This time, we won’t get to hear her sing, but that’s okay. Cynthia Erivo, who stars in Wicked and the upcoming Wicked: For Good as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, is going to play the iconic role once again—in a very different form. Erivo is the narrator for a new audiobook version of Wicked, Gregory Maguire’s novel on which the musical and movie are based.
As a fan of the book more than the musical, this feels like a gift, and a lovely way to connect the blockbuster film back to its origins. Book Elphaba is different, and her story is wildly different, and frankly the thought of getting to hear Erivo perform my favorite scenes from Wicked gives me goosebumps. (One imagines she will have fun voicing Galinda, too.)
First published in 1995, Wicked was generally well-received but hardly a smash hit. Over the years, and in the wake of the musical, its visibility grew, and Maguire returned to Oz for three more books in the Wicked Years series: Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. More recently, he wrote a trilogy about Elphaba’s granddaughter, Rain, called Another Day. Just last month he published Elphie, an unexpected prequel which takes readers back to Elphaba’s childhood years.
The new audiobook of Wicked will release on July 1st, and is available for preorder now.