CONCORD – The author of “Wicked” has signed off on the anticipated movie version of his beloved story, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Gregory Maguire has called Concord home for decades. In that time, the bestselling author has seen his idea evolve from the page to the stage, and now to the big screen.
Bad Broadway
‘Wicked’ is still relevant
“The fact that the story of Wicked is still relevant thirty years after it was first published shocks me, makes me a little sad because it deals with social problems and political stress, but also encourages me because it means that we are still looking for guidance and for comfort,” he said.
Maguire first fell in love with “The Wizard of Oz” when he was young and noticed that in the book, the name of The Wicked Witch of the West is capitalized “W”.
“(That) got me thinking: There must be something behind the application of this word to a human being. And I have to find out what it is,” Maguire said.
What happened before Dorothy?
The novel, the musical and the upcoming film all explore what happened in Oz before Dorothy arrived.
“Even though the plot of the play and the plot of the film are very different from the plot of my original novel,” Maguire said, “some of the key points remain, and those are the points I care about most. .”
During filming, Maguire spent about a week on set in London and said it was like being in a dream to see his vision come to life in a tangible way.
The film is in two parts and part one, out November 22, is almost as long as the Broadway production.
“There are little teasers and tweaks that the film writers have made to the plot to take just a few things from my original novel, but enough to improve the characterization so that by the time we get to the scenes in the musical we are now well-known, we actually know a little more about why they happen,” Maguire said.
Inspiring the next generation
Just as the original ‘Wizard of Oz’ inspired him, Maguire hopes the film version of ‘Wicked’ will inspire the next generation.
“It will change the trajectories of imaginative children’s lives. They will benefit from it and build on it. And I wouldn’t be surprised if in forty years… we see another story that shares some of what I’m still unfolding. That’s how art works,” Maguire said.
“When people leave the theater feeling like they’ve been reminded to take a few seconds before making a snap judgment about someone they see as offensive or scary or just different, just different, if that’s what they want to do, then the film will have done something that the play does and that I think my novel does too.
