Wicked (Maguire novel) facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Gregory Maguire |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Douglas Smith |
| Cover artist | Douglas Smith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Wicked Years |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | ReganBooks |
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Publication date
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1995 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 406 |
| ISBN | 0-06-039144-8 |
| OCLC | 32746783 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3563.A3535 W5 1995 |
| Followed by | Son of a Witch |
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in The Wicked Years series, and was followed by Son of a Witch (published in September 2005), A Lion Among Men (published in October 2008), and Out of Oz (published in November 2011). In 2003, it was adapted as the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked. The musical is in the process of being adapted into a two-part feature film, with the first film scheduled to be released in November 2024 and the second film in November 2025.
Wicked is a revisionist exploration of the characters and setting of the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, its sequels, and the 1939 film adaptation. It is presented as a biography of the Wicked Witch of the West, here given the name "Elphaba." The book follows the life of Elphaba from her childhood till her death at the hands of Dorothy Gale. Maguire shows the traditionally villainous character in a sympathetic light.
Major characters
- Elphaba Thropp: The protagonist of the book, Elphaba is a green-skinned girl who later becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Later in the book, it is revealed that she is the daughter of The Wizard. The Wicked Witch of the West is not given a name in Baum's novels; Maguire derived the name Elphaba from Baum's initials, LFB.
- Galinda Arduenna Upland (later Glinda): Elphaba's roommate at Shiz University, who eventually becomes the Good Witch of the North. She hates Elphaba at first, but they later become close friends.
- Nessarose Thropp: Elphaba's younger sister, who eventually becomes known as "the Wicked Witch of the East." Nessarose was born without arms, but is extremely beautiful, causing Elphaba to resent her.
- Fiyero Tigelaar: The prince of the Arjiki tribe, in the Vinkus.
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The book's main antagonist. The Wizard is a human who came to Oz from Earth in a hot air balloon. He was originally seeking the Grimmerie, but discovered he could orchestrate a coup d'état and take power for himself.
- Madame Morrible: Headmistress of Shiz University's Crage Hall, which Elphaba and Galinda attend, and a behind-the-scenes power broker in Ozian politics.
- Dr. Dillamond: Elphaba's mentor and favorite professor at Shiz.
- Melena Thropp: The mother of Elphaba, Nessarose, and their brother Shell.
- Frexspar: Melena's husband, a traveling minister.
Themes
Nature of evil
According to Maguire, Wicked is primarily about examining the nature of evil from the perspective of someone considered evil. The novel raises the question of whether evil is inborn or acquired. Elphaba is a social outcast despite being of noble birth, which makes her question how much power she truly has over her own life.
Adaptations
In 2003, the novel was adapted as the Broadway musical Wicked by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and librettist Winnie Holzman. The musical was produced by Universal Pictures and directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. The Broadway production has inspired long-running productions in Chicago, London's West End, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in the United States, as well as Germany and Japan. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three, and is the 4th longest-running Broadway show in history, with over 7,400 performances. The original Broadway production starred Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.
In a 2009 interview, Maguire stated that he had sold the rights to ABC to make an independent non-musical TV adaptation of Wicked. It would not be based on Winnie Holzman's script. On January 9, 2011, Entertainment Weekly reported that ABC would be teaming up with Salma Hayek and her production company to create a TV miniseries of Wicked based solely on Maguire's novel. The miniseries never entered production.
In September 2010, Filmshaft disclosed that Universal Pictures was beginning work on a film adaptation of the stage musical. In December 2012, following the success of Les Misérables, Marc Platt, also a producer of the stage version, announced the film was going ahead, later confirming the film was aiming for a 2016 release. Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theaters on December 22, 2021, with Stephen Daldry directing. After production was shut down during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, Daldry left the production due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Jon M. Chu. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were cast as Elphaba and Galinda, respectively, with rehearsals set to begin in July 2022. Michelle Yeoh was announced for the Madame Morrible role in December 2022.
In April 2022, it was announced that the film will be released in two parts, with the first one set for a release on November 27, 2024 and the second part on November 26, 2025.
See also
In Spanish: Wicked: Memorias de una bruja mala para niños
