Wicked : A Musical Biography

Laird, Paul R.

ISBN 10: 0810877511 / ISBN 13: 9780810877511

Published by Scarecrow Press, Incorporated, 2011

About this Item

Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # 11835988-6

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Wicked : A Musical Biography
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press, Incorporated
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810877511
• ISBN 13: 9780810877511
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 1.113 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

In 2004, the original Broadway production of Wicked earned 10 Tony nominations, including best musical. Based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, the show continues to run on Broadway and has touring companies throughout the United States and around the world. In Wicked: A Musical Biography, author Paul Laird explores the creation of this popular Broadway musical through an examination of draft scripts, interviews with major figures, and the study of primary musical sources such as sketches, drafts, and completed musical scores.

Laird brings together an impressive amount of detail on the creation of Wicked, including a look at Maguire's novel, as well as the original source material, The Wizard of Oz. This volume also offers a history of the show's genesis along with examinations of the draft scenarios and scripts that demonstrate the show's development. Laird also explores Stephen Schwartz's life and work, providing an analysis of the composer and lyricist's work on the show through song drafts, sketches, and musical examples.

Laird also surveys the show's critical reception in New York and London, noting how many critics failed to appreciate its qualities or anticipate its great success. The unusual nature of Wicked's story―dominated by two strong female leads―is also placed in the context of Broadway history. A unique look into a successful Broadway production, Wicked: A Musical Biography will be of interest to musicologists, theatre scholars, students, and general readers alike.

About the Author

Paul R. Laird is Professor of Musicology, University of Kansas . He has published widely on the American musical theatre, including co-editing three editions of The Cambridge Companion to the Musical with William A. Everett. One of his books also concerned orchestration: West Side Story, Gypsy, and the Art of Broadway Orchestration (Routledge, 2022).