The great and powerful Wizard of Oz, played by Jeff Goldblum, called it right. In Wicked’s trailer, he says: “The best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy.” In the recent US election, Trump had a long list of people he could parade as the enemy. The political establishment, the media elite, would-be assassins. There were also endless enemies to blame for any ills the electorate were experiencing; all of the above, but above all migrants.
And so voters came together to re-elect him. It feels like a tornado has torn through the fabric of society. As we try to make sense of where we’re heading, a story a century and a quarter old has suddenly found its moment.
In 1900, L Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, documenting Dorothy’s trip over the rainbow. It’s considered the original and definitive American fairy tale; its impact on popular culture cemented by the 1939 technicolour spectacular. Like all good fairy tales, it can be told and retold to give fresh perspectives on contemporary times. Gregory Maguire wrote the novel Wicked in 1995, which fills in the backstory of the Witch of the West and how she was framed as wicked to bring unity to the land of Oz. It was adapted into a stage musical by Stephen Schwartz in 2003 that became and remains a Broadway smash, and has been running in London’s Victoria Theatre since 2006.
This week, after decades of development, a blockbuster version starring powerhouse Cynthia Erivo and pop icon Ariana Grande, alongside Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, lands in cinemas.
Wicked’s director Jon M Chu talks to the Big Issue all about it.
What else is in this week’s Big Issue?
A council row over out-of-area placements shows how the temporary accommodation crisis is now a matter of life and death
A council has expressed concerns that vulnerable homeless people will be cut off from vital support networks while it also criticised a neighbouring local authority for increasing its out of area placements. Eastbourne Borough Council says it is “extremely concerned” about the increase in the number of homeless people placed in the town by Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC). It comes after Eastbourne warned it was facing bankruptcy due to the spiralling cost of temporary accommodation.
