The Hackers of Oz, by Tom Mula, Dog Ear Publishing, softcover, 260 pages, $14.99.
The scarecrow Scraps, a magical broom, Oscar the raven and a gay young man named Jervé seek the help of 10-year-old Elizabeth to crush the evil power of Lyrissa, who is the contemporary incarnation of the Wicked Witch of the West, in Tom Mula's entertaining new take-off on the Oz story. And it all takes place on the streets of (and in the air over, via a night-time broom ride) Chicago. Entertaining for children nine and up, as well as adults.
The hackers of the title are the Scarecrow and the Wicked Witch of the West, who use their powers in various ways throughout this delightful romp. Elizabeth, the young heroine of this novel, has her own connections to Oz. She is motivated to do battle with Lyrissa, who is holding Elizabeth's mom captive.
Mula has been an award-winning Chicago actor, director, and playwright for nearly 40 years. His acting credits include seven seasons as Goodman Theatre's Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. The play adaptation of his novel Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol premiered in 1998 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, was Jeff-nominated, and received an After Dark Award. Mula is a senior lecturer in the Theatre Department of Columbia College.
Windy City Times: The Hackers of Oz and Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, your earlier book/play, are new takes on classic tales. What's the fascination for you in this type of genre?
Tom Mula: I write stuff I'm passionate about. I wrote Marley while I was playing Scrooge. … It always seemed to me that Marley got a raw deal. … That idea bothered me for awhile. Then the story started coming to me in dreams. … [For Hackers] I dreamed of the brightly colored Oz characters in downtown Chicago on a gray, gray street. And they were hiding from something. … The color was an expression of a life force, a creativity, and a rebellion against conformity. …
WCT: Why do you think the Christmas Carol and Oz characters are so beloved?
Tom Mula: I started reading the Oz books when I was about eight. … I remember being the most scared I'd ever been by the Wicked Witch. … That was really important to me to get on the page—to be faithful to the source, to those characters … and to the spirit of that sunniness, that positivity, good humor, and bad jokes, and people being good. …
WCT: Which character from Oz is most like you?
Tom Mula: The raven. With a little bit of a sardonic eye towards things. While I'm really positive, there's something in him that speaks to me very strongly. …
WCT: In this book, one of the major characters [Jervé] is gay.
Tom Mula: And not only is he gay, he's a drag queen, at least on Halloween. …
WCT: I wouldn't say The Hackers of Oz is a children's book.
Tom Mula: I wrote it for myself … a middle-aged gay man who was crazy about The Wizard of Oz. … All the great kids' books are just as good if you read them as an adult. I was trying to write a genuine continuation of the Oz books. And I was also trying to write that kind of a children's book that is good enough that anybody is going to enjoy it. While there are jokes the kids aren't going to get in this, there's a lot they will enjoy. The story is compelling and the characters are fun. And it's got a good heart.
WCT: What age child do you think would appreciate the book?
Tom Mula: I think it's a middle school book. About nine up. …
WCT: Elizabeth and Lyrissa were teased and bullied as children. How does this relate to your own childhood?
Tom Mula: My god, was there anybody that wasn't teased and bullied as a child? I sure was. I've been thinking about it lately. One of the strong themes of the book is that it's about outsiders. The Oz people, Elizabeth is an outsider. Of course, Lyrissa [Wicked Witch of the West] is the prototypical outsider. It was important to me that all these characters come to terms with that. That they honor their specialness. … And Jervé's an outsider. … Our weirdness, our oddness is what makes us special. And it's a gift rather than a curse. …
WCT: Who do you see in our real world today as the good and bad witches?
Tom Mula: Tom's opinion, rather than the person who wrote this book, is that the bad witches would be those who tell us, for whatever reason, that we're not good enough. … I have been blessed to see gay consciousness completely changed. And to see gay people making the same journey as the people in the book make, of self-celebration. No longer accepting somebody else's judgment that we're not good enough. … As far as the good witches go … that wonderful Fred Rogers quote, "Look for the helpers." … There will always be helpers around. … Those are the good witches.
WCT: You turned Jacob Marley into a play. Are you thinking of doing that with The Hackers of Oz?
Tom Mula: Many people have said that, and I've got to kind of consider it, I guess. … I don't have a handle on it yet. I'm kind of wrestling with that one.
WCT: What projects are next for you?
Tom Mula: Immediately next, I work at Peninsula Players in Door County, Wisconsin, every summer. I'm directing a play called Saloon up there in June. … This will be my 18th or 19th year there. … I'm going to be hawking the book. There's an Oz convention in California the end of June and I'm thinking about going out for that.
Tom Mula will be at Women and Children First, 5233 N. Clark St., on Wed., May 15, at 7:30 p.m.
