Stage cast ask author what, how he thinks

Gregory Maguire has seen the hit musical “Wicked,” based on his 1995 novel, more than 30 times. But tonight marks the first time he has been on a book-promotion tour and crossed paths with the national tour of the show, which is playing at the Fox Theatre.

Maguire comes to Outwrite Books in Midtown tonight to discuss and sign his new novel, “A Lion Among Men,” the third in his darkly political re-imagining of Oz. To celebrate the unique convergence of creator and cast in Atlanta, we asked some of the actors in “Wicked” what they would like to ask Maguire, then relayed their questions to him in a phone interview.

(Spoiler alert! Maguire discusses a plot point that people who have not seen the musical yet may want to avoid.)

From Carmen Cusack (Elphaba):

Q. What nonfictional character from history or modern culture would you like to re-imagine or reveal the secret history of? And can I be in the musical adaptation?

A. My nonfictional heroines include Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson and Laura Nyro, who are all dead, sadly. In a way, Elphaba is based on all three of them. Tell Carmen if she’s up for it she’s going to have to do a one-woman show and play all three parts. They can get down and dirty.

From Cliffton Hall (Fiyero):

Q. How and why did you come up with the concept of “Wicked”?

A. Living in London during the first Gulf War, I observed how often the name Hitler was used to describe Saddam Hussein and how poisonous and terrifying a word like Hitler is. I began to think about evil and the way we feel compelled to besmirch our enemies and dehumanize them in order to give ourselves the authority to kill them. This is not to say that I thought Saddam Hussein wasn’t a villain.

“The Wizard of Oz” was just a convenient armature on which to hang my worries and my thoughts about scapegoating.

From Deedee Magno Hall (Nessarose):

Q. If there was one character or scene in the stage play you could change, what would it be and why?

A. What a good, good, good question. “Wicked” is so popular that there isn’t any surprise that at the end of the play the witch [Elphaba] survives. [She dies in Maguire’s novel]. After five years, I think it’s common knowledge.

I would have loved to see them try the play just one evening where she doesn’t come back and Glinda is left to hug her memory alone. I would have loved to see what the audience does with that. I wouldn’t have asked them to change it forever.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Gregory Maguire reads and signs “A Lion Among Men,” Book 3 in “The Wicked Years.” Free. 7 tonight at Outwrite Books, 991 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. 404-607-0082.