Wicked: The Real Story

Writer and director: Robin Bextor

The musical Wicked was first staged in 2003 so it has taken more than 20 years for Wicked: The Real Story, a documentary on its origin and influences to be produced. It arrives just in time to exploit the publicity for the newly-released film version of the musical.

As promised the documentary traces the development of the iconic status of the Oz books, films and stage shows from their humble origin to the massively successful musical. The opening is likely to be of most interest to viewers with a limited knowledge of the books and shows as it concentrates on the fascinating background of the original writer.

L Frank Baum was born just before the American Civil War and, although of a prosperous family managed to go bankrupt a number of times. During the aftermath of one such event he passed the time telling stories to children and heeded his wife’s advice to write them down. In conjunction with illustrator W W Denslow (whose contribution was so significant the duo held joint copyright) Baum created an American fantasy, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with a female protagonist and morally complex characters. Whilst acknowledging Baum’s feminist credentials documentary director Robin Bextor is too honest to avoid mentioning he also advocated the eradication of the Native Americans to ensure the safety of settlers in the west.

Curiously, although Baum aimed his works at an American audience, the documentary shows a UK influence. British author Lemn Sissay claims protagonist Dorothy as an inspiration for adopted children (she was raised by her aunt and uncle). Gregory Maguire is an American author but mentions the murder of James Bulger, notorious in the UK but less likely to be well-known in the author’s country of birth.

From an early point in the documentary the importance of stage and film in ensuring the longevity of the Oz stories is emphasised. The original books were promoted via theatres and Baum made more money from the first stage adaptation in 1902 than from his writing. The play also gave Dorothy something the author had neglected to provide: a surname- Gale, a pun on the tornado which blew her to Oz.

Visually, the opening is the most interesting part of the documentary. It is a treasure-trove of rare books and photographs. Credit is given to the makers of a 1933 animated version of the story for introducing the concept of scenes in mundane Kansas being in black and white and those in Oz in full colour. Copyright issues prevented the cartoon from becoming as significant as it deserved.

A challenge facing documentarians commenting upon popular entertainment is the prohibitive cost of acquiring the rights to show key filmed scenes or to play classic songs. This is particularly the case with Wicked: The Real Story, the illustrations in the opening part of the film are striking but static. It is frustrating to have interviewees explain the cultural significance of Over the Rainbow but not to hear the song. The vital contribution made by each of the many directors to the classic film The Wizard of Oz is explained but no excerpts are shown to prove the point.

Ironically, therefore, the documentary becomes less visually interesting as it progresses. The cover of Gregory Maguire’s revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, upon which the musical is based, is shown umpteen times but simply is not that stimulating.

We get to hear from the horse’s mouth how key motifs from the soundtrack of the classic movie are incorporated into the score for the musical. Author Maguire must be chuffed when composer Stephen Schwartz remarks in staging the musical, the film was regarded as sacrosanct and the source novel less so. There is the chance to hear composer Schwartz picking out key tunes in an intimate setting on a simple piano but the opportunity to hear the fully-developed lung-shattering anthem Defying Gravity does not arise.

The documentary ends with the writing of Maguire’s novel and the development of the musical. There are no details of the casting or staging of the show or even its success and the filmed version is not even mentioned.

Viewers attracted to Wicked: The Real Story hoping for backstage gossip or blasts of songs from the musical will be disappointed. It is a respectful account of the process leading up to the musical but stops short of its actual staging. Financial limitations result in a documentary with such limited visual appeal it might work just as well on radio as the screen.