'He Really Did That': People Can't Cope With The Author Of 'Wicked's' Seriously Brutal Reason For Giving Elphaba The Last Name 'Thropp'
It's fair to say that Wicked has been having a bit of a moment in recent months, entirely thanks to the movie adaptation that was released back in November, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Prior to the film, the story was perhaps best known for its stage show, which you may be surprised to learn isn't its actual origin.
In fact, Wicked's roots actually trace back to a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was, in turn, inspired by the 1900 L. Frank Baum book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its famous 1939 film adaptation.
Just eight years after Maguire's book was released, his now-iconic story about Glinda and Elphaba made its transition to the stage, debuting in San Francisco in 2003.
Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth famously originated the lead roles in the show, and they continued to lead the cast when Wicked transferred to New York City's iconic Broadway later that same year.
And while Idina, Cynthia, Kristin, and Ariana undeniably know almost everything there is to know about the beloved characters that they've brought to life on both stage and screen, nobody knows more than the man who first developed these characters way back in the '90s.
Luckily for us, Gregory took part in a "Writing Wicked" panel at BroadwayCon on Sunday, where he generously shared some insight into his process when writing the book. Gregory was joined by Winnie Holzman, who wrote the script for the stage adaptation of Wicked and co-wrote the two movies.
In footage shared by the Broadway Maven, Gregory was asked how he came to write the Wizard Of Oz spin-off, and he revealed that it was largely due to the annual television airing of the 1939 film being the only movie he and his family watched growing up.
He recalled acting the movie out with his siblings the next day, and he 'started inventing with the story' at age 6.
Winnie later detailed changing Glinda's last name when she adapted Gregory's book because he had given her 'a long name' in the novel, and she wanted something 'a little shorter' like Elphaba, whose last name is Thropp. She offered the fun fact that she settled on 'Upland' for Glinda in tribute to Gregory, who confirmed that he has lived at 'three different addresses' with 'Upland' in the street name.
Returning the favor, Gregory explained why he chose 'Thropp' to be Elphaba's last name. He told the crowd: 'Nobody has ever asked me where Elphaba's last name comes from, her name is Elphaba Thropp.'
'Like 'Elphaba,' I didn't want it to be a pretty name,' Gregory went on. 'First and last name, I did not want it to be elegant and synonymous and sensuous: Elphaba Thropp, [it's] slapstick.'
He deadpanned: ''Thropp' is the sound that a house makes when it falls on your sister.'
This is, of course, a reference to Elphaba's sister Nessarose's death in the story, and the brutal reality of Gregory's thought process left Wicked fans absolutely gagged when his quote surfaced on X. Reacting to a viral Wicked Update account tweet about what the author had said, one person wrote: 'i just thropped to my knees.'
'he's so real for that,' another replied. One more popular response reads: 'Dark humoured, camp king.'
'After you read the Wicked books and think, 'Who could write such a WEIRD, deep, political, eccentric thing?' and then look up Gregory Maguire, it all makes sense,' somebody else remarked.
Another simply wrote: 'He did that. He really did that.' One more quipped: 'I'm screaming that's so sick.'
But Gregory isn't all sass, and he also got serious as he reflected on the deeper philosophy behind Wicked while sharing the impact he hoped his book and the musical would have on audiences. He said: 'The place that you arrive at the end of the musical is the identical place that I wanted people to arrive in the end of my novel, which was a lump in the throat and a reminder that what literature — whether it be theater, whether it be novels — brings us to is a reminder of how little time we have to do good with our lives.'
'We must cherish the ones we love,' he went on. 'We must say it out loud; we must protect one another; and we must do our work while we have the spirit.'
Hear-hear — let me know what you make of Gregory's comments below!
More on this
Here's The Poignant Story Behind That Resurfaced Video Of Idina Menzel Playing 'Wicked's' Elphaba On Broadway In Red Sweats And Without Her Green SkinStephanie Soteriou · Nov. 28, 2024
Jon M. Chu Just Revealed That He Got 'Many Calls' From Lin-Manuel Miranda Asking For A Cameo In 'Wicked'Stephanie Soteriou · Jan. 23, 2025
People Are Heartbroken Over This Clip Of Ariana Grande Looking Dejected After Cynthia Erivo Accidentally Rejected Her Attempt To Hold HandsStephanie Soteriou · Jan. 17, 2025
Here Are 29 'Wicked' Easter Eggs And Details That Have Left Me MindblownLeyla Mohammed · Nov. 26, 2024
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The 2025 Tony Awards are tonight. Here's how to watch and what to know.
Broadway and Beyond: At The Tonys 2025 Broadway and Beyond: At The Tonys 2025 Broadway and Beyond: At The Tonys 2025 The 78th Annual Tony Awards, honoring the best in plays and musicals on Broadway, is taking place on Sunday. And the 2025 awards ceremony comes after a record-breaking season. Broadway's biggest night is capping the highest-grossing Broadway season in recorded history, the Broadway League said, with high ticket prices for plays including Denzel Washington's "Othello" and George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" helping drive nearly $2 billion in gross ticket sales. The 2024-25 season was also the second best attended season in recorded history. Overall, about 14.7 million audience members bought tickets, the agency said. Forty-three productions, including 21 musicals, 21 plays and one special engagement, raised their curtains, according to the Broadway League. When are the 2025 Tony Awards? The Tony Awards, at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, begin on Sunday, June 8, at 8 p.m. ET. The stage of the 77th Annual Tony Awards on June 16, 2024 in New York Tony Awards Productions Where to watch the 2025 Tony Awards with cable The Tony Awards ceremony airs on CBS television stations beginning at 8 p.m. ET. How to stream the Tony Awards live The Tony Awards are streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. The ceremony is available live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers on Monday, June 9, the day after the special airs. Before the main show, Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry are hosting "The Tony Awards: Act One." The live pre-show is featuring exclusive content and will be available to viewers for free on the free streaming television service Pluto TV. The pre-show begins at 6:40 p.m. ET and runs until the start of the Tonys. Who is nominated at the 2025 Tony Awards? Fifteen musicals and 14 plays are nominated across 26 competitive categories at the Tony Awards. Several nominees are making history. "Yellow Face" star Daniel Dae Kim is the first Asian actor to be nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. Kara Young, a Tony nominee this year for "Purpose," is the first Black actor to be nominated four years in a row in any category. Last year, Young received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. From left: Harry Lennix, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Jon Michael Hill, Kara Young, Glenn Davis and Alana Arenas during the opening night curtain call for "Purpose" on Broadway. Getty Images "I love the fact that we are being recognized as Asian Americans on Broadway, and I think it's really important for where we are in our society, especially today, and yet I yearn for the day when it's so commonplace and understood that anyone of any race or religion or gender identification can be nominated for these things," Kim told CBS News New York. "I've always wanted to play Henry V, and you know we can always dream. And those dreams are becoming reality now." "Oh, Mary!" star and creator Cole Escola is the first non-binary nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Play. And "English" performers Tala Ashe and Marjan Neshat have become the first Middle Eastern actors to be nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Ashe recently told CBS News New York. Meanwhile, Broadway legend Audra McDonald has set a new bar: This year, she received her 11th Tony Award nomination for her performance in "Gypsy" — the most-ever for a performer. She has been awarded in every acting category at least once. If she wins on Sunday, she will become the performer with the most Tony Award wins, a title she currently shares with Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury. Audra McDonald during the opening night curtain call for the new revival of the musical "Gypsy" on Broadway. Bruce Glikas/WireImage The full list of nominees can be found here. Who is hosting the 2025 Tony Awards? "Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo is hosting the ceremony. She teased her plans for the show during a Wednesday appearance on "CBS Mornings." Viewers can expect to see costume changes, she said, and Erivo attended numerous Broadway shows this season to prepare for the hosting gig. Erivo said hosting the Tony Awards is "a beautiful full circle moment" in her career. She received a Tony Award for her performance in "The Color Purple" in 2016, which led to more career opportunities, including her starring role in "Wicked." "Because of Broadway and because of the work that we did in 'The Color Purple,' I get to sit with you now where I am and have done all the things that I've done since then," Erivo said. Who is performing at the 2025 Tony Awards? Typically, the host takes part in an opening number to begin the show. The five shows nominated for Best Musical — "The Buena Vista Social Club," "Dead Outlaw," "Death Becomes Her," "Maybe Happy Ending" and "Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical" — all have performances. The four shows nominated for Best Revival of a Musical — "Floyd Collins," "Gypsy," "Sunst Blvd." and "Pirates! The Penzance Musical" — are also performing. The cast of "Maybe Happy Ending" (from left: Dez Duron, Helen J. Shen, Darren Criss and Marcus Choi) bow on stage at the Belasco musicals "Just in Time" and "Real Women Have Curves," which were not nominated for the top awards but have been nominated in other categories, are also expected to perform. Members of the original cast of the smash hit "Hamilton" are set to reunite for a performance celebrating the musical's 10th anniversary on Broadway. The Tony Awards did not announce what the cast would perform. The choir Broadway Inspirational Voices, which received an honor for "Excellence in Theater" at the 2019 Tony Awards, is also performing. Who is presenting at the 2025 Tony Awards? The Tony Awards will see some of Broadway's biggest names give awards and introduce performances. Pop star Adam Lambert, TikTok influencer Charli D'Amelio, and media mogul Oprah Winfrey are among the biggest names presenting at the awards. Actors Samuel Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Bryan Cranston, Jean Smart, Katie Holmes and Keanu Reeves — all of whom have recently appeared, or are set to appear, in Broadway shows — will also be among the presenters. Former Tony hosts Sara Bareilles and Ariana DeBose were also set to present.
