I’m, oh, five years behind the rest of the world, but I finally saw Wicked. It was, as promised, awesome. Even my husband liked it (although he still wonders why they have to sing everything). I was so taken with it I had to come home and do a little research on its background – here’s what I found out.
1. Although Gregory Maguire’s book by the same name of the musical had been out since 1995, the idea to turn it into a musical didn’t happen until three years later. Lyricist and composer Stephen Schwartz was on vacation with friends in 1998 when one of them mentioned that she had just read a really interesting book about the Wicked Witch of the West. Schwartz said the very idea hooked him immediately and as soon as he got home he had his lawyer find out who owned the rights to the book. It took another five years for the musical to be realized; it debuted on Broadway in October 2003.
2. The show was an amazing smash hit right from the get-go. Whereas it usually takes most successful productions two to three years to recover the original investment, Wicked made up the $14 million investment in just 14 months.
3. The Wicked Witch didn’t actually have a name in L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. When Gregory Maguire wrote Wicked, he named her using Baum’s initials – L.F.B. = El-pha-ba.
4. Wicked opened its third company at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in 2005. This theater was once known as the Oriental Theatre, and it’s where Judy Garland made her vaudeville debut as Baby Frances Gumm of the Gumm Sisters.
5. Those of us who aren’t super familiar with the world of Broadway might not know some of the big theater stars who have had roles in Wicked. But I bet you know these: the original cast included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Galinda and Joel Grey as the Wizard. In other tours and productions, Ana Gasteyer of SNL fame has played Elphaba, Taye Diggs and Joey McIntyre have played Fiyero, Ben Vereen has played the Wizard and everyone’s favorite Golden Girl hussy, Rue McClanahan, has played Madame Morrible.
6. You’d probably never recognize it, but there’s a tiny little tribute to “Over the Rainbow” in the song “Unlimited/I’m Limited” theme. It’s only the first seven notes of the song because, Schwartz said, copyright law dictates that eight notes can be considered the theft of a song. “Of course it’s obviously it’s also disguised in that it’s completely different rhythmically. And it’s also harmonized completely differently…. It’s over a different chord and so on, but still it’s the first seven notes of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’” he said.
7. One of the big, showstopping songs of the musical is “Defying Gravity,” the closing number of the first act. Idina Menzel has even recorded a dance version of the song and various artists have done cover versions. Despite the song’s popularity, it’s consistently outsold on iTunes by another song from the first act: “Popular” (appropriate, right?)
8. The original show contained a song that introduced the character of Fiyero called “Which Way’s the Party,” but test runs showed that it didn’t mesh well with the rest of the story. Schwartz took the summer to develop something new, and when he came back, he had written “Dancing Though Life.”
9. If you’re like me, you watched the show and thought, “How does Elphaba’s makeup not rub off on everything she touches?” The answer? MAC makeup, and yes, it already came in that color of green. They dilute it a little bit with water; Menzel likens the makeup application as watercoloring. You can see her getting the green treatment here:
Any Wicked aficionados out there who can give us the scoop on some more fun trivia? I hear there’s a book called Wicked: The Grimmerie that has all kinds of secrets and tricks within. Anyone have it?
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I just saw it last night as an early surprise birthday present! (With some of the last tickets available for the whole run in Seattle too.) I loved it. :]
Yes, there is a Grimmerie, it’s a pretty cool book.
http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Grimmerie-Behind-Scenes-Broadway/dp/1401308201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254517507&sr=8-1
posted by rikki on 10-2-2009 at 5:05 pm
My wife and I went to New York for our Honeymoon this past May and saw Wicked. It was amazing. I came home and read the book right away. We also went to see “Behind the Emerald Curtain” which is a behind the scenes presentation. Idina Menzel’s black dress for the opening run was $20,000. Just one dress.
posted by Nathan on 10-2-2009 at 5:17 pm
I’ve seen the musical which is awesome but definitely read the book. It’s completely different from the musical. Darker, sexier, political. I’d like to see what the book actually is turned into a movie or musical.
posted by Shannen on 10-2-2009 at 5:36 pm
You forgot to mention that the book is VERY different from the musical. Book includes such funness as bestiality, while I hear there’s no evidence of that in the musical…
posted by Megan on 10-2-2009 at 5:43 pm
And as I recall the endings are different…
posted by Leah on 10-2-2009 at 5:52 pm
The endings are very different, the ending does not work for the 13 other oz books written by baum. but i think they were trying to make a more happy ending to the musical, but drives me crazy since the ending of the musical kills the second oz book!
posted by Kelly on 10-2-2009 at 6:08 pm
I am glad to read that the musical is different from the book.
I was very unimpressed with book. :(
posted by teo on 10-2-2009 at 7:20 pm
Yay for musicals! I’m a bit bummed you didn’t talk about another super awesome aspect of the show though! The technical and production aspect of the production is superb. From the clockwork dragon over the stage to the tiny details on the dancers shoes, everything is amazing. As someone who’s studying theater design, I appreciate those details and the time that’s put into it.
posted by Lindsey E. on 10-2-2009 at 8:03 pm
The book was amazing. I’m seeing it this winter so I’m very excited!!! And I think they are in the process of turning it into a movie…
posted by Mindy on 10-2-2009 at 8:04 pm
I agree with teo–the book was not enjoyable. The character development took forever, and the plot moved as quickly as turtles stampeding through peanut butter. To be fair, I read another Gregory Maguire novel (Lost) with the same result.
posted by Liz on 10-2-2009 at 8:42 pm
Lost sucked big time but Wicked is one of my all-time favorite books. No, the plot doesn’t move quickly but thank God. It’s not meant to be a light read.
posted by Mother Chat on 10-2-2009 at 8:45 pm
The book was too… descriptive for me. Maybe the more raunchy (mature?) audience will like it more.
The music in the show is OK, but the story and characters are very enjoyable :) I saw it twice in SF and LA.
posted by Sam on 10-2-2009 at 10:06 pm
I thought the book was a mess.
I saw the show and thought I’d enjoy the book. I was wrong.
posted by Fred on 10-2-2009 at 11:14 pm
I haven’t seen the musical, but I was VERY unimpressed with the book. Very rarely do I consider a book a waste of time, but this one certainly qualified.
Negativity aside—From everything I’ve heard, the musical sounds like it’s great. I would love to see it if it were anywhere near me. Glad that you got the chance!
posted by Kelsey on 10-2-2009 at 11:36 pm
I also did not enjoy the book. Very disappointing as a few people told me it was great. However, I am very much looking forward to seeing the musical; I hope it’s as good as I’ve heard!
posted by Cristina on 10-3-2009 at 12:58 am
Adam Lambert, from American Idol, played Fiero in an LA production of the show.
posted by Katy on 10-3-2009 at 8:13 am
“The Grimmerie” is a REALLY cool book you should check out! I went out on Day 1 to get it when it was released!
Also, they just released a pop-up book for Wicked with some cool 3-D illustrations of the musical.
posted by Sean on 10-3-2009 at 8:53 am
Some other fun trivia – Also due to copyright law, Elphaba’s costume is not black, its a deep purple, as to not upset the Disney folks.
The book is full of foul language, sex, and adult situations, and is quite the opposite of the musical. Still both are entertaining, and worth the effort.
posted by Muppetmaker on 10-3-2009 at 1:10 pm
I read the book a bunch of years ago and was totally creeped out. I still haven’t gone to see the musical because the book weirded me out that much. blech.
posted by cati on 10-3-2009 at 4:31 pm
I loved the musical, and the book is one of my all time favorites, but they are absolutely very, very different stories. The book is much darker, it’s a meditation on the nature of good and evil, racism, terrorism, authoritarianism, love, loss, the limits of human nature. I’ve read it so many times that I’ve actually had to replace it because it fell apart. Twice. It’s a deep, dark, complex, disturbing story, no doubt, but all the better for it.
posted by Bekka on 10-4-2009 at 7:18 pm
Another fun fact-you can see references to the Wizard of Oz film throughout the musical. For instance the way Fiyero dances in “Dancing Through Life” is reminiscent of how the scarecrow dances in the movie.
Also if you listen to the lyrics in Wicked there are a lot of clever lines. Such as when Elphaba sings that nobody from Oz, no wizard will ever bring her down–it’s true. It’s a little girl from Kansas.
posted by Kate on 1-23-2011 at 10:23 pm