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Distinguished in suit and tie, the man of slight stature boisterously broke the stiffness of the crowd.
“I dressed up so you would be impressed,” he said playfully as he launched his suit jacket to the back corner of the stage. “Do you mind if I take my jacket off? Do I have your permission?”
Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked and several other critically acclaimed novels, revealed his true colors as a storyteller during the One Book One Campus event in Foellinger on Tuesday night by entertaining the audience with his sarcastic comments, dramatic readings and vibrant anecdotes.
From a narrative standpoint, he recounted his first visit to the Land of Oz with his seven younger siblings in his backyard. Self-described as “The Boss Kid,” he explained how he was constantly creating fictious lands where, “Captain Hook and the Wicked Witch of the West could get married and have a pair of twins, little Snookems and little Hookems.”
Unlike most adults, Maguire never lost his childlike creativity and imagination. He has written numerous children’s books, spoke at various schools around the nation, and is a founder and co-director of Children's Literature New England, Incorporated, a non-profit educational charity.
He also shared a more intimate side of his life. After his mother died during childbirth, he became an orphan, he said.
“Is it any wonder that I grew up not to be just a storyteller, but a storyteller bewitched by the notions of abandoned children?” he asked.
In contrast to his tragic past, Maguire divulged the joys of being a father to his three adopted children to the ever-fascinated audience.
He enthusiastically invited audience members to ask questions, generously opening any topic for discussion.
“Nothing embarrasses me,” he said.
Questions ranged from writing methods to his favorite authors and inspirations. Many people commented on Maguire’s complicated themes and characters as well.
“With Wicked, I wanted to remake the land to make it as complicated as the real world in which we live. That’s part of how I got people to buy into the magic, by making the surroundings complicated and not completely resolved,” he explained.
Other people wanted to understand his involvement with the Broadway production and why he gave over creative control to the producers.
After hearing the song “No One Mourns the Wicked,” he realized that the producers were taking the themes in his book seriously.
“I realized that the play leaves you with the same emotional square that the novel portrays- a sense of bittersweet loss and regret,” he said.
However, he did object to Judy Garland’s version of “Over the Rainbow,” and in closing, with a Wicked Witch of the West puppet on his hand, he belted out the “missing” verse, “Somewhere over the rainbow she’s there too, and the dreams that you’re scared to dream really do come true…”
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