- published: 10 Apr 2012
- views: 21508
Boq is a minor character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. He becomes a more prominent character in Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which purports to show the lives of some of Baum's characters from another perspective, and more prominent still in the Broadway musical Wicked which is based on Maguire's novel.
In Baum's novel, Boq is a rich Munchkin who provides shelter for Dorothy on her journey to the Emerald City. While the novel initially depicts Dorothy meeting only three Munchkins when she meets the Good Witch of the North, there is a small party at Boq's mansion (consisting of his closest friends and five fiddlers) celebrating the witch's demise that welcomes Dorothy as guest of honor. Boq waits upon her himself, offering her fruit, nuts, cakes, and pies. He is also the one who informs her that only witches and sorceresses wear white, and that combined with Munchkin blue in her gingham dress, this implies to them that she is a friendly witch. He tells Dorothy that he has never been to the Emerald City and does not know exactly how far away that it is, for he believes that one should never go there unless one has business with the great Oz.
Actors: L. Frank Baum (writer), Fred DeWysocki (producer), Deborah Sapolsky (actress), Elizabeth Saint (actress), Danielle Loizou (actress), Angelo Thomas (actor), Sean Gates (actor), Sean Gates (producer), Brian J. Coughlan (actor), Sean Gates (writer), Clayton Spinney (director), Clayton Spinney (producer), Stacey Pratt (actress), Julia Clarke (actress), Mariellen Kemp (actress),
Plot: Carried by a tornado to the Land of Oz, Dorothy Gale unwittingly frees the Munchkins from the cruel Witch of the East. She is given the witch's Silver Shoes and is told by the Witch of the North that her best hope for returning home is to seek out the Great Oz. Along the way she rescues a forlorn Scarecrow and a brokenhearted Tin Woodman, and is joined by a deeply insecure Lion. This unlikely band travels a perilous road to the Emerald City, where each of them is charged with first doing a favor for the Great Oz before he will help them. They are sent to kill the Wicked Witch of the West, Oz's last remaining enemy. But the Great Oz is a sham, and though these four unusual heroes have risked their lives carrying out his request, he is powerless to keep his promises.
Keywords: brain, brick, city, courage, emerald, flying-monkey, gale, heart, munchkin, oz