[audiobook] Wicked: A Musical Biography by Paul R. Laird in Arts-Photography

Review

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Laird Accomplishes a WICKED TaskBy Christopher KuczewskiIn WICKED: A MUSICAL BIOGRAPHY. Paul Laird sets out to examine the musical WICKED. the Stephen Schwartz/Winnie Holzman Broadway hit that has gone on to win awards and play to countless audiences worldwide. Laird is clear in what he wants to accomplish in this book: this is not merely a recollection of the creative process behind the blockbuster musical but. rather. a thorough examination of the musicals score and orchestration. Of course. Laird does recall the creation of the show (something that has been already examined in Carol de Gieres comprehensive and thorough DEFYING GRAVITY: THE CREATIVE CAREER OF STEPHEN SCHWARTZ. FROM GODSPELL TO WICKED and David Cotes coffee table book WICKED: THE GRIMMERIE. both of which are certainly worthy of a read); his main focus is not on the people behind the show but on the music and. to some extent. lyrics and book of the show.Laird reviews several different versions of the score and libretto of WICKED. including the very first draft of the script from 2001. It is striking to see the similarities and differences between these earlier versions of the show and the finalized version currently playing on Broadway. Laird also delves into the orchestrations of William David Brohn. which definitely give even greater weight to WICKEDs already enchanting score. Lairds approach is both scholarly and enjoyable. He definitely uses a great deal of musical terminology (and rightly so). so for those readers who are not too sharp on these terms. I would highly recommend using the internet to look them up.It would have been nice to have a detailed analysis of the book and lyrics. but I guess you cant have everything. Besides. Laird does not specifically set out to explore the book and lyrics of the show. All in all. WICKED: A MUSICAL BIOGRAPHY is a must for any WICKED fan or for anybody interested in musical theatre.6 of 10 people found the following review helpful. HORRIBLE!By K. VanckoThis reads like a middle school students term paper and would probably receive a C at best. He spends almost all his time a. Telling you what hes going to say. b. Telling you what he just said. or c. quoting two of the GREAT books about Wicked and Stephen Schwartz. Occasionally. he tries to say something himself. but its normally something vague like talking about how the song Wonderful changed more than any other after Wickeds opening night. but not giving ANY SPECIFICS. This book sucks.There are a couple interesting things (like different song lists. scripts. etc.). but I cant believe I wasted any money or time on this horrible book about one of my favorite Broadway shows of all time.