Gregory maguire gay

In , at the age of 24, Maguire published his first novel, The Lightning Time. Maguire has previously drawn connections between his experiences as a gay Catholic and the inspiration for his best-seller in a reflection for Bondings last December. And my definition of Wicked , in spite of the fact that it has been claimed by the heterosexual mainstream, is that it is a gay play.

So much so that by intermission, I announced to the askance looks of some of the straight theater goers in my row, or was it my imagination? In both of its forms, Wicked gives us the back story of The Wizard of Oz, complete with the Tin Man, the cowardly Lion, winged monkeys, a corrupt Wizard, and the two witches, representing good and evil and perhaps butch and femme, depending on your perspective.

Perhaps this is why a feeling of loss is so evocative in the musical which honors the deep friendship between Elphaba and Glinda and poignantly portrays their parting and acknowledges that they are different for having known each other. Elphaba who becomes the Wicked Witch is, out of the goodness of her young heart, against the oppression of the animals.

Dorothy may only have an off-stage cameo and Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow may only be an echo, but have no doubt that in Wicked, also, you can click your heels together and go home. Click here for audio. In the new interview withNCR contributor Maxwell Kuzma, Maguire outlined the implications of those connections.

He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from to Gregory Maguire authored the book Wicked, now adapted into a film that raked in 10 Academy Award nominations. But somehow the accusations never go away. What is the nature of evil?

How brave that had made her feel, and how vulnerable, too. Even today, there are those who tell us that by virtue of who we love, we are damned, in other words, evil. His journey to create Elphaba—the misunderstood green witch—was influenced by his own struggles to reconcile faith and sexuality.

Ephie as she is nicknamed as the protagonist takes us with her on her coming of age journey of trying to find herself in a world where by definition of her color-— green -— and her special powers which ultimately she is persecuted for she is not only different, but vastly so.

Photos by Janet Mason. He spoke to NCR about how living as a gay Catholic informed Wicked and the role. This is the question that the much celebrated musical Wicked thrusts upon us — and it is no coincidence that the concept of evil is something that everyone in the LGBT community knowingly or unknowingly, has had to grapple with.

Wicked Author Gregory Maguire Says Elphaba and Glinda’s Sexual Tension Was “Intentional” In an expansive — and possibly final — interview with Them, the novelist discusses Elphaba’s origin story, its nods to the AIDS epidemic, and all those queer fan theories. [1]. When I came out in the s, our redefinition of evil became an oft repeated slogan: the moral majority is neither.

It is vastly pared down and open ended — with room for each member of the audience to enter if he or she dares. Wicked , both the novel and the musical, is rife with myth and like any good myth it has been re-invented, in this case from book to musical score.

For instance, a love affair between Elphaba who we come to know as The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda commonly known as the Glinda the Good Witch that is briefly mentioned in the novel is obscured in the play. It is a gay play set in a world where sorcery is an option for a major in college, and where animals and humans talk to each other and enjoy equal social status until the Wizard begins cracking down on the animals, forbidding them to talk, from teaching in universities, and has them herded off to farms.

Before Wicked became a global phenomenon, Gregory Maguire, a gay Catholic, wrote a novel that would change the way we think about good, evil, and difference. Around the same time, he began to realize he was gay. Fans have speculated about the LGBTQ+ undertones of the story long before Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande hit the screen.

Hitching To Nirvana , a novel of midife and adolescence by Janet Mason is now available on-line and from bookstores Available in paperback and in e-book. “Wicked” Author Gregory Maguire said that while writing Elphaba’s character was not an analog to his experience as a gay man, it did give him an example of “how to be brave and strong in this world.”.

Maguire’s novel features a scene in which Elphaba and Glinda kiss, and. Share on Twitter.