Wicked: The Musical

I grew up watching the film, The Wizard of OZ. I watched it over and over again when I was a child. I even read the novel. I loved the story of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion and their quest to get to the Emerald City. Most of all, I loved the songs. Musicals have always been something I have enjoyed. 

So, a few years ago, when I heard about a novel called Wicked by Gregory Maguire, which told the story from the point of view of the so-called 'Wicked Witch of the West', I just had to read it to see where Maguire would take this story. I was pleasantly surprised. 

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, a very smart yet misunderstood young woman who is shunned by her classmates because she is green. She is picked on, tormented and abused all because she looks different. 

She attends Shiz university where she must share a room with another student. The beautiful, popular and blonde Galinda. A rich girl who is used to getting her way and have people fawning over her. So she is none too pleased when she realises not only does she have to share her room with an outcast, but one who is not swayed by her charm. 

Eventually, Galinda and Elphaba become unlikely friends. Too bad OZ is in political turmoil. The animals of OZ can talk and hold down jobs like any other being, but they are still treated like second-class citizens to the point where someone is trying to stop them from speaking at all. Animals should be seen not heard, seems to be the conjecture across OZ. Elphaba sees the injustice in this and strives to fight for the rights of the animals.

Unfortunately, by doing this Elphaba makes some powerful enemies and soon she is painted a wicked witch who is trying to destroy OZ. She is once again an outcast and must fight for survival. 

When I heard that Wicked was made into a Broadway musical I was intrigued. Although the relationship between Galinda and Elphaba was an important part of the story, so was the political situation in OZ. How ever were they going to translate that into a musical?

After waiting (not)patiently for about two years I finally went and saw the musical last Saturday and can I say.. it was AMAZING! 

This is one of the best shows I have ever seen. The writer of this musical did a superb job of bringing all of the characters to life. The songs were fantastic and told the story well. The costumes were so detailed. It was funny, sad, entertaining and just so well done. I can't help but gush. 

The only downside is that it took me so long to get around to seeing it that the show closes next month and there is no way I can afford to see it again. 

This musical really does do the book justice. It translated really well. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more so. I highly recommend this show to anyone who has read Wicked and liked it. Anyone who loves musicals and anyone who just loves a good, entertaining show!

Have you seen Wicked the musical? What did you think? Have you seen any other stage shows or musicals that were adapted from novels?

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

Having watched the film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and being completely lost for words after watching it, I decided I needed to read the novel that the film was based on to see if there was much difference. I wanted to see how this story works as a novel. It is an easy to read novel, written in third person about the perspective of 9-year-old Bruno. It is the type of book that you can read in one sitting.

Now, back to the film for just a minute. I was so shocked at the ending of this film that I couldn’t speak. The ending came as a big surprise for me (I realised what was happening right at the last minute and barely had time to yell out “NO!” before my worst fears were played out) and I found it terribly upsetting. When it finished Richard wanted to chat about it but I just couldn’t.. I had to excuse myself for half an hour (I distracted myself by doing the dishes) before I could compose myself enough to string together a coherent sentence.

It was while my hands were soaking in dishwater that I realised as hard as it was going to be to talk about this film, it MUST be talked about. The issues in this film were shocking and heartbreaking because they are REAL. The holocaust was REAL, the Nazi’s were REAL and although this is a work of fiction, what happened to 6 million Jewish people is also VERY VERY REAL. So as much as it pained me to think about what I had just watched, and as horrible as it made me feel, this is something that we all should talk about and do not talk about nearly enough.

I must say that I preferred the film. This could be because I did not know the story so the shock factor of what was to happen was quite extreme. Where as while I was reading the book I knew what to expect. The story in the film stuck quite closely to the book, with a few extra scenes added in for dramatic effect. Also some things which were only hinted at in the book , leaving the reader guessing, were shown in detail in the film.

Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the final solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation. And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process.

I don’t want to get into the story too much as I don’t want to ruin this for anyone who has not seen the film as I think this is a story that needs to be experienced without any preconceptions (you wouldn’t want to go and see The 6th Sense if you knew the ending, would you?). All I can say is that everyone needs to see this film. Not only because it is brilliant but because of the story it tells. A story that although fictional, is all to true.

Rating 4/5