A film podcast: listen before you watch
1995
* Publication of the book: The novel Wicked: The
Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, is
published. The book offers a reinterpretation of the story of The Wizard of Oz,
focusing on the perspective of the evast witch of the West.
1998
* First discussions for adaptation: The author and producer of the musical,
Winnie Holzman begins to discuss the possibility of adapting the book to the
stages. The production begins to take shape with the involvement of Stephen
Schwartz, the composer, who becomes responsible for the music.
2000
* Beginning of the development of the musical: The work of adapting the book
to the musical format begins to be taken seriously. Writer Winnie Holzman is
invited to write the script, while Stephen Schwartz gets involved with the
compositions.
2003
* Preview in San Francisco: Wicked makes its preview on stage at the Curran
Theater in San Francisco. The production still undergoes adjustments and
changes before its debut on Broadway.
* Broadway premiere: Wicked officially premieres on Broadway, at the Gershwin
Theatre, on October 30, 2003. The musical quickly becomes a huge success,
conquering both critics and audiences. The protagonists Elphaba and Glinda,
played by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, respectively, are widely praised.
2004
* Recognition and awards: Wicked begins to receive several awards and
nominations, including Tony Awards. The production establishes itself as one of
Broadway's greatest hits, with a loyal fan base that grows more and more.
2005 and beyond
* Expansion to other cities and international tours: The musical begins to be
assembled in various parts of the world, including London, where it premiered
at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in 2006. Wicked also gains popularity in other cities
in the United States and in several international capitals.
2020s
* Feature film: In 2021, it is announced that a film adaptation of Wicked is
underway, with an expected release in 2024. The production of the film brings
names like Ariana Grande (Glinda) and Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) to the main roles.
The first act begins with Glinda telling the people of Oz that the
Wicked Witch is dead. She died because a girl named Dorothy threw
a bucket of water on her. But in addition to saying that the witch is
dead, Glinda also starts questioning whether evil is something
people are born with or if it is thrust upon them. This is because
Elphaba had a childhood, a family, and through a flashback that will
last almost the entire first act, we learn that Elphaba’s mother was
having an affair with a man who gave her a green elixir to drink. As a
result, Elphaba is born green, and her parents reject her. The next
part of the story takes place at Shiz University, where Elphaba and
her sister, Nessarose, go to study. At Shiz, they meet Galinda, and
due to a mix-up, Elphaba and Galinda are assigned to be
roommates. This makes Elphaba very angry because she wanted to
share a room with her sister, as she had always taken care of her.
When Elphaba gets angry about this, she makes magic in front of
Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz and also the teacher of
the sorcery course at the university. This is the course Galinda
wanted to take, but only Elphaba is accepted, showing off her very
strong powers, which no one in Oz possesses. For the first time,
Elphaba feels like she belongs to something, and Madame Morrible
tells her that if she does well in the classes, she might even get to
meet the Wizard.
From here, Elphaba and Galinda begin to dislike each other as roommates, and we are introduced to
Doctor Dillamond. Doctor Dillamond is the history teacher at Shiz and is the only "Animal" (with a capital A)
who is teaching at the university. In the world of Oz, there are two types of animals: "Animals" (with a
capital A) and animals (with a lowercase a). The lowercase animals are like your dog, while the Animals with
a capital A are creatures that can talk, think rationally, and are part of society. We learn that these Animals
are being banned from Oz and are essentially being subjected to terrorism, as they are no longer allowed
to exist. Elphaba, our great Luiza Mel of Oz, despises this reality and grows closer to Doctor Dillamond. At
this point, a new character arrives at Shiz: Prince Fiyero. Naturally, Galinda immediately wants to be with
him, since she is popular, and so is he. We also meet Boq, a Munchkin who likes Galinda, but she likes
Fiyero. To distract Boq because they want to sneak away to a party, Galinda tells him that he would be her
hero if he asked Nessarose to the ball. Nessarose is overjoyed and tells Elphaba, who is very grateful for
Galinda’s help with her sister.
To tease Elphaba, Galinda gives her an awful hat, which she had gotten from her grandmother and didn’t
want to wear. She gives it to Elphaba, who wears it to the party they attend secretly. At the party, Galinda
starts to feel some attachment to Elphaba, feeling a bit of compassion for her because of the bullying she
had been doing, and they eventually become friends. Elphaba then confides a secret to Galinda: her father
hates her because he believes she is the reason Nessarose can’t walk. Her father was so afraid of
Nessarose being born green that he made their mother chew milk flowers, a flower that caused Nessarose
to be born prematurely with twisted legs and unable to walk.
The story returns to a class with Doctor Dillamond, where he announces that he was expelled from Oz
and that Animals can no longer teach. Elphaba is furious about this, and a new teacher arrives, bringing a
lion cub to demonstrate how Animals can be caged and stripped of their ability to speak or reason.
Elphaba is enraged and uses magic to put everyone in the room to sleep, except for herself, Fiyero, and
the lion cub. They team up to save the cub, which will eventually become the Cowardly Lion from The
Wizard of Oz. During this time, Elphaba and Fiyero begin to develop chemistry, but since Fiyero is with
Galinda, nothing can happen. Noticing that Fiyero cares so much about Doctor Dillamond, the lion, and
the situation with the Animals, Galinda decides to change her name from Galinda to Glinda, since Doctor
Dillamond couldn’t pronounce Galinda properly and always said Glinda instead.
Madame Morrible informs Elphaba that the Wizard really does want to meet her, and Elphaba is thrilled.
She invites Glinda to go with her. They travel to the Emerald City and meet the Wizard. Elphaba proves
her worth by reading the Grimmerie, a book of magic spells. When she proves her abilities, she
transforms the monkeys into flying monkeys, but then she discovers that the Wizard cannot read the
Grimmerie and that he is behind the whole situation with the speaking Animals. Elphaba is furious and
flees Oz, while the Wizard starts spreading the word that she is the Wicked Witch who transformed the
monkeys into flying monkeys.
Glinda stays in Oz with Madame Morrible and the Wizard, and thus the first act ends.
Five years have passed and we are at the second part of Wicked, where Glinda
and Fiyero are at an event that has revealed that they are going to get
married, even though he was in love with Elphaba. Now Glinda is a very
important person in Oz and Fiyero is captain of the guard and protector of the
Wizard of Oz.
During this event, the people of Oz start protesting to kill the witch. Glinda
and Fiyero are the only ones who know that Elphaba isn’t the wicked witch.
Elphaba decides to visit her sister, and seek support from her father.
However, she discovers that Nessa is the new governor and her father died of
disgust when he learned that Elphaba had become the wicked witch of the
West.
In order to reconcile with her sister, Elphaba transforms Nessa's crystal shoes
into enchanted red shoes that make her walk.
When Boq realizes that she no longer needs his help, he decides to leave
because he wants to ask Glinda to marry him. Nessa, furious, casts a spell that
doesn't go as planned, resulting in Boq's transformation into the Tin Man.
Elphaba then goes to the Emerald City to confront the Wizard and try to free the flying monkeys she created.
However, when she finds Mr. Dillamond imprisoned and unable to speak, Elphaba declares the Wizard her enemy.
At that moment, Fiyero appears to distract the guards present and help her escape, but decides to go with her,
causing Glinda to be shaken. With Glinda's help, the Wizard and Morrible make a plan to capture elphaba, but
results in Dorothy arriving in the world of Oz using a tornado. This causes Dorothy's house to fall on Nessa, who is
the Wicked Witch of the East.
Glinda then gives Nessa's shoes to Dorothy, who goes with her friends to the Wizard. When Elphaba arrives, she
finds Nessa dead and fights with Glinda. During the confusion, Elphaba is captured by the guards, but Fiyero
appears and takes Glinda hostage. This causes the guards to release Elphaba, but arrest Fiyero. Desperate,
Elphaba tries to save him with a spell, as he is in danger of dying, turning him into the scarecrow.
Soon after, Elphaba is supposedly melted by Dorothy with a bucket of water. Glinda goes to the scene and finds
Elphaba's hat and green bottle. She then visits the Wizard and discovers another green bottle in his office. This is
when she realizes that he is Elphaba's father. The revelation that Elphaba is the daughter of an Oz mother and a
human father explains her immense magic and power, because she is the fruit of both worlds.
After the Wizard of Oz story, Fiyero returns to the place where Elphaba was melted, knocks her to the ground and
she comes out, revealing that she had faked her own death to find peace. Together, they flee, while Glinda stays
behind, assuming her identity as Glinda the Good.
play x movie
* Adaptation basis: The play is based on the book, but the film will be an adaptation of the
Broadway musical.
* Visual format: The musical uses live scenarios, while the film can explore special effects and
great visuals.
* Relationships and characters: The dynamics between Elphaba and Glinda will be more intimate
in the film, with a greater focus on emotional and psychological nuances.
* Rhythm and duration: The film can have a more flexible and detailed structure, allowing greater
development of characters and scenes.
In short, the film will be a cinematographic version of the story already established by the musical,
with the expectation of bringing a visually more expansive experience and a slightly different
approach to the way of telling the story, adapting it to the feature film format.