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"Wicked": Novel vs. Stage Production

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#1

"Wicked": Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 2:00am

Dear fellow Broadway lovers,

I have just recently finished Gregory Maguire's novel and have heard the buzzing about a sit-down production of the musical here where I live in 2007. I am curious to see it, but would like to know your opinion...will the show "spoil" the novel for me in any way? I did enjoy the book because the story was so cleverly crafted--every element had its place. How different is the show from the novel?

Carrie
www.ladesigngirl.com
#3

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 8:42am

They are VERY different, actually. Both are incredible on their own with different things to offer. Trying to compare them is like rying to compare oranges and apples.
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES--- "THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
#4

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 9:22am

I agree with EponineAmneris.

The two are very different works. Many people will respond in this thread and call the musical a bastardization of the novel, saying it butchered it. I disagree. The novel is much, much darker than the show is. Schwartz and co. took elements of the novel (and certain plot points) and adapted them for the stage. Many elements of the novel would not have (IMO) translated well to the musical stage.

The biggest difference, I think, is the ending. I won't spoil it for you, but the musical has a completely different ending than the book did.

I read the novel first, then saw the show. I enjoyed both for what they were. You'll enjoy the show a lot more if you don't go in expecting a page by page stage translation of the novel.
#5

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 9:30am

They are very different. G(a)linda has a larger part in the musical. Avrick, as you may remember is not in the musical and Fieyro takes his personality.
Just because I got the lead doesn't mean you can't be my understudy!:)
#6

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 9:32am

Personally I liked the novel better, but with that being said I also enjoyed the show very much.
"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." Conan O'Brien
#7

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 10:45am

L.A. Design Girl---I like them both equally as well. But I see them as two completely different works.

If you go into the theatre with any sort of "purist" attitudes about seeing the novel on stage, you are bound to be disappointed. If you understand that the basic premise of the book is still there, and most of the characters, but many things (including major plot points and emphasis) have changed... you'll probably enjoy it quite a lot, as I did.

There is still a universal truth that it taps into, which I believe is the reason for the widespread success of both the novel and the stage show.

That "universal truth" was captured beautifully in both.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#8

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:39pm

No. The reason is that they are nothing alike. When you see Wicked, you hardly think of the novel at all because there are a few of the same characters (which do none of the same things) and maybe a couple of the same plot ideas. You must think of them as two different things.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#9

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:45pm

Agree with most already. Loved them both, but they are different. Enjoy each one for what it is.
#10

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:48pm

These debates go on and on.

Carrie, just curious, but have you heard the Wicked recording? That should tell you something.
#11

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:52pm

I feel they are almost completely different in every aspect. I wouldn't go as far as to say the show "bastardized" the novel, because I really think they are so different that they have to be judged on their own accord (so different, in fact, that I would have prefered the musical being credited as "insipred by" the novel instead of "based upon.")
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
#12

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:54pm

Yeah the novel and the musical are different. I could not read the novel no matter how many times I tried but I really enjoyed the musical.
#13

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:56pm

The novel is much darker and more political. The musical is the fluffed up version of the book, really. A lot of the things in the book wouldn't really translate well and make a good musical, so I suppose all of the change is understandable, but just know that they are two very, very dfferent things. I like the novel a lot better.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
#14

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:57pm

A little off topic, but a friend who works at the Pantages has confirmed that an open-ended run is coming to the Pantages in early 2007. No news on casting, but it an open ended sit down production.

And, the book and musical are very, very different. Some of the basic themes are the same, but the book is much more detailed, much darker, and not quite the same sugary concoction that the musical is. I liked the musical, but loved the book.
#15

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 12:58pm

We might have some insight into the casting for the LA sitdown already...

Megan Hilty told fans at the stage door after her last show that the producers had started talking to her about opening the LA company and that, most likely, she will indeed be doing it.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.

Updated On: 7/5/06 at 12:58 PM

#16

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 1:06pm

Peach: "Agree with most already. Loved them both, but they are different. Enjoy each one for what it is."

I agree with Peach.

Also, I recommend that you read "Son of a Witch", the sequel to "Wicked". I actually enjoyed reading it more than I did "Wicked", Mr. Maquire takes some very interesting twists and turns. Plus, the ending is highly enjoyable, there's a great pay off.
#17

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 1:12pm

I prefer WICKED to SON OF A WITCH. I've read both many times, and I feel that Maguire wrote Liir's book because he knew he'd make some money. (That's just my opinion though.)

The character of Elphaba is more complex than Liir. I also think they have two completely different tones. WICKED is more satirical, and Liir is pretty much a coming-of-age.

Too bad they kicked Liir out of the musical.
#18

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 1:48pm

In my opinion, the novel is much more adult. The novel is almost more complex but you will find some relation, not complete relation. It looks like Stephen Schwartz striped the novel to its bare essentials and then remixed them to make the context suitable to all ages, young and old.
theatre major, class of 2011 ♥
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#19

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 1:53pm

I don't like to think of them as the same story. I process them as two seperate entities. The show is a watered down version, yet I prefer it over the novel.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
#20

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 3:14pm

The aspect of the novel that is missing - and that I miss most in the musical - is Elphaba's unpleasantness.

She is much nastier, smater and more flawed in the novel. She isn't the young misunderstood girl with big ideals as in the musical. She is much more irritating. I wish the musical had been just a little bolder in allowing Elphaba to be bit more unlikeable.
#21

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 3:18pm

The musical is sooooooo incredibly different from the book. I personally prefer the show more but that's just my opinion. I don't think the musical will "spoil" the book for you. Go into it with and open mind and you should enjoy it.
#23

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 4:08pm

I enjoyed Liir's transformation in SoW and I seriously hope Maguire has a third book in him because he left way too many plot points unresolved.

As for the OP's question, both are just so different. Reading or seeing one will not hamper your enjoyment of the other.
#24

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 8:09pm

I love that people want a sequel to Wicked (the musical) because there is a sequel to the book. Umm... the sequel of the book is about a character that's not even in the musical.

I process them as two seperate entities.
Exactly. That's how you have to see it.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#25

re: 'Wicked': Novel vs. Stage Production

Posted: 7/5/06 at 8:13pm

The novel isn't going to spoil book, but you have to expect huge diffrences.
The bushes of Tex were nervous recks because their son was dim, But look what happened to him~Dirrty Rotten Scoundrels~all about Ruprecht They say the thoughtful musicals dead on broadway~forbiden broadway : SVU~The crime scene Never say never, there's always one more person you can hit up~avenue Q.~the money song Life sucks, get a pacifyer~my own saying

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