August 29, 2004

• I live down the street from the musical. Does that count?
• I read the book a few years ago and was disappointed. I imagined a very funny book but found a dark and depressing story.
• The matter of the book sounds intriguijg, Fabala. However, wasn't too taken by the excerpt. Since I'm attracted by style more than any other characteristic with fiction, I prefer to dip into a book in several places before consigning it to the Ones-I-Might-Read-in-the-Next-Life or the Drop-Everything-and-Read-Now heap.
• Flying monkeys...hmmmmm...
• Know nothing about the book, but love the musical. Especially the way Glinda (good witch) and Elphaba (bad witch) sort of swap roles in that Elphaba only means good and Glinda, while hardly pure evil, is very self-centered and superficial. Will someone please join me in a singalong?
• Wicked is great fun, but don't expect a comedy. It blends bits from the books and the movie together, and ends up as a psychological portrait of the outcast witch living in an Oz full of political intrigue and religious rivalry. Dorothy and her gang hardly appear. (that excerpt could have been much better)
• I read the book, a few years ago. I enjoyed its twist on the original story.
• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is good too, by the same author. In a related but less depressing myth-making vein, you may also enjoy Michael Chabon, who wrote Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and Summerland, to name my favorites.
• this is one of my all time favorite books, and I DO NOT recommend the musical to any who also love it....
• Wicked was a good 'fluff' book, but don't bother reading anything else by Maguire unless you want to be disappointed. A friend loaned my wife Lost and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and we both found them to be completely lacking in the charm of Wicked, as well as being rather poorly written, comparatively.
• The excerpt isn't very good, it's just the first part of the first chapter. Other parts of the book are much more interesting. I've found a lot of people get Wicked expecting a comedy, but zedediah is right, it's a pretty dark story. Medusa: I liked the musical, because when I saw it I didn't compare it to the book. If you just think of it as it's own story, it's adorable.
• Just for Mfpb 2 21: "Though I do admit it came on fast/still I do believe that it can last And I will be loathing, loathing you/my whole life long" The musical is no Into the Woods (and no Sweeny Todd either), but I'd rather see original musicals than another Disney stage adaptation that resembles a Vegas extravaganza. The book has a great premise and I really enjoyed it, but the characters seem to alternate between being one dimensional and so complex they contradict themselves at every turn. That said, I believe I'll always think of the Wicked Witch as Elphaba after reading the book.
• I really enjoyed Wicked. No, if you're looking for cutesy-poo parody, then don't read it. But I loved it. Even better was Mirror, Mirror. His handling of the Dwarves was fantastic.
• I didn't read the book, but I've seen the musical on bway. It was well worth the $100 ticket. I wanted to hate it because i'm not "into" the whole Wizard of Oz thing, and find the Fleming/Garland movie from my childhood disturbing, annoying and odd. But, I didn't hate it, and i think it's definitely one of the better shows on bway right now. But I saw it when Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda (she was sublime), and Joel Gray played the Wizard (he was charming). And Joey McIntyre wasn't in it yet (bleh). With all these changes, I wouldn't see it again. Regardless, I'd still choose it over half the crap that is playing onstage right now...
• naxosaxur: from what I've heard, may people think the new Wizard is even better... and the new Galinda (from the audio clip I heard) sound exactly the same.
• Oh, god. Please tell me Joey McIntyre is not playing Fiyero. He might be acceptable as Boq, though.