Directed By Jon M. Chu; Screenplay By Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox; Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum.
Based on (Act I of) Winnie Holzman & Stephen Schwartz’s 2003 stage musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name inspired by L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its 1939 film iteration. Wicked is set in the Land of Oz, long before Dorothy Gale arrived by cyclone from Kansas. The story follows green-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo)'s studies at Shiz University and the beginning of her path to ultimately becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. Through all of this, she forms an unlikely friendship with a classmate (Ariana Grande) who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
This project originally entered development as a straightforward film at Universal Pictures. Yet, when composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz heard about the novel, he was so intrigued by the concept, that he pleaded to producer Marc Platt about doing it as a stage musical instead. Platt agreed to the idea, thus he signed onto the project as a joint producer with Universal and David Stone. Wicked eventually opened on October 30th, 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Despite mixed critical reviews, which included a pan from the New York Times, it became an unprecedented box office smash. To this day, the show has continued to run all over the world and is currently the fourth longest-running production in Broadway history.
The first time I saw Wicked was through the national tour at Playhouse Square in Cleveland back in February 2008. I got those tickets as a Christmas present. Carmen Cusack, Katie Rose Clark, and Lee Wilkof were starring in it then. The night we went, there was a snowstorm. We got to our seats late. Luckily, the show started shortly after we arrived. I’ve seen it two more times since. At Playhouse Square again in December 2009 as part of a field trip with my high school drama club and in January 2015 at the Durham Performing Arts Center. I remember hearing talks of a film adaptation of the musical since like the late 2000s. Some of the earliest fan castings then included Anne Hathaway as Elphaba, Amy Adams as Glinda, and Angela Lansbury as Madame Morrible. Book writer Winnie Holzman mentioned in an interview with SiriusXM On Broadway last year how they all knew fans wanted a movie, but none of the creatives were interested for a while. It wasn’t until about nearly a decade into the Broadway run when talks finally began. After a long road of development, Wicked has finally made it to the big screen…as a two-parter.
Many fans really questioned how the hell splitting this into two parts was going to work. Yet after seeing the movie myself, I can confidently say that creatively, it was justified. The plot follows Act I of the stage version very faithfully. Although Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, who both co-wrote the screenplay, really dived deeper into the story, characters, and world of Oz. There’s several new scenes as well as expansions of pre-existing ones that never feel like padding. They all had a reason to be there. Thus, we have ourselves a fleshed out epic fantasy musical. Myron Kerstein’s editing for the most part keeps the pace moving very well throughout the 160 minute runtime.
Under Jon M. Chu’s direction, there’s a lot he managed to accomplish here. Visually, the whole world looks so imaginative in large part thanks to Nathan Crowley’s production design, Paul Tazewell’s costumes, Frances Hannon’s hair and makeup, and some dazzling digital effects. While Alice Brooks’ cinematography does contain some plain white lighting at times, the camera work is still so impressive. It especially feels very musically inclined during the songs. Speaking of which, the numbers crafted here by Chu as well as choreographer Christopher Scott are much more elaborate than they’ve ever been on stage. Even the smaller, shorter tunes such as ‘Something Bad’ and ‘A Sentimental Man.’ Not to mention that this movie musical incorporates a good deal of live singing done very well. I’d also like to highlight John Powell’s underscore which does a nice job of blending in with Stephen Schwartz’s iconic songs. When it comes to the performances, they’re all just perfection.
Cynthia Erivo absolutely embodies Elphaba’s struggles as she goes through being an outsider as well as controlling her powers. When it comes to her big numbers, she blows the roof off of them thanks to her powerhouse vocals. Ariana Grande not only nails her songs as Glinda, but also the character’s stylishness, perkiness, and humor. Together, they share such excellent onscreen chemistry. Jonathan Bailey makes for a very suave Fiyero, the Winkie Prince who befriends both Elphaba and Glinda. He also really gets to show off his amazing skills as a triple threat in ‘Dancing Through Life.’ Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum both don’t have a whole lot to sing. When they do, they pretty much talk-sing their way through their respective numbers, but they at least do it well. Yeoh in particular offers a more restrained take on Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz, than usual while Goldblum is wonderfully eccentric as The Wizard of Oz. Other highlights of the cast include Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Elphaba’s physically disabled younger sister, Ethan Slater as Boq, a humble munchkin who has a crush on Glinda, and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Dr. Dillamond, a goat who teaches at Shiz.
As a longtime fan of the musical, “I couldn’t be happier” with this film. It not only stays true to what made the source material so beloved in the first place, but also successfully elaborates more in certain areas. Not to mention that there’s plenty of nice easter eggs for fans of both Wicked and The Wizard of Oz. This may end on “To Be Continued,” but the story here still feels complete. Plus, we should all still have plenty to look forward to for Part Two when it arrives this time next year.
Rating: 4.5/5
Based on (Act I of) Winnie Holzman & Stephen Schwartz’s 2003 stage musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name inspired by L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its 1939 film iteration. Wicked is set in the Land of Oz, long before Dorothy Gale arrived by cyclone from Kansas. The story follows green-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo)'s studies at Shiz University and the beginning of her path to ultimately becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. Through all of this, she forms an unlikely friendship with a classmate (Ariana Grande) who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
This project originally entered development as a straightforward film at Universal Pictures. Yet, when composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz heard about the novel, he was so intrigued by the concept, that he pleaded to producer Marc Platt about doing it as a stage musical instead. Platt agreed to the idea, thus he signed onto the project as a joint producer with Universal and David Stone. Wicked eventually opened on October 30th, 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Despite mixed critical reviews, which included a pan from the New York Times, it became an unprecedented box office smash. To this day, the show has continued to run all over the world and is currently the fourth longest-running production in Broadway history.
The first time I saw Wicked was through the national tour at Playhouse Square in Cleveland back in February 2008. I got those tickets as a Christmas present. Carmen Cusack, Katie Rose Clark, and Lee Wilkof were starring in it then. The night we went, there was a snowstorm. We got to our seats late. Luckily, the show started shortly after we arrived. I’ve seen it two more times since. At Playhouse Square again in December 2009 as part of a field trip with my high school drama club and in January 2015 at the Durham Performing Arts Center. I remember hearing talks of a film adaptation of the musical since like the late 2000s. Some of the earliest fan castings then included Anne Hathaway as Elphaba, Amy Adams as Glinda, and Angela Lansbury as Madame Morrible. Book writer Winnie Holzman mentioned in an interview with SiriusXM On Broadway last year how they all knew fans wanted a movie, but none of the creatives were interested for a while. It wasn’t until about nearly a decade into the Broadway run when talks finally began. After a long road of development, Wicked has finally made it to the big screen…as a two-parter.
Many fans really questioned how the hell splitting this into two parts was going to work. Yet after seeing the movie myself, I can confidently say that creatively, it was justified. The plot follows Act I of the stage version very faithfully. Although Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, who both co-wrote the screenplay, really dived deeper into the story, characters, and world of Oz. There’s several new scenes as well as expansions of pre-existing ones that never feel like padding. They all had a reason to be there. Thus, we have ourselves a fleshed out epic fantasy musical. Myron Kerstein’s editing for the most part keeps the pace moving very well throughout the 160 minute runtime.
Under Jon M. Chu’s direction, there’s a lot he managed to accomplish here. Visually, the whole world looks so imaginative in large part thanks to Nathan Crowley’s production design, Paul Tazewell’s costumes, Frances Hannon’s hair and makeup, and some dazzling digital effects. While Alice Brooks’ cinematography does contain some plain white lighting at times, the camera work is still so impressive. It especially feels very musically inclined during the songs. Speaking of which, the numbers crafted here by Chu as well as choreographer Christopher Scott are much more elaborate than they’ve ever been on stage. Even the smaller, shorter tunes such as ‘Something Bad’ and ‘A Sentimental Man.’ Not to mention that this movie musical incorporates a good deal of live singing done very well. I’d also like to highlight John Powell’s underscore which does a nice job of blending in with Stephen Schwartz’s iconic songs. When it comes to the performances, they’re all just perfection.
Cynthia Erivo absolutely embodies Elphaba’s struggles as she goes through being an outsider as well as controlling her powers. When it comes to her big numbers, she blows the roof off of them thanks to her powerhouse vocals. Ariana Grande not only nails her songs as Glinda, but also the character’s stylishness, perkiness, and humor. Together, they share such excellent onscreen chemistry. Jonathan Bailey makes for a very suave Fiyero, the Winkie Prince who befriends both Elphaba and Glinda. He also really gets to show off his amazing skills as a triple threat in ‘Dancing Through Life.’ Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum both don’t have a whole lot to sing. When they do, they pretty much talk-sing their way through their respective numbers, but they at least do it well. Yeoh in particular offers a more restrained take on Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz, than usual while Goldblum is wonderfully eccentric as The Wizard of Oz. Other highlights of the cast include Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Elphaba’s physically disabled younger sister, Ethan Slater as Boq, a humble munchkin who has a crush on Glinda, and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Dr. Dillamond, a goat who teaches at Shiz.
As a longtime fan of the musical, “I couldn’t be happier” with this film. It not only stays true to what made the source material so beloved in the first place, but also successfully elaborates more in certain areas. Not to mention that there’s plenty of nice easter eggs for fans of both Wicked and The Wizard of Oz. This may end on “To Be Continued,” but the story here still feels complete. Plus, we should all still have plenty to look forward to for Part Two when it arrives this time next year.
Rating: 4.5/5