With the adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s Oz-twisting fantasy tome Wicked now a proven stage sensation, having scored Tony awards and been performed worldwide in the 10 years since it first opened, you might imagine that rights holders Universal would be quick to jump on other Maguire books. You’d be right: the studio has optioned his upcoming story **Egg & Spoon{
Another fantastical tale with roots in an established story, Egg & Spoon focuses on a young girl dealing with an impoverished life in the Russian countryside. Her existence is one of scrabble and struggle, finding food while caring for her sick mother. Then one day a train arrives, bearing untold wealth and a noble family that includes a girl our heroine’s age. Soon, the two young women’s’ lives are colliding, with mistaken identity and a take on one of the most famous fairy tale tropes, an incognito prince, thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the Russian folkloric witch Baba Yaga is along for the ride…
It’s early days for the project, which has yet to lock down a writer. But producer Mark Platt, who worked with the studio on Wicked (and has a film version of that story cooking away with director Stephen Daldry attached) is shepherding the new book through the dark forest of development. As for Egg & Spoon itself, it’ll hit shelves both real and digital in September.