(no subject)
I saw Wicked last night, and it was made of awesome. The Time Dragon was just amazing -- good mechanics, but deliberately clunky in a steampunk-ish way that's like how I pictured it in the book. There were changes from the book, but given the limitations in how many sets you can fit into a theater, how long you can convince an audiance to sit for, and the fact that it's a musical, I felt it was a very reasonable adaptation. A side note: I have continued my tradation of keeping confetti as a souveneir. I also got a 'Defy Gravity' shirt, and I think it's the best-fitting t-shirt I own.
One thing that was changed which I feel works better in the musical is that Nessa has the withered legs instead of no arms. Not only is this easier to pull off with an actress, but it ties in to the original original story, where Nessa's legs wither and curl up under the house when her magic shoes are removed.
Boq is a complete idiot, and I think that's one of the biggest changes. He . . . gah. Asking out Nessarose in an attempt to win over Galinda? Fine, that's great. He was wonderful to her at the club, and it was clumsy-sweet. But he didn't feel anything for Nessa, and despite this he lied and claimed to like her when she gave him an easy out -- she asked him if he only asked her out because she was in the wheelchair and he felt sorry for her. Acting sheepish and agreeing would make him out to be a nice guy, well meaning, but letting Nessa know that he didn't like her that way. Still lets her have a good evening, but doesn't allow it to spiral out of control. Then he works for her for YEARS, by her side every day, and there's no question he'd realize how she felt for him. And he asks her if he can go to Glinda's engagement party to try and win her over. While standing in front of Elphaba, who has had reports come in over the years about her doing nasty things to those who annoy her. The reason he became the tin man instead of the scarecrow is that if his brain were removed, no one would notice.
Harry Potter/Wicked is one of those theories that starts out really weird and then makes more sense every time you think about it. My theory: Centuries ago, in the wizarding world, there's an incredibly powerful witch or wizard. They work with dragons, write the Grimmerie, and discover the portal to Oz (perhaps working with notes from an earlier traveller, perhaps of their own accord). Being either good and wanting to keep the information out of the hands of those who would use it for evil or evil and wanting to keep anyone from getting an edge due to their hard work, they take the Grimmerie to Oz and hide it.
Years pass, most of their notes are lost, but Grindelwald (the Dark Lord who was around before Voldemort) did some digging, he found notes that mentioned 1)What the Grimmerie was capable of 2)That it was in Oz and 3)That Oz could be reached through a portal in the airspace over Kansas.
Grindelwald sets out to Kansas and, after much trial and error and many many hours in a hot-air baloon, he makes it to Oz. The baloon is probably a more comfortable option than sitting on a broom for the hours that would be required to search for something in the air -- if it was discovered in an era prior to having a GPS system or any way of determining altitude, you can only pin down the location so far. Once there, he discovers that the location was chosen because Oz has its own form of magic; his magic is incompatable, and his wand is now useless. After he tracks down the Grimmerie, he discovers that the local magic has mingled with the magic of the book -- the locals can't read it, but neither can he. Not one to be easily discouraged, and because being a Dark Lord means you've picked up a thing or two about manipulating the public, he soon takes his position as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
(side note: Working with this theory, Grindelwald's knowledge of mechanics would indicate he had an interest in muggle gagets. So Dark Lord doesn't always have to equate to Muggle Hater. But I get the feeling this is effectively the same as Slytherin not meaning Evil Evil Evil.)
He makes a few attempts at magic in his early days in Oz, one of the most successful being a green elixer. It didn't do much, but it helped him along with a fling or two while he was on the road.
More years pass. The Wizard of Oz decides the Animals are the easiest targets, as when he left the normal world, no muggle or wizard was trying to campaign for equal rights for them. This would mean they'd be the group the smallest number of citizens would protest the opression of, if the mindsets are anything alike. They eat the animals without complaint, so it'd be easy enough to set them against the Animals.
And in the meantime, a child is growing up with both the magic of Oz and the magic of the Wizarding world in her blood.
Elphaba is able to read the Grimmerie because of her mixed blood, but because the mingling of her blood and the mingling of magics in the text isn't identical, she can't make perfect sense of it.
Then . . . then she meets the witch who started it all. Who wrote the Grimmerie, then retired quietly and went half-mad after discovering a variant on the Philosopher's Stone. Who then gave Elphie her old broom.
Yackle.
One thing that was changed which I feel works better in the musical is that Nessa has the withered legs instead of no arms. Not only is this easier to pull off with an actress, but it ties in to the original original story, where Nessa's legs wither and curl up under the house when her magic shoes are removed.
Boq is a complete idiot, and I think that's one of the biggest changes. He . . . gah. Asking out Nessarose in an attempt to win over Galinda? Fine, that's great. He was wonderful to her at the club, and it was clumsy-sweet. But he didn't feel anything for Nessa, and despite this he lied and claimed to like her when she gave him an easy out -- she asked him if he only asked her out because she was in the wheelchair and he felt sorry for her. Acting sheepish and agreeing would make him out to be a nice guy, well meaning, but letting Nessa know that he didn't like her that way. Still lets her have a good evening, but doesn't allow it to spiral out of control. Then he works for her for YEARS, by her side every day, and there's no question he'd realize how she felt for him. And he asks her if he can go to Glinda's engagement party to try and win her over. While standing in front of Elphaba, who has had reports come in over the years about her doing nasty things to those who annoy her. The reason he became the tin man instead of the scarecrow is that if his brain were removed, no one would notice.
Harry Potter/Wicked is one of those theories that starts out really weird and then makes more sense every time you think about it. My theory: Centuries ago, in the wizarding world, there's an incredibly powerful witch or wizard. They work with dragons, write the Grimmerie, and discover the portal to Oz (perhaps working with notes from an earlier traveller, perhaps of their own accord). Being either good and wanting to keep the information out of the hands of those who would use it for evil or evil and wanting to keep anyone from getting an edge due to their hard work, they take the Grimmerie to Oz and hide it.
Years pass, most of their notes are lost, but Grindelwald (the Dark Lord who was around before Voldemort) did some digging, he found notes that mentioned 1)What the Grimmerie was capable of 2)That it was in Oz and 3)That Oz could be reached through a portal in the airspace over Kansas.
Grindelwald sets out to Kansas and, after much trial and error and many many hours in a hot-air baloon, he makes it to Oz. The baloon is probably a more comfortable option than sitting on a broom for the hours that would be required to search for something in the air -- if it was discovered in an era prior to having a GPS system or any way of determining altitude, you can only pin down the location so far. Once there, he discovers that the location was chosen because Oz has its own form of magic; his magic is incompatable, and his wand is now useless. After he tracks down the Grimmerie, he discovers that the local magic has mingled with the magic of the book -- the locals can't read it, but neither can he. Not one to be easily discouraged, and because being a Dark Lord means you've picked up a thing or two about manipulating the public, he soon takes his position as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
(side note: Working with this theory, Grindelwald's knowledge of mechanics would indicate he had an interest in muggle gagets. So Dark Lord doesn't always have to equate to Muggle Hater. But I get the feeling this is effectively the same as Slytherin not meaning Evil Evil Evil.)
He makes a few attempts at magic in his early days in Oz, one of the most successful being a green elixer. It didn't do much, but it helped him along with a fling or two while he was on the road.
More years pass. The Wizard of Oz decides the Animals are the easiest targets, as when he left the normal world, no muggle or wizard was trying to campaign for equal rights for them. This would mean they'd be the group the smallest number of citizens would protest the opression of, if the mindsets are anything alike. They eat the animals without complaint, so it'd be easy enough to set them against the Animals.
And in the meantime, a child is growing up with both the magic of Oz and the magic of the Wizarding world in her blood.
Elphaba is able to read the Grimmerie because of her mixed blood, but because the mingling of her blood and the mingling of magics in the text isn't identical, she can't make perfect sense of it.
Then . . . then she meets the witch who started it all. Who wrote the Grimmerie, then retired quietly and went half-mad after discovering a variant on the Philosopher's Stone. Who then gave Elphie her old broom.
Yackle.