GERSHWIN THEATER

In a phone interview with Mlive.com, Marc Platt, producer of the long-running Broadway musical Wicked, confirmed that the show will be adapted into a full-length feature film. "For sure, there will be a movie. I just can't say when," he affirmed. While he did not give any details about the upcoming project, he did reveal that he would produce it.

Platt shared that while serving as president of Universal Studios, he had a chance to read Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" on which the Broadway musical is based. "I thought it was an excellent idea for a film," he said. As he set out to turn the novel into a big screen adaptation however, he was not able to find an adequate screenplay. It was at that point that he was approached by composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz with the idea of turning the book into a musical instead. Filming was stopped immediately as the duo acquired the stage rights and "went down a different path" to "create our own world of Oz on stage."

Platt maintains that to this day, the story has special meaning to him, "because for whatever reason, it reaches out and not only entertains, which is the primary goal, but it touches people."

Platt's comments follow a recent interview with Adam Fogelson, chairman of Universal Pictures (a majority owner of the Broadway musical). In the interview, Fogelson revealed that a film adaptation of "Wicked" would "be coming to the screen sooner rather than later."

WICKED premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003. Its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards while its cast album received a Grammy Award. It has gone on to become one of the longest running musicals on Broadway.

Article reprinted with permission from www.BroadwayWorld.com