Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Wicked: Show first, or Book First
adviolin
Swing Joined: 4/17/05
#0Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 3:53pm
Hello everyone, I searched the site to see if this had already been answered, but couldn't find it. I am most likely going to see wicked in september, but I haven't read the book yet and I don't know the storyline. I'd like to read the book though. Do you think it would ruin the show for me if I read the book first? Would the show ruin the book? Any advice would be great!
Thanks
Adam
#1re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 3:57pmI read the book first and was glad because afterward the vastly different musical was hopelessly ingrained in my head, I've tried reading the book again but never with much sucess...
So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.~Office Space
FosseBoi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/30/04
#2re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 5:22pmYeah, DEF. read the book first! I saw the show, and then read the book thinking it was going to like the show, and it was NOTHING like the show. Imo, all they used from the book was the character names and the title. Anyone else know of something else they took from the book?
"I've always secretly longed for an actress to get to the top of the cherry picker and projectile vomit all over the guards below."- Wonderwaiter in the "Defy Gravity?" thread.
~~~~~~~~My dream? Sutton Foster as Cassie in A Chorus Line
#3re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 5:24pmreally? thats weird because when I went to see Wicked for the firs time I was deciding wether I should read the book first and I decided against it. I think that if you read the book and you fall inlove with it, you'll get to the stage and compare the book to the show and not pay attention, and also you might be disapointed or confused at some parts in the show because its so different from the book. I would see the show first so that you can concentrate on it and not be thinking about the book. The book is good, but it's different and more detailed from the show. There are a lot of details and characters they left out.
#4re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 5:25pm
I agree with the above post. See the show first so when you read it you can find out the background and such. If you read first i think you would focus on all the stuff that isn't in the show. I saw it and then read it and I personally liked it better that way.
A dancer might dream to see her name in lights and mean it,
but all she really dreams is to make someone
else feel the way she did when she first saw a dancer.
And that is so beautiful-Anonymous
Updated On: 7/30/05 at 05:25 PM
#5re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 5:26pm
The time dragon clock (sort of), and the mother having a little fling with the traveling salesman (though he didn't move in with the family)...other than that, I think the two are vastly different.
In LA, they are selling the book at the theater. I just wish they'd warn all parents to read the book before allowing their preteen girls to read it. I loved the book, but my 13 year old won't be reading it anytime soon.
YankeesFan175
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/8/05
#6re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 5:47pmI agree with defygravity2 and kim1061, see the show first. i havent read the book yet, but i think if you read the book first you wont be as open to the musical. if you see the show first, you can take that in and fully see what a masterpiece it really is. if you read the book first, all youre going to do is compare thinking "ok, thats WAY different" "she doesnt do that in the book!" etc. so i say wait until after to read the book so you can appreciate the show first. i think if you read the book first, the show wont be as enjoyable.
Bob: "there is a chance, albeit a microscopic one, that our baby at some point in his or her formative years will get lodged in a tree"
~Related~
#7re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 5:57pmI read the book first. I thought it was really neat to see how they incorporated certain things. But had I been expecting the show to be exactly like the book, I would have driven myself nuts. I think it depends on what you expect. I expected the show to only be loosley based so it didn't bother me. And I agree young teens should not read it.
Be the change you want in the world....
jczelyph
Broadway Star Joined: 10/21/04
#8re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 6:06pmI've read tthe book but it was a while ago. Remind me what is in there that is inappropriate for teens?
"Jane, I've been dealt a blow - I've been dealt a blow, Jane."
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
#9re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 6:11pm
This can be debated (only because of the type of society Oz is portrayed as) but the schoolboys (Fieryo and his friends) having sex with a tiger... that might be something you don't want your kids reading. Just things along those lines. And the detail about Elphaba killing (or not you learn) Madame Morrible.
I read the book first. Then got the cast album. I saw how it all fit into the story. Then I saw the show. I say it's glossed over but for the reason of turning it into a family-friendly show. If it had stayed true to the book, the musical could have been as gruesome as Sweeney Todd.
My 2 cents,
DT
#10re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 6:11pm
Explicit language and sex.....other than that-it's very child friendly. 
DefyGravity23
Stand-by Joined: 3/28/05
#11re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 6:12pmI listened to the music, read the book, then saw the show. It didn't ruin the show at all for me, actually it made me more surprised at the end. I don't know, the book is pretty different from the musical, so if that usually bothers you a lot then I wouldn't advise it. I'm pretty flexible when it comes to book adaptations though so it didn't bother me.
FosseBoi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/30/04
#12re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 6:14pm
I now see both sides. Go with what ever you feel you should do!
"I've always secretly longed for an actress to get to the top of the cherry picker and projectile vomit all over the guards below."- Wonderwaiter in the "Defy Gravity?" thread.
~~~~~~~~My dream? Sutton Foster as Cassie in A Chorus Line
Jwaa
Broadway Star Joined: 11/28/04
#13re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 7:35pm
read book first....i heard show first, but wished id read book because of false epectations
xx
#14re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 8:20pmAs long as you keep the fact that the show is "based" on the book in your mind, I definitely recommend reading the book first. A friend of mine didn't, and while she enjoyed the show, those of us who did read the book enjoyed things so much more.
"I had intended not to intrude myself upon your notice in this effective but alarming costume"
brandonm
Featured Actor Joined: 5/26/04
#15re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 10:06pmI read the book first, and it took me a while because i would get board with the book some since I wuz only 12 when i read it (it wuz a little mature for me then) then i saw the show on my 13th birthday. I like the show a lot better than the book, but if I read the book again I'm sure I would find the book a lot more interesting
"Let the little girl go, and that poor little dog? Dodo." That's my favorite line in the whole show (Wicked). My next favorite line is "Oh! It seems the artichoke is steamed."
Featured Actor Joined: 12/31/69
#16re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/30/05 at 11:13pmI would reccomend to read the book first because I saw the show first and then started reading the book and i got extremely bored with it. The book is just so much more in depth. The whole time i was reading it i wanted things to happen and i would end up skipping pages and eventually i just gave up.
#17re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 12:14amIt doesn't really matter...since they are almost completely separate entities. Aside from taking the basic idea of the backstory of the Wicked Witch, they are different in tone, and content. I've read the book and seen the show. I appreciate each for its own merits...but don't expect them to be at all similar. The show is NOT a representaion of what happens in the book.
#18re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 12:52amI read the book after finding out the story of the show and I found it quite hard to read because it was just so different but now I really love it cause I just think of them as two totally different things. I would recommend reading it first though.
J'ai compris tous les mots, j'ai bien compris, merci.............
#19re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 3:02amI saw the musical then read the book, doesn't really matter.
"I never had theatre producers run after me. Some people want to make more Broadway shows out of movies. But Elliot and I aren't going to do Batman: The Musical." - Julie Taymor 1999
#20re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 3:18amBook first, very different.
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
Glindafan
Stand-by Joined: 10/9/04
#21re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 7:46am
Turn Wicked into THREE new, loosely related experiences with this formula:
- Listen to the CD - get the songs down first
- see the show with zero expectations: you'll be delighted
- read the book for a deeper, richer experience
Do it in this order, and you will never regret it. Read the book first is the WORST way to go.
Wisdom often comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone
#22re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 8:48amI agree with GLindafan..and it turns out i did the exact same thing.
A dancer might dream to see her name in lights and mean it,
but all she really dreams is to make someone
else feel the way she did when she first saw a dancer.
And that is so beautiful-Anonymous
jacco
Stand-by Joined: 7/29/05
#23re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 9:46amDon't bother with the book. It's too long and pseudo-psychological nonsense. But GAWD I love that show......
mad4music
Stand-by Joined: 7/2/05
#24re: Wicked: Show first, or Book First
Posted: 7/31/05 at 7:24pm
I agree with jacco...
The book is way too long, way too in depth, the raunchy parts are really unneeded and way too detailed, and I had to FORCE myself to read it because it just really isn't that good of a book. It is just wierd.... thank goodness for Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz for turning it into a masterpiece!!!
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