This book is a beautiful attempt at something great, but is not without it's shortcomings. As a published children's book author and illustrator, I can understand how producing a "making of" book is extremely hard to present on a thematic level. I do think that the illustrations are beautiful, and the layout is just as nice (gotta love those full page bleeds!), but it seems that there was too much attention paid to the overall kitschy-aesthetic-gimmick quality and not enough on the core content. Maybe I'm just a tight-arse, but I found that to be slightly condescending. The libretto doesn't (really) give away any of the plot points that we all know occur (Boq as the Tin Man, the fact that the Wicked Witch really didn't die, Fiyero as the Scarecrow), but instead leaves those critical points out (or rather, alluded to). But why? For fear they'll spoil the experience for first-time WICKED go'ers? I'm perplexed because I would think the people who are shelling out forty bucks for this book are WICKED/theatre clan. Which brings me to the glossary. Under the term "WIZOMANIA", I found the definition funny in it's mockery of the die-hard WICKEDophiles. A slightly bold reference to the very people/fans that made WICKED what it is today. I could have done without the Fiyero "Oz Beat" spread, and the "are you a Glinda or an Elphaba" quiz. A definite nod to their core demographic! In my opinion, the pictures of the props and costumes weren't elaborated on enough, but the text/articles/excerpts are wonderful. Wouldn't it be nice to see pictures of the guards costumes and the beautiful Emerald City gowns? We get an (amazing) two-page spread on Nessa's two wheel chairs, but we don't get any close-ups of her silver slippers? I felt that, from a pictorial standpoint, it was vastly incomplete. On the flip side, what they do give us is beautiful. The full-page VANITY FAIR photos are gorgeous and personally worth the money I spent on the book alone. 3 out of 5 stars on my end...
Updated On: 10/19/05 at 11:33 AM
