‘Wicked’ is back — where it began!
So many things worked just right for the smash hit show that was born in the Bay Area
“Wicked” is heading back to where it all began. The blockbuster musical, which made its debut in a pre-Broadway tryout in San Francisco in 2003, returns to the Bay Area for a lengthy stay at San Jose’s Center for Performing Arts, kicking off the 2019-2020 season for Broadway San Jose. I recently spoke with “Wicked” composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz, whose credits also include “Godspell,” “Pippin” and “The Prince of Egypt.” We talked about the Bay Area’s deep connection to “Wicked,” which runs deeper than what some local theater fans may already know.
Q Bring me back to 2003, when you were doing the pre-Broadway tryout of “Wicked” in San Francisco. What are your memories of those days in the Bay Area?
A I’ve worked on several shows in that area. Just a couple of years ago, we did our very first production of the stage version of “The
Prince of Egypt” at TheatreWorks. And now that is going to open in London early next year. So, I am accustomed to doing tryouts of shows there. One of the things I like about working there is that I think it’s a sophisticated audience. And, for whatever reason, I think the responses from Bay Area audiences are analogous to those of New York audiences. So, I think particularly for shows which are planning to come to New York, it’s a good tryout town. Actually, I’ve found the critical community out there, in an aggregate, to have been very helpful. By aggregate, I mean looking at all the reviews that come in — whether it be “Prince of Egypt” or “Wicked” — the consensus of the reviews has been helpful in terms of pointing out where the show could use some work.
Q So, you took that input and made some changes to “Wicked.”
A If I am remembering correctly, I think we opened (“Wicked”) in May and we played part of May and part of June. Then we had a three-month hiatus before we went back into rehearsal for New York. During those three months, Winnie Holzman — my collaborator (who wrote the book for the musical) — and I were able to do some revisions to the show based on what we had learned from that tryout production.
Q So, the Bay Area really helped shape “Wicked.”
A Definitely. Without question. And I feel that way about “The Prince of Egypt” too, (which) is having its first major production in London. So, we’ll see if the London audiences also have similarities to the Bay Area audiences.
Q Was there a point early on during the tryout in San Francisco where you felt like “Wicked” could turn out to be something really special?
A It was after the third preview (and) tensions were pretty high among the creative team, as is frequently the case at that point with a new musical. For one thing, we were running very long and needed to get the (running time) down so that the curtain came down by 11 p.m. We had a pretty contentious meeting — the creative team. Just emotions and tempers were a little bit high. I remember leaving the meeting because I had to go over to the theater to work with the musical director Stephen Oremus. As I got to the theater, there was a big crowd outside the theater. And I remember thinking that there had been like an automobile accident or maybe a brick had fallen from the facade of the theater and someone had been hurt. It was only when I actually got to the theater that I realized that it was the line at the box office. So, that was after three previews. I think that was the moment when I thought, “Oh, wait, we may be on to something here.”
Q And 16 years later, it’s still going strong.
A We are still running in New York and running in London. And our tour, well, you know well, because we are making a return visit (to the Bay Area). So, yeah, we are still going along out there.
Q To what do you credit the musical’s continued success?
A I think there are two aspects to the story that have had enormous appeal. One is the central character (Elphaba) herself. The fact that she is an outsider and somebody who very much wants to be loved and to be accepted, but then comes to learn what the cost of that will be to her and ultimately makes another choice. I think the strength of that character has had appeal to many audiences. Then the other, I think, is the central relationship between Elphaba and Glinda and that kind of friendship, which obviously has many rocky points in its trajectory. The depth of that friendship, I think, also speaks to audiences in terms of the relationships in their own lives. Q Plus, it didn’t hurt that you absolutely struck gold with the original cast (featuring Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda). A Without question. We were very fortunate in the cast we were able to put together. Obviously, Idina and Kristin went on to individual stardom that continues to this day. Norbert Leo Butz (who played Fiyero) is a great voice and also someone who went on to a lot of acclaim. And our supporting cast as well. We really had strong, unique pop voices and I think that helped to make the score work for audiences and record buyers.
Q And I hear that “Wicked” is finally being made into a movie. What’s the latest on that?
A We are still in the process of trying to come up with the screenplay and figure out how to tell the story cinematically. But we’ve been having a great deal of fun with that. As you can imagine, it’s very exciting. I think we’re getting closer to the point where we could move into real preproduction for the movie.
Q I’m excited to see who will be in the cast.
A Me too. I have no idea at this point, to be completely honest.
Q And is the target for it to be in movie theaters by 2021?
A I think that’s the target date. But I don’t know enough about movie timing to know how realistic that is.
Q Did you grow up watching “The Wizard of Oz”?
A I did. In fact — and this will reveal something about my age and will bewilder, I think, most of your readers — “The Wizard of Oz” was the first thing that I saw on television that was in color. My family did not have a color television the first time that it was broadcast, so I went to a friend’s house to watch “The Wizard of Oz.” That was the first time I saw color television. The movie had an enormous impact on me. I loved the music and got the soundtrack right away. I would watch it pretty much every year — because it was on every year as I grew up. So, essentially, I knew the movie by heart by the time I was an adult.
Q How did you first come across Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” (the novel that the musical is based on)?
A Again, that has a Bay Area history, because of a friend of mine named Holly Near, the wellknown folk singer who lives in the Bay Area. I happened to be on holiday with friends, and she was among them, and she mentioned to me — sort of just in passing, casually — that she was reading an interesting book and essentially it was the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s point of view. Immediately, I felt what a great idea that was — what a brilliant concept that Gregory had had — and it immediately appealed to me as something that was potentially a musical. So, yeah, I have Holly to thank for it, because I might not have known about it, or learned about it too late when somebody else was already doing it.
Q OK, it’s settled. The Bay Area is officially taking credit for “Wicked.”
A I think they can. I think we’ve never made any bones about how influential (the Bay Area) was in the creation of the show and, now you know, in the inception as well.