazing singer) and the ideas of 'good' and 'bad' coming together.
It's impossible to capture both a book and a musical in one blog post, but I think ultimately what is amazing about this story is that presents itself as something fun- a spin off from a children's book, or a show with amazing music, when it's actually so much more powerful than that. I had no idea what I was getting myself into until I was reading/watching it- so find out for yourself and if you can't get down to London for the show, at least read the book! It is well worth it, I promise you.
I have now finally finished the book- hence it's almost been a long time between starting and finishing this post! So without spoiling anything, here are my thoughts in comparison to the musical.
Just a quick side note: read the book. Just do it. Also, go and see the musical. Doesn't matter which order, just do it. If this is all you take from this post, I'll be happy.
The basic plot line: Set in Oz, Elphaba is born green- causes a bit of stir and she's deemed really really odd, but not evil. She grows up, meets Glinda and a few others at university. Most important out of these is Dr Dillamond, her tutor who is also a talking goat (notice the C.S. Lewis connection?). He tells her that the Wizard isn't as great as everyone thinks because he's passing new laws to oppress these talking animals. Elphaba takes up his cause against the Wizard and is named and enemy of the state. From there on it follows her struggles against the Wizard and the public smear campaign he sets up against her, before coinciding with the story of The Wizard of Oz.
I love this book, because it's an easy read that actually still requires your brain to engage in some pretty topical ideas- ultimately the idea that 'one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist'- Maguire makes the witch of the west out to be a full character, rather than the 2-dimesnsional baddie that we know from Oz.
In that sense, both book and show are pretty similar- but they don't have all the same characters, or follow the same story. In fact, the story that the show picks up on makes me love it even more.
In the book, they talk of 'the clock of the time dragon' a weird wind up play with puppets- all run on cogs. The description in the book of this construction I realised fits the set design of the show entirely. Later on in the book, Elphaba watches another show in the clock of the time dragon that ends up being scenes in the Musical. Essentially, the musical picks up on the themes of the book and projects them through the play that is within the book, rather than the plot line of the book itself.
It sounds a bit confusing, but in all honesty it relieved me to see such a clear connection between page and stage because I was so worried that they would have created a watered-down adaption- in fact for a very long time while reading, I was pretty angry that they had. However, by taking on one aspect of the book that is distinguished as separate from the main plot line but still with all of my favourite characters in, it's pretty clever.
It also makes me kind of pleased that all aspects of the show are inspired by the book in some way- not just the story but the set, music (Elphaba in the book is known as an amazing singer) and the ideas of 'good' and 'bad' coming together.
It's impossible to capture both a book and a musical in one blog post, but I think ultimately what is amazing about this story is that presents itself as something fun- a spin off from a children's book, or a show with amazing music, when it's actually so much more powerful than that. I had no idea what I was getting myself into until I was reading/watching it- so find out for yourself and if you can't get down to London for the show, at least read the book! It is well worth it, I promise you.
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