Wicked: the book vs. the musical

[tsukikage]

Oh my god... They really screwed up Wicked, didn't they?
Here's a synopsis of the musical. Now, I don't mind cutting things or even a few minor changes (such as with Nessarose's condition, although perhaps it could be handled after all), but... They made too many major changes. I thought I wanted to see the play, but I think I'd just end up crying in pain.
Ugh.

Comments

[zuisa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. I love the book, and I love the musical, but I have to completely separate them in my head as two works that were sort of based on the same source material. The music is pretty good in the musical, anyway, but the ending makes me terribly angry. The thing with Nessarose didn't bother me TOO much, because I suppose making someone armless might prove difficult, but with the amount of money that went into the show, I think they should have figured something out.

I'm reading "Son of a Witch" right now, and I'm really enjoying it. Gregory Maguire is one of my favorite authors.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Well, as I said, I kinda understand the thing with Nessarose, but I wonder if just having her arms under her shirt would have worked.
And with anime vs. manga vs. live action, I usually am able to separate them enough to appreciate each on its own... But for some reason I'm having trouble with Wicked. Maybe if I actually saw it I could in fact learn to appreciate for itself, despite my doubts.
Also, the total dropping of the religious aspect kinda bothered me. I understand how it couldn't be a focal point in a 2.5 hour musical, but it was kinda important. (Although... They probably did that because they didn't want to offend the many religious people who would surely be in the audience, so perhaps I'll forgive them for that, too.)

[tenou-k.livejournal.com]

Well, the actress who played G(a)linda in the Broadway cast (Kristin Chenoweth) is reaaally Christian, although I'm pretty sure she's enough of a professional to have done the show anyway, and it's not like they had her in mind when writing the show anyway. But she was so good, it would have been a shame if she hadn't been in it.

Anyway, I really like the show. For a musical in which the main character is green, it shows a surprising amount of political and personal depth, and it has good music, although some of the songs *coughDancingThroughLife* could have been done without...

lol Anyway, I just wandered in from linguaphiles, so that's where I'm coming from.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

No problem. :) I've seen you around, and you seem pretty interesting.