Although not a bestseller when it was published in 1995, the book was a huge word-of-mouth hit, Maguire said. “Every year, it sold more than the year before. It was the very definition of a sleeper hit.” The book’s popularity grew even more when Stephen Schwartz decided to turn it into a musical. The musical version of Elphaba is more misunderstood and kinder than the increasingly dark and bitter version in the book. Wicked has been running in New York since October 30, 2003, making it the fourth longest-running Broadway show of all time.
Such success meant that a Hollywood film adaptation was inevitable. However, like the musical, the film Wicked (Part 1) deviates from the book in several ways, perhaps to make it more accessible to mainstream audiences. Rather than being entirely Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) story, there is also Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) perspective, and the story revolves around their friendship. The movie takes place at Shiz University in the land of Oz, where Elphaba and Glinda are forced to share a room. Although they initially hate each other, they soon become friends and fall in love with the same handsome prince (Jonathan Bailey). However, as they continue their research, they discover a sinister plot unfolding in the Land of Oz that is forcing the country’s talking animals into hiding.
Wicked’s resonance continues
Dana Fox, who co-wrote the film with Winnie Holtzman, says part of Wicked’s success was due to how Maguire twisted audience expectations. Before this book was published, everyone said, “The Green Witch is evil. We all know she’s evil. But when you ask people why she’s evil, you can’t answer.” I can’t do that,” Fox told the BBC. “The great thing about Maguire’s book is that he asked that very question.”
While Maguire was pondering these themes and the possibilities for a Wicked story, something happened that led him to think more deeply about the nature of evil. On February 12, 1993, two-year-old James Bulger was murdered by two ten-year-old boys in Merseyside, England. As Maguire watched coverage of the tragedy unfold on television, people talked about the horrific crimes the boys had committed over shows and dinner. Maguire, who was living in London at the time, wondered, “Where did the decision to do what they did come from? Where did that capacity for evil come from?” As analysis of the murder continues and intellectual debate continues over whether it was “caused by sociological, biochemical or psychological reasons,” Maguire said the atrocity was “not what he thought it was” about Wicked. He says he realized that he was having an impact on everything he did. “That sad, sad event was what helped me move on,” Maguire said.
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Shortly after the book was published, McGuire said he learned that Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike had quoted it in an essay he wrote on the topic of evil. “The line he quotes from ‘Wicked’ in the article sums it all up: ‘It’s the nature of evil to keep secrets.'” And I found the most important sentence.” This is the consistent and comprehensive conclusion I drew. ”
