The Man Behind the Curtain

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The Man Behind the Curtain

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By Ben Elliott

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Why do we keep returning to Oz?

It’s been over a century since L. Frank Baum created The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the sprawling American fairytale that spawned 13 sequels, a Broadway play, and Victor Fleming’s iconic 1939 film adaptation.

Baum took the traditional hero’s journey and gave it a uniquely American twist: a young girl from the heartland becomes a hero in a dazzling, far-off city. It’s a story that resonates with anyone who has ever left home — or with the longing to return that follows even the biggest adventures.

The Wizard of Oz,1939

But like most American myths, the larger its stature grows, the more it invites reexamination. That’s the concept of Wicked, the long-awaited film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on Gregory Maguire’s revisionist novels, which opens at The Triplex this week.

Wicked shifts the narrative from Dorothy to the Wicked Witch of the West — here named Elphaba — exploring how standing up for justice and reform can lead to being branded an enemy of the state. It’s a fun trick, taking a character once considered irredeemable (played to perfection by Margaret Hamilton in 1939) and revealing her as a victim of circumstance and perspective. Wicked challenges us to question if there’s more to the story, and whether our embrace of Elphaba’s “wickedness”is part of the problem.

Wicked, 2024

The irony, of course, is that over 20 years since its Broadway debut, Wicked has achieved iconic status, almost rivaling Baum’s original tale. It makes you wonder if, someday, this story will be reimagined yet again, viewed through another lens, and reinterpreted for a new generation.

Part of the fun of revisiting Oz over the last 100 years is the way we keep finding new meanings in the text. It’s a reminder that art continues to evolve after it's created, and that the more we revisit it, the more we’ll discover about ourselves.

Showtimes

Showtimes Freakier Friday | 1:00PM, 3:30PM, 6:00PM, 8:30PM The Life of Chuck | 1:15PM, 4:15PM Highest 2 Lowest | 1:45PM, 4:45PM, 8:00PM The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | 7:00PM

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