I’ll say this about Wicked: I read the novel and Frank L. Baum’s Wizard of Oz before listening to the soundtrack, and I hated how they adapted the (true) source materials to the stage. They took the D-plot of Wicked (which itself relies on the forgotten last 3/4ths of the original story that isn’t really mentioned in the movie), the history of the witches, and made that the entire show. They ignored almost all of the book’s socio-political, revolutionary commentary and desperate, flawed characters, and made the show focus nearly entirely on a single relationship. I was mortified and furious that they made the story so bubblegum.
But, seeing it, it WORKS, and it’s probably in my top 10 (definitely top 15). The relationship between Elphaba and Glinda is incredibly relatable and, by narrowing the focus, allows both characters to become real instead of caricatures. As much as I wanted to see the tiger sex dungeon and the “Truth about the Emerald City,” presented on stage, stuff like that would have made the show completely unyielding and depressingly cold. And while that’s perfect for a novel, it’s not what people want from a “Wizard of Oz Broadway.” The way they adapted it is really impressive.