Have you either read the book "Wicked" or seen the play? Did you like it or them?

I read the book and enjoyed it very much. The play got bad critical reviews but the public liked it. The subject matter is really, as originally written, for adults.

I enjoyed the book, though I thought it could have been better. I also liked the musical and I usually don’t like them. The scenery, music and special effects were entertaining.

I read the book. It’s addressing some really serious topics that our own society struggles with. I hadn’t read it until the musical came out and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t as simplistic as the stage production made the story out to be.

I tried to read the book but could not get into it. I saw the musical and I really enjoyed it. It definitely does deal with popularity and fitting in.

FYI, a good book for kids that deals with the issue is A Bad Case of the Stripes although it skews a bit older than three.

I’ve read the book and seen the musical. I enjoyed them both quite a bit, although they are very different. The book is very adult. The musical would be appropriate for ages 8 and up. The story was lightened up quite a bit for the stage.

I went to see the musical with my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. I’d never heard of it, or the book, until we had the option to get tickets. I picked up the book, and halfway through the first page wondered if the musical would be at all appropriate for little girls. They are that different.

Anyway, if you get a chance to see the musical, it is worth it. It’s a lot of fun and very entertaining. It won’t make you think or change your life, but you’ll probably smile and laugh a lot. And if you can listen to Defying Gravity without getting chills and wanting to charge off and change the world, you’re a tougher person than I am! My kids love to listen to the Wicked soundtrack. Even if your daughter is too young to go to the musical, she might like the songs from the show.

I saw the musical a few months back, and I really enjoyed it. It was a big production, and very well done. I can’t remember it well enough to talk about the themes, I just remember having a great night out.

I have read the book. It was very good, but had a mature theme.

The musical is entertaining, a real Broadway blockbuster. I saw the production in Melbourne. Admittedly, I can sometimes be a bit of a theatre snob, but I am aware that just because a show’s main fanbase is adolescent girls it’s not automatically trash. In my opinion it’s fun, suitable for all ages (a little bit darker than The Wizard of Oz obviously, but no worse than Harry Potter), the songs are good, and in all aspects of design it’s quite a spectacle.

Like others have said, the novel is much more mature, not only in terms of sex/drugs/violence/language, but it also goes more in depth with themes of power and politics, corruption, etc., while the musical is simpler (though I might say here that this is not a fault, but an inevitable consequence of writing a 3-hour-long musical play). I did like the novel, even if I didn’t think it was fantastic, and it is worth reading at the right time for the way it explores the above-mentioned themes.

I don’t know whether Wicked the musical is the best source material for a conversation about popularity, given its simplicity, but if all you’re looking for is a show with an accompanying pop-up book that she will enjoy and think about, and perhaps be the source of many fond memories, then I do recommend it.

I’m sorry that was so long.

I liked the book, even though I expected not to because I saw it as essentially capitalizing on someone else’s creative work. It went far enough beyond The Wizard of Oz (interestingly, the movie, not the book, was its starting point) to work on its own merits, even if you can’t really say “stand on its own.”

It was not a children’s book.

I haven’t seen the musical. I’d probably be interested if it came to town, but I imagine it would be impossible to be faithful to the book because of a number of story elements that really can’t be enacted by living performers.

Saw the musical and absolutely loved it. I’d never been so blown away by a performance.

I saw it at the Orpheum in San Francisco and thought it was absolutely amazing. I’m reading the book now and when they talk about things I can remember them and think, “Oh yeah, so that’s why he was that way” or “So that’s how that came to be.” Just stuff that kind of connects the dots. I think the play does a fantastic job of conveying itself to the audience. I could follow along having never read the book based on the information they provided, but going back and reading the book definitely helps make better sense of things.
Short point: LOVED the play. LOVING the book. Definitely recommend them.

Read the book, loved it but hadn’t any interest in seeing the play.

In March I went on a trip to England, and while we were in London I saw the west London play of Wicked. It was very good, and funny. The costumes were great, as well as the effects. I can’t remember the character’s name in the play but she was the one who always dressed in the pink dress, and she was the popular one in school, not the green one. Anyways her part and her lines were really really funny.

The next day we all went and saw another play called The 39 Steps and it was way better. I cried from laughing. I’m pretty sure there was only like 4 characters too, but it was truly amazing!

The book is great, but I haven’t seen the musical. I thought the book was very dark- every character is very flawed and the society as a whole is sick. You know Elphaba is going to meet a tragic end, but you feel for her and care about how she gets there.

The book is great…I have tried to watch the musical a couple of times but it just didn’t hold my interest…which is surprising since I typically love musicals.

I saw the play first, which is a better way to go, since the play is really just about a small piece of a much more complicated and interesting book. I enjoyed the play though. And the book, very much. As for your young daughter, these are the prequel to the Oz books, a fabulous series of imaginative books that I adored throughout my second grade. And also, you know, the Wizard of Oz is one of the most famous movies around, and when your three year old is about 8 or so, she will probably love that movie as well. I think Wicked is more fun when you know the Oz story (she’s the “wicked witch”).

I have refrained from either, since they both smell of revisionism, and I hate revisionism.

I loved the book, but I liked son of a witch, the sequel better

I went to the musical, but I fell asleep during some of the songs.It was way too long. My husband enjoyed it a lot, he is a musical fan, and he also liked the book.

24 Year old male college grad football fan… Saw it on my high school senior class trip to New York (age 18 at the time).... Really liked it, and am actually hoping to see it again this summer.

I tried to read the book before I saw the show and just couldn’t get into it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the show when I went to see it in London.

I read the book and really enjoyed it for several reasons. After reading reviews and some of the comments posted here, I’ll pass on seeing the play.

I have seen the play, and I thought it was boring. I fell asleep during part of it. My husband loved the book and the play.