“The most wonderful time of the year” may have been ended, but in Hollywood it is just beginning. The holiday season is nothing to compare to Hollywood’s season. It is the Wonderland of Awards, which begin with the New Year and culminates early in spring.
No fires, no wars, no calamities can interfere with Oscar’s show of shows.
Ten nominations have been bestowed upon Wicked, a musical film that is breaking all records at the box office. Will it win several awards, a few, or may be none?
If the Golden Globes is any indication, it may win a prize for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, which is good enough for Hollywood’s bigwigs, but not conducive to the rarified art of cinema.
The good news is that “the musical” is back with a vengeance. A number of musicals have previously won 10 Oscar nominations, including West Side Story (1961), Sound of Music (1965), Cabaret (1973) — but that was long ago.
Nominations are prestige enough and historic revenues of $647 million, surpassing the record of $611 million for Mamma Mia, is nothing to scoff at.
Hungry for musicals? Wicked is it, and Hollywood applauds.
A uniquely American art form, the musical is the child of the European operetta, migrating to Broadway, with a number of notable composers.
Victor Herbert (1859-1924) of Ireland wrote Babes in Toyland in 1903. Sigmund Romberg (1887- 1951) of Hungary wrote The Student Prince in 1924. Rudolf Friml (1879-1972) of Czechoslovakia wrote Rose Marie in 1935. The pioneers of the musical found their way to the screen early in the 20th century.
Splendidly lavish revues, effervescent songs and dances held together by a solid storyline became the greatest treat the screen had to offer the public. Such gems were otherwise reserved by Broadway’s select few.
With the introduction of sound, music became Hollywood’s main weapon. It resorted to Broadway hit musicals for inspiration, producing, romping, joyous musical blockbusters during the last 100 years. Like all good things, the age of the musical came to an end.
The greatest of all movie genres, the musical, had been dead for a quarter of a century.
Poor writing, feeble choices, exorbitant budgets and strong competition from violent action and outer space adventures, forced the musical off the screen.
Nostalgic audiences sighed as they reminisced about The King and I (1951) and My Fair Lady (1964). Would life breathe into the musical ever again?
Early in the 21st century, a few musicals tried to resurrect the genre.
The world went topsy-turvy when Wicked came along. Who would have known a novel written in 1995 would become the highest grossing movie of all time, based on a Broadway musical?
When American author Gregory Maguire wrote a book about “The Lives and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”, where did his idea come from? Maguire admits that as a child, he always loved the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, based on the 1900 book by L Frank Baum.
Where is Oz, where does it come from and why are we enchanted by all those characters that never existed?
Fantasy fever is stirring again.
Where does the magic come from? Somewhere? Elsewhere? Was it the past that we dream of or the future that we envision?
Baum published his book The Wonderful World of Oz in 1902. Maguire was born in 1954, half a century later. He wrote about the world of Oz as if it were a place you visited. Could it be that we find comfort in a world better than ours, where good is good and bad is bad and “never the twain shall meet”?
Our world is complex, with shades of grey and ambivalence, never reassuring, never clear or transparent. Are we running away from reality, when we indulge in fantasy?
We figured, in this era, that we had left magic behind — but magic never left us.
Wicked was a prequel to the story of Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz (1939), one of the most enduring films of all time.
The events explore the complex friendship between two witches, Elphaba and Glinda, not to mention discrimination, corruption, hate, and anger. The novel was promptly adapted for the stage and the musical was launched on Broadway in 2003.
Despite a lukewarm reception, Wicked became a huge commercial success, winning three out of 10 Tony nominations. Universal studios signed the film for the big screen, but were delayed by the release of Cats, a dismal film to a great stage musical.
The two-part film of Wicked, directed by John M Chu, stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphiba, the green wicked witch of the West, and Ariane Grande as Glinda, blonde, beautiful, and good. The first part was released in November of 2024, nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, winning one award. Oscar, nominated for 10 awards, hope for better luck come Oscar night.
The second film is scheduled for release in November 2025, a much awaited sequel to the prequel. The world awaits more of the characters of Oz, their beloved Munchkins and the enchanting land of the not so very, merry, land of Oz.
Why author Maguire conjured a story of evil and intrigue in contrast to the courage and virtue of Oz is a mystery of the mind.
The razzmatazz awaits the fate of the Oscars.
“Ding Dong the Witch is dead” sings today as they sang almost a century ago.
“Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.”
Alexander Solschenizym (1918-2008)
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: