About the book...

[cvapb]

Posted: 6/9/04 at 5:48pm

hey everyone. this is probably a stupid question, but i am sort of confused. what exactly did winnie holzman do? i know gregory maguire wrote the book, but she got nominated for the book. i just dont know how it works, so if someone can fill me in. thanks alot:)

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 6/9/04 at 5:50pm

Winnie Holzman wrote the book for the musical, also called the script. Hope that helps!

[cvapb]

Posted: 6/9/04 at 5:54pm

oh ok gotcha.. thanks alot :)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/9/04 at 6:44pm

By the way, the book is not just the dialogue between the songs, but the entire structure of the piece. Some (not all) book writers actually write the whole show as a play first and the composers then come in and "cannibalize" it, taking a scene, a monologue or dialogue between characters and converting it into a song (e.g. Terrence McNally's books for "Ragtime," "The Full Monty" and "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" started out as his play adaptations of the source material; Kushner wrote "Caroline, or Change" as a play first and then worked with Jeanine Tesori to musicalize it). In the case of adapting existing material (a play, a novel, a movie), they have to be able to streamline all of the plot points, background and important character development down to the barest of bare bones, allowing the music and dance flesh out the details and bring the piece to life. The best book writers make the transitions into and out of songs and dance numbers totally seemless and organic to the overall show. A very hard job -- book writers are almost never given the credit when a show is a hit, but almost always the first to be blamed when a show is a flop.

Updated On: 6/9/04 at 06:44 PM

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 6/10/04 at 8:41am

Margo- you're my hero! I love the way you write.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/10/04 at 2:42pm

Absolutely agree. Hey Rob-ster maybe Margo could write a column or sumthin?