Wicked Author Did Not See Musical Coming

Gregory Maguire is the author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the novel that the hit musical is based on.  His idea was simply to take a character from the beloved movie The Wizard of Oz and explore more about her.  He wanted to add in adult themes that break down the good and evil dichotomy to reveal the grey in between.  He is quoted in an article as saying about the Wicked Witch, “Everybody knows who she is, but the movie, and L. Frank Baum’s original novel, don’t say much about her. “

He drew on his experience during the 1970s protesting civil, gay and feminist rights.  He decided that villains can be mistakenly made when people have prejudices and the government is corrupt.  Turns out, Maguire isn’t the only one who feels a connection with his adaptation.  Stephen Schwartz turned the novel into a musical, and audiences all over grew to love the green faced witch, Elphaba.  It hit Broadway in 2003 and has since won three Tony Awards and become one of the most successful traveling shows.  Don’t miss it when it comes near you and get your Wicked tickets from StubHub.com.

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