Wicked, a parallel work published in 1995, is based on an existing work that is not part of a franchised series. Many parallel works begin as novels, such as John Gardner’s Grendel, which is based on the Old English poem Beowulf, and Wicked. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is a novel written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. Wicked is based on the world created in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, both the book and the derivative musical. Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men are the two sequels to the novel.
The story begins before Dorothy arrives in Oz, and it tells about Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and her college roommate Galinda—later known as Glinda—as well as the details of their lives and careers. Prejudice and minorities’ rights are important themes. Many aspects of Oz culture are included, such as the Emerald City, Munchkinland, and the ruby slippers, but the themes and Dorothy’s role are portrayed in a very different light.
Wicked, a Broadway musical with Winnie Holzman’s book and Stephen Schwartz’s songs and lyrics, is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. Despite mixed reviews when it first came out in October of 2003, it went on to break box office records. The 2003 production was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won three of them: Best Actress, Costume Design, and Scenic Design. It also won six Drama Desk Awards out of eleven nominations, as well as a Grammy for Best Cast Album. Since then, it has been performed in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in the United States; Tokyo and Universal Studios in Japan; London’s West End; Melbourne, Australia; and Stuttgart, Germany. Productions in Osaka, Japan, and Sydney, Australia are planned for 2010.
Many significant plot changes were made in adapting the novel into a musical, resulting in a story that differs from both Baum’s version and Maguire’s novel. It also provides alternate origin stories for three key Baum characters: the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow. Schwartz, on the other hand, included the first seven notes of the hit “Over the Rainbow” from that production in the melody of the melodic material referred to as the “Unlimited theme” in honor of composer Harold Arlen, who scored the film adaptation of Baum’s book.