Was (or Was... in the UK edition) is a 1992 parallel novel by Geoff Ryman focussing on the (in some cases, tragic) lives of disparate individuals linked to one another by L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the musical film version. Ranging across time and space from the 1860s Kansas to the late 1980s California, among other locations, the novel's characters include a tapestry of characters, some real but most fictitious, whose lives indirectly affect each other.
Plot summary
John, a gay male actor with AIDS who goes on a pilgrimage of sorts to Manhattan, Kansas. Other characters include the "real" (but imaginary) Dorothy on whom the book's version of L. Frank Baum based the character, Baum himself (who had come to the town) and the cast and crew of the film, including Millie, a makeup girl and Judy Garland, its lead actress.
Musical adaptation
Tina Landau directed, Barry Kleinbort wrote the book and lyrics, with music by Joseph Thalken. A musical production sponsored by the American Musical Theatre Project premiered at the Ethel M. Barber Theatre at Northwestern University in October 2005. An earlier version of the musical had appeared at the Human Race Theatre in Dayton, Ohio.
Awards and nominations
- Finalist for the World Fantasy Award
- The Publishing Triangle placed it number 79 on its list of best gay and lesbian novels
