(O) Wicked (Pantages, 2007) Grade: A-

I really wish I hadn't read the book before the musical. Needless to say, the musical was very loosely based on the book. I don't want to ruin the plot for everyone, but there was really only one detail in the musical that left a bad taste in my mouth. This was a direct result for my having read the book and expecting things to happen that didn't. Despite that one detail, I thoroughly enjoyed this play.

We already know that I love the music, but watching the play in it's entirety added texture and even more feeling to the music. This musical was cleverly written and really funny. The cast was AMAZING. Eden Espinoza was a wonderful Elphaba, but the real treat about the Los Angeles production of "Wicked" was Megan Hilty(Glinda). Hilty played the saccharin, spoiled "good" witch, who befriends Elphaba. From listening to the CD, I expected to be annoyed, but Hilty's charm shines through and you just can't bring yourself to hate her.

"Will I see it again?" really isn't the question; it's "How many times are you going to see it?" For now, the answer is: 2(August 2007), but I'm predicting more. Let's not forget, I saw RENT 3 times in a year!

(B) Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Gregory MacGuire, 1995) Grade: C+

I read this a while back, after I listened to the Wicked musical soundtrack and before I watched the full play. Unfortunately, I began this novel thinking that I would get the full details of what would happen in the musical instead of going into it with a clean slate.

Pros:
The premise of the entire book is awesome. It takes a beloved and well known tale like "The Wizard of Oz" and presents it in a totally different perspective.

Cons:
The story was very slow in parts. The ending left me with this empty feeling and it really didn't seem like anything was resolved in the witch's life.

Honestly if I could mesh parts of the book and the musical together, I would be happy. I guess in the future I will try my damndest to treat musicals/movies and the books they are based on as separate entities to avoid any further heartache.