As soon as upon a time, about 24 years in the past, when Marc Platt (“La La Land”) moved from manufacturing president of Common Footage to launch his personal producing shingle on the studio, he introduced with him a film adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel “Depraved: The Life and Instances of the Depraved Witch of the West,” a prequel to L. Frank Baum’s traditional “The Fantastic Wizard of Oz” and the 1939 Judy Garland musical. Linda Woolverton’s first script was a straight movie adaptation; a small a part of the combo was the origin story of two witches of Oz, Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Depraved Witch of the West.
A blockbuster film musical like “Depraved” (Common) is the sum of years of devoted labor and deliberate choices about what to maintain from the ebook or the present, or what so as to add and alter for the film. By some means, over 20 years, producer Platt and author Winnie Holzman (ABC’s “My So-Referred to as Life”) stayed with the film and stored it on monitor via many iterations. Thus far, the studio image has grossed $680 million worldwide — and it’s not accomplished. Critics and the Globes and the Display screen Actors Guild have acknowledged the film. A number of Oscar nominations are within the offing, together with Greatest Image.
When Broadway composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (“Godspell,” “Pippin”) referred to as Platt and stated, “Would you ever think about turning it right into a musical?,” Platt noticed the sunshine. “I believed, ‘that’s an excellent thought,’ as a result of music offers it magic and wistfulness. It’s a world that desires to be musicalized.”
Not each govt in Hollywood would have made that pivot. “It’s additionally a narrative about individuals presenting themselves a method in Oz,” he stated, “or being perceived on this planet they’re in in a method. And in a musical, a personality can sing one factor to the world, however one other factor in her monologue to the viewers and inform us what he, she or they’re truly pondering. And that opened the door utterly. I additionally thought, ‘if it was profitable on stage, perhaps that will be the reference level for ‘Depraved,’ not the outdated 1939 film.’”
Platt, Schwartz, and playwright-screenwriter Holzman moved ahead with Common Stage Productions on mounting a musical. “Stephen introduced up Winnie’s title immediately,” stated Platt. “He and I liked ‘My So-Referred to as Life’ and I believed, ‘That’s an attention-grabbing inside have a look at younger individuals, and notably the Claire Danes character.’”
Transferring the main target of the story to the connection between the 2 ladies was “an evolving discovery,” stated Holzman. “Stephen and I had been altering the plot of the novel. From the start, I used to be leaning towards incorporating the Glinda character greater than is within the novel. Gregory McGuire had this good concept that in faculty, Linda, the Good Witch and the Depraved Witch of the West had been faculty roommates. That’s simply an lovely, unbelievable, mind-blowing concept that all the time received fun when Steve and I might point out it at cocktail events. We all the time knew that there was one thing about them being pushed collectively that was very important. As we had been doing readings, we started to know that the extra the 2 ladies had been interacting within the present, the stronger the response was from the viewers, the extra invested the viewers grew to become.”
Holzman additionally understood that individuals hadn’t seen a musical “that celebrated a feminine friendship at its core.” And after assembly Kristen Chenoweth at a week-long L.A. workshop, Holzman thought, ‘She’s not going to wish to do it if it isn’t a adequate half.’ Fortuitously, the extra we made it a greater half, the extra we made it a greater play.”
“Depraved” opened on Broadway in October 2003 and grew right into a Tony-winning international smash. Platt and Holzman all the time stored their eye on the inevitable film to come back, however waited for the present to play out over the many years. “It’s so cinematic in its bones and DNA,” stated Platt, “however this was the journey we went on first, and it was exhausting to foresee that it will be as profitable because it was.”
Why did the musical work so properly? “It’s exhausting to say when one thing turns into a phenomenon,” stated Platt. “We knew it was a satisfying leisure that had these unbelievable Stephen Schwartz tunes, that had this nice comedic characterization that Winnie introduced to those ladies, notably Glinda. After our first desk learn at Common, totally different individuals got here as much as us on the finish. All people liked it, and there was laughter and crying. However individuals appear to take one thing totally different from their very own life. They noticed themselves.”
“That’s taking place now, clearly with the film,” stated Holzman. “Our present is overtly emotional. There’s a approach for sure sorts of entertainments to be cynical. And our tradition grew to become very cynical, and really harsh. Even 21 years in the past, after we first opened, there was a starvation for a approach that you can come someplace and get emotional. Stephen’s songwriting has his coronary heart on his sleeve.”
Turning this fashionable present right into a film was a problem as a result of it was so beloved and the filmmakers knew they needed to change it with out alienating legions of followers. “We weren’t in a rush,” stated Holzman. “It wasn’t, ‘how fast can we make a film?’ It was, ‘how properly can we make a film?’”
They had been ready for the street tour of the musical to play itself out. And it by no means did. “The present was doing properly,” stated Platt. “We needed it to flourish world wide. I used to be daunted and insecure, as a result of the bar was excessive, because it was for Stephen and Winnie. I felt strain from the followers I didn’t wish to disappoint. I used to say to Jon Chu on a regular basis earlier than we left for London: ‘We don’t should make the film. Now we have to get it proper.’ And I actually meant that.”
When Chu (“Within the Heights”) and screenwriter Dana Fox (“Cruella”) got here on board they talked via each beat of the present and divvied up writing sections till they unified the script. “Each, each inch of the present he needed to listen to from us,” stated Holzman. “He had his personal imaginative and prescient for the film, however he needed to include what we had been envisioning. This took time, however even earlier than Jon Chu received concerned, there have been many alleys I went down. I needed to show over each stone. I considered this as my massive alternative. I felt fortunate to have the ability to stick with the venture and be the one that might adapt our personal work. And due to that, I felt an infinite alternative to open my thoughts to assume outdoors the field, to go down this street, to go down that street. That resulted in a way of peace of thoughts, as a result of what we ended up with, I do know that we didn’t rush to it. I do know that we didn’t go, ‘oh, it’s gotta be this,’ and by no means thought-about one other different.’”
There’s no query that it was troublesome, after engaged on their very own for thus lengthy, to open up and share the film with an outdoor director like Chu. “It drove me loopy at occasions,” stated Holzman. “There have been occasions I used to be annoyed with myself. It’s not a straightforward course of, to crew with this younger, thrilling director and make one thing new out of the identical story that we love a lot. That was our transient: how might we make one thing new and nonetheless maintain true to the spirit of our present? And that’s an unbelievable alternative for a author to revisit. ‘I believe I could make it slightly higher this time.’ All of us introduced it to a different stage.”
Letting go wasn’t straightforward. “While you’ve been there for the creation of one thing,” stated Holzman, “and you already know precisely the intention of one thing, and within the theater, I’ve heard these strains stated a sure approach 20 occasions, in all probability extra. I discovered myself wrestling at occasions to say, ‘Maintain on, make sure that the intention is evident. However let Jon do his factor. Let your actor or actress interpret the way in which they need, and and give you concepts.’ It was a continuing inside tug of struggle for me, simply because I needed to provide them that capability, after which I did really feel accountable as a guardian.”
Breaking the movie into two components was an enormous choice. “There have been sequences we’d lower out of the present that dug slightly deeper, but it surely was too lengthy,” stated Platt. “It needed to be additive to the journey, since you might fill in plenty of various things.”
Assembly the witches as little kids got here up years in the past. “It appeared proper for a film,” stated Holzman. “However secondly, when you see them as little kids, we needed to construct out that relationship between Elphaba and her sister. That’s a pure, natural option to really feel their bond.”
The film cuts songs and moments from the present. “There have been many strains which might be beloved strains that we shot,” stated Platt, “however I knew going to the enhancing room, sure strains require the rhythm of an stay viewers to play off of, and whenever you put it within the movie, that doesn’t really feel humorous anymore. And so we lower loads of these strains out, which was exhausting for me, however there’s a distinction within the medium, and also you wish to be sensible about the way you interpret for movie versus interpret for stage.”
Having two movies additionally allowed them to revive songs and depth. “Do we actually wish to be reducing out numbers to succeed in a time sequence?” stated Holzman. “While you’re allowed to elaborate extra in two totally different chapters, the primary phase, which is actually the primary act of the film, is the journey of Elphaba changing into the Depraved Witch and making a alternative. Each women make decisions in that film, and so they’re massive life decisions which might be satisfying for the top of the movie: ‘I select that I’ve to battle this wizard, despite the fact that I’m giving up all the things I all the time needed in my entire life, and I’m going to talk fact to energy.’ And the opposite character, who we’ve come to like, chooses to remain, she’s shopping for into that world and that’s an enormous, massive concept that appears like the top of the film.”
“The studio was supportive,” stated Platt, who did should battle exhausting for the inexperienced prepare to Emerald Metropolis. “We needed to construct it. We didn’t wish to do CG, we needed to construct that precise prepare, so that you’d really feel it pull into the station. I stated, ‘It’ll be in each TV spot, each industrial. It’s the journey to Oz, and also you’re experientially getting on a prepare and going as an viewers member.’ It looks like a small factor. It’s solely within the film for a couple of minutes, but it surely was price each cent.”
And audiences responded. At one of many first analysis previews 4 rows of individuals stood and applauded. “It was a blind recruit,” stated Platt. “I’d by no means seen that occur. It was transportive, you get to go away your life for some time after which be in Oz and and emote and giggle and and discover pleasure.”
“You’ve received these two superb ladies in Ariana and in Cynthia,” stated Holzman. “They’re actually masters at what they do. As ladies and as artists, they’re distinctive. This present mattered to them in a deep, deep approach. It was of their coronary heart, and so they needed to make it their very own and but be be respectful.”
The place the play and the unique “Wizard of Oz” are identified, “Depraved” the film is taking part in properly, nations like Australia, the UK, Korea, Germany.
Subsequent up: “Depraved: For Good” (2025) is in regards to the penalties of the alternatives the 2 witches made, “whether or not they stay with these penalties, or whether or not these penalties change both of them,” stated Holzman. “As soon as we realized that, it decided straightforward for all of us.”