It has been 75 years since The Wizard of Oz premiered in theaters and dazzled audiences young and old. The story of a runaway Dorothy, a brave lion, a brainless scarecrow, and a heartless tin man singing their way to meet the magical wizard of Oz who can grant any wish your heart may desire has been etched into the hearts of all who have seen it. It is most interesting then that Wicked isn’t interested in retelling that familiar story or diving into the film’s legendary characters; there are no ruby slippers, no yellow brick road, and we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. Instead, Wicked focuses on the relationship between two unlikely characters; Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch.
In the original movie neither character gets more than 10 minutes of screentime, as the movie is more focused on Dorothy, and so we never get to explore either character too deeply, one is wicked and the other one good, but Wicked tries to remedy that. The play premiered on Broadway over 20 years ago, and it is only until now that it has been adapted to the big screen starring Cynthia Erivo (Bad Times at the El Royale, Harriet) and Ariana Grande (Victorious, Hairspray Live!). Pleasing both the movie and Broadway aficionado at once is certainly a tall task, before the movie even premiered, online discourse was cautious and apprehensive about the quality of this adaptation. People are passionate about Wicked and they want this adaptation to be done service with care. At several premieres people were singing along to the songs they knew by heart like it was a concert, to the annoyance of the moviegoers around them. Its premiere grossed $164 million, setting a record for a Broadway musical at the box office.
If you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz then you’ll be familiar with most of the characters in Wicked. But whereas The Wizard of Oz focuses on Dorothy, Wicked tells the story of once friends Glinda and Elphaba. Forced to coexist as roommates in the school they both attend, the contrast in their personalities is too great to feel anything but loathing towards one another, at first. Glinda wants nothing more than to be a witch one day, while Elphaba’s journey to become one was almost thrust upon her. It is not long before she receives an invitation from the Wizard himself to visit Emerald City, but what she and Glinda discover soon thereafter ultimately alters their lives and relationship forever.
So, spoiler alert for those who have not heard, like another movie released in 2023 titled “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Wicked ends in an abrupt ‘to be continued,’ its ‘part two’ to be released at a later date. To be fair, trying to condense a Broadway play onto a 2 ½ hour runtime movie is certainly difficult, not to mention the comparisons to its legendary prequel. In the end, the movie succeeds in both tone and pace, the humor isn't overbearing or cringy, in fact it's worth highlighting Ariana Grande’s comedic performance in the film. It’s far from perfect, and yet, what movie is? Its songs are bombastic and theatrical, its characters greater than life and yet fantastically relatable. In the end, it leaves you wanting more. The conclusion of this story might make us wait a while, but if this film is any indication, it will well be worth the wait.
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