It looks like another Broadway hit from the past couple of years is lining up to get the silver screen treatment. This time, it is Wicked– a musical prelude to the classic Wizard Of Oz, which posits that Glinda might not have been as good a witch as she led Dorothy to believe and that there just might be some underlying reasons why everyone wants the so-called Wicked Witch of the West out of the way.
The news comes via Variety in an article announcing that producer Marc Platt has resigned a deal to produce films for Universal Studios for another five years. Universal is one of the investors in the Broadway show, based on the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire.
But a film version of the show isn’t a done deal yet. Despite the fact that the studio is a backer of the show, Universal production president Donna Langley stated that Platt and the show’s creator want to wait until the time is right-
Our goal now is absolutely to make the ‘Wicked’ film, but much like Judy Craymer wouldn’t give up screen rights to ‘Mamma Mia!’ until the stage show had reached its pinnacle, Marc [Platt] and Stephen Schwartz are very mindful of the right timing. But we’re dying to do it.
I happened to see the original cast with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway shortly after the show opened and was blown away by their performances. Hopefully, if the film version goes forward, the pair will be brought back to reprise their roles.
