Winnie Holzman ’76 Co-Wrote the Script for the Blockbuster ‘Wicked’

Back in 1995, when Gregory Maguire’s book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was published, Winnie Holzman ’76 encountered the novel in a New York City bookstore. “I just got chills,” Holzman says, explaining that she thought the conceit to tell the story of The Wizard of Oz from the witch’s perspective was a brilliant idea. As an accomplished playwright and screenwriter, Holzman envisioned the musical adaptation she’d love to create.

But soon she heard that producer Marc Platt was already developing a non-musical movie based on the idea with another writer, and she was so disappointed she didn’t read the book for a long time. “For years, it sat on my shelf,” Holzman says. “It was kind of haunting me.”

However, Holzman got her chance in 1998, when composer Stephen Schwartz convinced both Maguire and Platt to pursue a stage production instead of a drama film. While Schwartz wrote the music and the songs, he asked Holzman to write the script and story.

The rest is history. The 2003 Tony-winning Wicked stage musical has since become the second-highest-grossing Broadway show. This year, the first part of the musical’s film adaptation, which Holzman co-wrote with Dana Fox, topped the box office and was nominated for four Golden Globes. The second installment, Wicked: For Good, also directed by Jon M. Chu, is scheduled for release in November 2025.

“The true thrill is the way the audiences have responded,” Holzman says. “Their heartfelt reactions — that’s the prize.”

Holzman studied English and creative writing at Princeton, focusing on poetry, and found her calling in writing for actors at Theatre Intime. “The more you write, the more you learn about yourself and about writing,” she says.

The astute viewer of the Wicked film will note that much of the film’s runtime takes place at Shiz University, a school for Oz’s elite, with Elphaba, the titular wicked witch, sharing a dorm room with Galinda, later “Glinda the Good Witch.” And for those wondering if Shiz owes an influence to Old Nassau, Holzman has an answer.

“When I was writing it, I was picturing an Ozian version of Princeton,” Holzman says, explaining that Shiz was “a place that there’s a certain amount of reverence for” in the land of Oz.

In the film, Holzman was excited to explore territory she wasn’t able to in the musical, particularly in exploring Elphaba’s childhood. “I wanted to give that depth of backstory,” Holzman says, as well as set up Elphaba’s initial awe towards the wizard, “which makes it more momentous when she finally meets him,” she explains.

Reacting to reports that enthusiastic moviegoers have incited uproar for singing along during screenings, Holzman says the phenomenon is not as big a deal as some have made it out to be. “If people are moved to sing along, you can’t help but be touched,” Holzman says, and notes that official sing-along screenings are planned starting Dec. 25.

Holzman hopes the story’s themes resonate just as strongly as the music. “The whole idea of Wicked is not to look on the surface, but to go deeper,” Holzman says. “To draw back that curtain and see what's really going on.”