The Other Side of the Rainbow

Bound for Broadway, ‘Wicked’ – the best-selling novel by Tufts graduate Gregory Maguire – tells the story of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ from a new perspective: the Wicked Witch of the West.

San Francisco [6.20.03] Most people view The Wizard of Oz as a happily-ever-after fairytale about friendship and self-discovery. But Gregory Maguire was always more intrigued by the darker side of the classic story by L. Frank Baum. After receiving his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts in 1990, Maguire set out write a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, telling the story of how the Wicked Witch of the West came to power. Now, the Tufts graduate’s novel – called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West – is being optioned by Universal Studios for development into a new Broadway musical by award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz.

"I always loved fantasy lands - Never-Neverland, Narnia…. But Oz always seemed a little thin to me,” Maguire told New Orleans’ Times-Picayune. “I always wondered what it would take to make it a thicker, richer kind of place. We never really knew where it came from. Baum wasn't really interested in creating a whole culture."

In Wicked, Maguire fills in the pieces missing from original Oz story. Taking the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West, the Tufts graduate details what life was like along the yellow brick road before the cyclone swept Dorothy’s house into Munchkinland.

“Gregory had the extremely clever idea of telling the story of the Wicked Witch of the West – how a little green Oz girl named Elphaba grew up to be the greatest villain in the land,” Schwartz said in an interview. “I often like to take familiar characters or stories and look at them from a different point of view, so you can understand why I am so attracted to this idea.”

Schwartz – best known for composing the music for shows like Pippin, Godspell, and Children of Eden – came up with the idea for adapting Wicked into a musical immediately after reading Maguire’s novel.

"I knew I had to do it," Schwartz told the San Francisco Chronicle. "And I knew it had to be a stage musical."

Other members of the creative team also embraced the Tufts graduate’s book – including Winnie Holzman, best known for her work on acclaimed television series like My So-Called Life, thirtysomething, and Once and Again.

"Years before [Schwartz] asked me to do it, I had bought the book and immediately called my agent and asked for them to look into the rights," Holzman – who adapted the novel -- told the Modesto Bee. "I had only read the back of the book and I was so intrigued by what the book was about – taking this extreme figure of iconic wickedness and making her the heroine."

Indeed, when the novel was first published in 1995, critics raved about Maguire’s ability to add new layers of fantasy to a timeless classic – including noted author John Updike, who called Wicked “an amazing novel” in an article in The New Yorker.

“Maguire is pretty adept at playing both sides of the legend,” reported the Chronicle. “He pleases Oz-ophiles by throwing in characters and references to episodes from some of the 13 other Oz books Baum wrote and to parts of the first book omitted from the film.”

Musical theater enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the musical mounting of Wicked, which is scheduled for a Broadway opening in October.

“All of the perfectly crafted conflicts and accomplishments of Maguire’s Wicked will only be heightened by the emotional addition of Schwartz’s supremely orchestrated music,” said Schwartz fan Brian Altman in an interview on the composer’s website.

The pre-Broadway tryout of the musical opened in San Francisco last week and received rave reviews in publications around the country – many of which specifically praised Maguire’s ingenuity.

“The concept is irresistible, and it was imaginatively worked out in children's author Maguire's crossover tome,” reported Variety.

The added dimension of music and dance expands upon the themes in the Tufts graduate’s novel.

“Novelist Maguire's aim was to enrich a story we thought we knew by adding complications and extenuating factors,” reported the Oakland Tribune. “For the musical, book writer Holzman and composer/lyricist Schwartz have remained true to that idea but have taken it further.”

And the results seem to suggest that Wicked may be headed for Broadway success

“Wicked, the Broadway-bound alternative-Oz musical…is as bright, wittily conceived and original as an investor's dream,” reported the Chronicle. “There's a great deal to enjoy in the tryout run being presented in the Best of Broadway series, and moments of sheer magic.”

In addition to its talented creative team, the musical features an all-star cast led by Idina Menzel – who appeared in the original Broadway company of Rent – as Elphaba and Tony Award-winning musical comedy actress Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.

“Filled with more talent than you'd see in a half-dozen shows on New York's 45th Street, the show has the sort of promise that could easily turn it from memorable to classic,” reported the Contra Costa Times.

The actors themselves couldn’t agree more.

“It’s a project I really believe in,” Chenoweth told The New York Times. “I think that people will like it because it’s characters that they know but that they don’t know, if that makes any sense.”

Maguire’s other adult novels include Lost and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. The latter offers a darker take on the traditional Cinderella story and was adapted by Disney into a made-for-television movie last year.