Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 12:44pm

Wicked is such a succes! So is Maguire's other Fairy Tale Novel Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister next in line??!?

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 12:47pm

Oh please - as long as the musical is written by someone who knows HOW - like Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine..

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 12:51pm

many people said that Wicked shoulda been written by Sondheim because of its huge span through time and its immense scope, Stepsisters is fairly easy yet challenging. It could be very interesting since the star is Iris, the younger stepsister.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:27pm

It will be interesting to see if this happens... personally, i had a hard time following this story... I hope Mirror Mirror is better...

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:35pm

I enjoyed the movie version of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I could see it as a Broadway play; but not a musical. Then again, had I seen a movie version of Wicked before it was a musical I might have said the same thing.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:37pm

To be honest - I haven't read the book but my lover has and he thought it was good, after a slow start. I read Wicked and thought it had immense possibilities as a dark and dramatic piece - and at the risk of pissing off a lot of its followers, I have to admit that I really dislike the current production. I wanted something with much more substance - and it failed me. This is not to say that the performances are not wonderful - they are! Idina has made a fan of me and I already loved Kristin. But they are only doing the best with what has been given them and its crap to me. And where's the flying????? When Elphaba sings "Defying Gravity" all they do is lift her up in the air standing on a platform (unless they've changed this since I saw it on Halloween)...I wanted to see her get on that broom and fly out over the audience - you can't tell me with all the advances by Foy and other flying agencies, that she couldn't do something like that. So (all ranting aside) I just find the show to be an overall disappointment. Thanks for letting me vent - I've wanted to say this for a long time!LOL!

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:41pm

there was a movie version of Confessions???

[Princess MimiChica]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:44pm

Mirror, Mirror was my first Maguire book, and I hated it. The prose was very stuffy and pretentious, and the plot is not nearly as interesting as Wicked. After reading Wicked, I was frustrated that so many things were left unanswered .I like the fact tha tthe musical at least has most loose ends tied up...And, I thought the book could use a few more light-hearted moments..don't get me wrong, the book was very interesting and i'm glad I read it, but I've come to the conclusion that Maguire is jus ta frustrating author in general.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:50pm

It was a made for tv movie, but yes, it was a movie last year. Stockard Channing was in it playing the Stepmother.

I agree about the flying part in Wicked. It's very cheesy. That show is not very great as far as special effects go. They must think that by having a huge set and flashy costumes it will make up for the fact that their special effects are nothing but a lazer light show and some smoke. I enjoy the actors, and the singing though.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:51pm

oh no!!! i thoroughly enjoyed the book Wicked... i wish the play incorporated much more of it... and i agree with RedHot, where was the FLYING!?!?!? even the FLYING monkeys merely swung from the flies when they should have flown up to the balcony and out of sight... now THAT would have impressed me...

HOWEVER, i do agree with you that Maguire's writing could be a bit less stilted... Confessions was a hard book to start and then follow because of the stuffy and pretentious writing... I'm still going to get Mirror Mirror when it appears in paperback...

I confess i haven't read any of his other books... i had always assumed Lost was the story of Hansel and Gretel... if not, perhaps he should have a look at that one, hmmm?

But i have to say that i felt the other way around... the play left many loose ends and many things unexplained, while the book went into great detail... the play also had to have a happy ending for the tourist and middle america crowd...

AND, while i'm at it, i guess Confessions was a TV movie with Stockard Channing and Jonathan Pryce... who knew? Updated On: 2/24/04 at 02:51 PM

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:52pm

oh and one more thing... why was the dragon hovering over the stage never explained? those who read the book know it to be the Clock of the Time Dragon but what if you hadn't?

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 2:58pm

You GO JoeyJoe....I like your style! (among other things)

So when is Sondheim gonna tackle another dark and mysterious show? I needs me fix!

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 3:03pm

well, there's always hope for Bounce! i hope...

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 3:32pm

"why was the dragon hovering over the stage never explained? those who read the book know it to be the Clock of the Time Dragon but what if you hadn't?"

You're right about that because I never read the book, and when I saw Wicked on Broadway I thought the dragon was just their to look cool and take up space. I thought it was a waste of money; but now I know it actually means something. lol Thanks :)

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 5:24pm

I would like to see Sondheim tackle something dark and mysterious. Bounce was a little bit dark, not so mysterious, and very very dull. He's already done the twisted take on fairy tales, so Maguire material is out. Now something on Wanda Holloway, the Texas Cheerleading Murdering Mom (brilliantly filmed for HBO with Holly Hunter) could be a rather engaging story for Sondheim. High school, competition, cheerleaders, greed, attempted homocide, and all with a Texas twang. Could have some real possibilities...

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 2/24/04 at 8:44pm

I loved Wicked (the book). At first I was really frustrated with all the unanswered questions but I started filling in the holes with my imagination and it's very entertaining when I'm bored! :)

I read the book after seeing the show and I think this was the right decision. They are SO different, I could see why reading the book first would make you resentful towards the plot changes in the musical.

[stop!]

Posted: 2/25/04 at 9:27pm

the whole your are talking about in the wicked book were left for your mind to conclude, unlike bway prod where they had to answer it and conclude it for audiences....but i agree they are almost two different things. and he wrote four similair books one dealing with scrooge.