Customer Reviews

Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Finally, after months of waiting (and a whole week early!). Wicked: The Grimmerie is here. Some may be wondering if they should buy this book, and I'm here to tell you.

The Good News: The cover and design of the book is amazing. The cover looks old and worn and is even padded. The intricate designs are textured and the book is nice and heavy and thick. The inside design is incredible. Each page (printed on very heavy paper) is made to look old, worn and stained and it's wonderful to look at. As for the actual contents... wow. The production photos are brilliantly printed and include photos from the following casts: Original Broadway Cast, 2nd Broadway Cast (Jennifer Laura Thompson and Joey McIntyre), Original Tour Cast (Stephanie J. Block and Kendra Kassebaum), and the 3rd Broadway Cast (Shoshana Bean and David Ayers). There are very few new photos but there are some. Most of them are from the tour cast (most of Kendra and some of Stephanie and one small one of Carole Kane). There are many interviews with every cast member and many from Gregory Maguire (writer of Wicked the novel) and Stephen Shwartz and Winnie Holtzman (writer of script). There is a step-by-step page of how Stephanie gets green before each show. They have a page dedicated to the dance Elphaba does in "Dancing Through Life" and they teach it to us step-by-step. They have many photos of props and sets and wigs, as well as original costume and set sketches. There is a handwritten page from the book and an early version of Defying Gravity. There is commentary on each song by Mr. Shwartz and this isn't even all of it. So much information to soak up!

The Wicked News: Unlike what some people are saying, the book DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FULL SCRIPT. There are bits of dialogue and a lot of it is summed up in a few sentences. (The Cornfield Scene is completely gone) They cut whole scenes (which is dumb, they are all spoiler free about it, even though they talk about the same parts in interviews). I was so hoping they would make a huge deal about the script and splash the libretto with tons of photos from each scene... It's very, very disappointing, yes. Very. But... ah, well. They also didn't include Elphaba's spells like they said they would. There is also a sad lack of production photos. There are so many wonderful photos and they don't use NEARLY as much as they should have... You should also know they don't include the 4th Broadway cast (Megan Hilty, Ben Vereen) or ANY of the Chicago cast (Ana Gastyer and Kate Reinders)... that really bites. The Chicago sit-down cast is only mentioned and that is a shame. If you are an Original Cast fan you may be slightly disappointed. Instead of using only the original cast photos (like the RENT "bible") they mix and match all the different casts. This would be fine except that if you are a big fan or the Chicago cast or the current Broadway cast (as of Fall 2005) you will be disappointed.

But over all, an AMAZING book. Buy it! It's a must for every Wicked fan. A MUST. This is also a wonderful gift.

I got this book for a good friend of mine, who, like me, is a big fan of Wicked. I'm not the candle carrying-Idina worshipping type, but I like it alot.
Anyways,
I was somewhat impressed and somewhat disappointed by the book.
Good things:
There are some great interviews, and being a fan of stage make-up techniques, the "greening of elphaba" was pretty interesting to me. Also, the book is very nicely put together, but I would say wait until it goes down to $20 or $15 before you buy it.
The Bad things:
There was a deffinate lack of new material: any big fan of Wicked has seen most of these photos before, and the information has been either read or seen on television specials. I hate to say it, but I think this was put together 'just in time for christmas' to cash in on the Wicked fans.
Summary:
I am still up in the air: I own the Lord of the Rings behind-the-scenes-book, and not only is it an interesting read, it's also a reference for costuming, make-up, special effects, ect. I find that this book is nice...but that's about it. If you want to give a nice gift to a Wicked fan, this might be what you're looking for, but if they are a HUGE fan, I think that in the long run, you'll be somewhat disappointed.
By the Way:
I've noticed a dissatisfaction with the lack of the libretto: It can be found (for free) at this website:

http://libretto.musicals.ru/text.php?textid=609&language=1

and can be printed, with a laser printer, in about 7 1/2 minutes and bound in about 3 at your local Kinko's for about $5.

I read the book and saw the Broadway Play recently, so I was dying to get my hands on the Grimmerie. I was not disappointed. The photos are fabulous and all the information is even better. If you want to know all the behind-the-scene tricks of the play, more about the characters in the play, and how it was adapted from the book, then you definately need this book. My favorite part is the script in the back of the book. As a teacher, I plan on using the story along with the music to teach my kids about personal strength, friendship, and the consequences of bullying. I LOVE this book!

I am a HUGE fan of Wicked the musical and couldn't wait for this book to come out. When I finally got it, I was blown away by how cool the cover looked and at all the behind-the-scenes info (including the interviews with all the women who've played Elphaba). If you're getting the book for information on the genesis and success of the musical you can't do much better than this book. Unfortunately, there were hardly any new pictures, backstage or during the show, here to see. You could pretty much find any of them with ten minutes on Google, and with such a visually beautiful show as Wicked that was a major letdown for me. Also, the reviewer below is right- there is not a complete libretto here. Still, the design and production of The Grimmerie is very well done, but it just could have used a lot more rare pictures.

If you are a WICKED fan, this is your bible. Here are the goods:
Pros:
1. REALLY cool pictures, graphics and the cover
2. How to do the 'Elphaba' from the Oz Dust ballroom
3. How they make Elphaba green

Cons:
1. Not a full libertto (just because the book doesn't have that doesn't mean it should only get 1 star)
2. The fan letters are stupid
3. Spoilers (for when fans wh show their friends who haven't seen the show.)

Otherwise, it is my second bible. :)

I bought this book for my 15-year-old daughter who has seen Wicked the play and who already has several of the books. She absolutely LOVED this book! Everything about the book is awesome. The distressed look of the cover of the book adds so much to the book in making it have the appearance of a spell book. I highly recommend this book to anyone. She has been through this book over and over again and loves to show it off to her friends. What a great book!!

Being a rather HUGE fan of Wicked, I have been anxious to purchase the grimmerie for some time. I have never seen the musical, however I listen to the CD religiously and have watched the play [...]. Today I finally got the book at 2.30, it is now 8.15, and I have read through it twice. The Grimmerie includes how the writers were able to write the script, the set designers, the wig and costume directors, as well as a chapter about the various cast members on playing their characters (it has the original cast, as well as members from the national tour and the cast that took over on Broadway).

The book does not include the full liberatto, which was dissapointing, as the musical includes songs that are not featured on the soundtrack. However, the short script that is included is sufficient to answer most questions one might have about the plot.

I am more than pleased with this companion to Wicked, which I am absolutley in love with. The pictures in the book include the National Tour Cast.

If you have any doubts about this product please feel free to email my amazon account!

Wicked fans will love this, unless they are looking to reinact the musical, in which case it is illegal, and the full script is not included.

The Wicked Bible! A must have for any Wicked fan. Especially if you have only seen it on Broadway. I didn't read the book. It tells you all the things you need to know about it. It shows you not only the orignal cast but the later cast as well! I've seen Wicked 3 times and I couldn't put this down!

Upon receiving this book, I was absolutely elated. The cover was so beautiful, and flipping through the book was spectacular. However, while this book was initially flawless, I feel a victim of false adveritising. True: this book has some nice behind-the-scenes stuff (drafts of the novel and of "Defying Gravity" as well as set and costume designs) and a step-by-step of how Elphaba gets green (of course, you can find this online); it does not include the full libretto or any spells, both of which were why I so desired this book! Yes, it includes the lyrics for "Wicked Witch of the East" and includes snippets of the book: if you've seen the musical, it's nothing impressive. Some of my favourite scenes they just glance over with a few sentences, barely even managing to explain the scene. For example: What precedes "Defying Gravity" and the Elphaba/Glinda confrontation near the end.
Regardless, if you (like me) are absolutely obsessed with this musical, you will probably still appreciate the book. It does have some nice pictures (though many of them are repeated from online sources and the program) and some good comments.
I must say though: why do they think we'd care about their fan letters? I'd much rather have a full libretto.
In conclusion, if you are a true Wicked fan, get this book of course! If you are merely mulling it over as a way to spend a spare $25 bucks, well then, I couldn't tell you. (I keep telling myself: "at least I didn't pay full price.") If you are an Idina fan, I gotta say, this might not be the book for you. It seems to have much more of Stephanie J. Block.

(Just to end on a good note: one sort-of nifty thing that is included that wasn't advertised is a step-by-step for "The Elphie.")

Being an Australian and with only access to the broadway cast album of Stephen Schwartz's "Wicked" . . . .the show has yet to make it to Oz (Australia that is, not the magical...... you know what I mean). I was more than eager to know more of this smash hit. "The Grimmerie" does not disappoint. Hard cover with a purposely "distressed" binding, this over 192 page book abounds with vivid color shots of the production, profiles of the characters by the actors who starred and most helpful for one who is yet to enjoy the show face to face, a condensed script linking the lyrics of each song. Whether you've seen the show, have only caught the cast album, or just heard on the grapevine; The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical is a must have.