Ode to the prequel

Wikipedia says: "A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time." A prequel won't generally ruin the fun of the original work should you happen to experience it first. But resist the temptation to put the works in chronological order. It's so much more satisfying to get the back story after the characters have grabbed you in their prime.

Have you seen Wicked yet? The musical about the witches of Oz before Dorothy dropped in? See it. Unless you were in the vast minority of Americans who did NOT grow up with an annual dose of The Wizard of Oz movie (or you weren't, but disliked it for some inexplicable reason), see Wicked!

Wicked provides an alternate, sympathetic view of the Wicked Witch of the West (named Elphaba by Wicked novelist Gregory McGuire in homage to L. Frank Baum who wrote the original Oz books), complete with a trampy mother, hateful father, crippled sister, romantic inclinations and sense of humor. It also sheds light on Glinda, the Good Witch, whose perky popularity is equally lovable and nauseating.

But my favorite parts of the story came when details (some huge and some minute) surfaced about the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Wicked Witch of the East and the Wizard himself. Was all of it believable? Would Mr. Baum approve? Hard to say. Probably not entirely. But no matter.

Catching a glimpse into the history of Oz was fascinating!!! Almost as good as getting the back story on Mrs. Rochester (Bertha) in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, the prequel to my favorite book of all time, Jane Eyre.