Wicked, one of the most highly anticipated musical movies ever, was released into theaters on Nov. 22. Based on the musical production that opened on Broadway in 2003, Wicked tells the backstory of many characters from the classic Wizard of Oz, centering around Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good Witch.
As one of the most popular and well-known modern Broadway musicals, expectations and anticipation for the movie version were high. As someone who has loved the musical since I was little, I was skeptical yet hopeful that the movie would do it justice. I felt that the movie did just that, blending cinematic and Broadway styles in a way that made the beloved story and characters come to life on screen.
Something that I loved about Wicked is how they took elements from the Broadway musical such as dance style, costume style and subtle symbolism and translated them into the cinema. The musical has very distinct costuming, especially for the students of Shiz and citizens of Emerald City, and the movie kept and enhanced the style. Wicked is also known for subtle and at times devastating symbolism and foreshadowing found all throughout the show and music. Once again, the movie kept and enhanced this element, adding things only possible in a movie. Using a strategically placed shot and shadowing, Elphaba’s face during her first spell from the Grimmerie eerily mimics her depiction on a “Wanted” poster from the opening scene. A shot like that would not have been possible in a stage production, but it perfectly fit with the style of the show.
By far, my favorite actor of the movie was Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Playing Elphaba for a movie is vastly different from playing her for the stage, where the audience is farther away and emotions must be much bigger to play to the audience. With a closer audience, Erivo was able to utilize much subtler facial expressions to create a character different from the stage version and yet still distinctly Elphaba. From the first time the audience meets her as a young adult, Elphaba is clearly closed off and distant, with Erivo giving us a beautiful first glimpse into her inner workings during The Wizard and I. The comparison of the two dispositions gives the audience a baseline to which we can compare her interactions with other characters and see how she really feels about them. Overall, Erivo gave a deeply insightful performance.
Because of the length of the musical and its translation to screen, Wicked was split into two parts, with the second part releasing on Nov. 21, 2025. Composer Stephen Schwartz and director John M. Chu have confirmed there will be at least two new songs, and I will be very interested to see how they add to the musical. As a fan of the musical for around 10 years now, I thoroughly enjoyed part one and cannot wait for part two.
