Growing up, the theater has always been a thrilling experience for me. I loved going to Broadway on my New York trips and seeing local shows here in Philadelphia. On March 25 2018, on a trip to New York City to see Wicked on Broadway, my life was changed. The beauty of the set and the costumes, combined with the astonishing soundtrack, make Wicked one of my favorite shows I’ve seen to this day. You can probably guess how much I was looking forward to the Wicked film that was released this past November, and it most certainly didn’t disappoint.
When adapting anything to a big screen, there are some major decisions, such as casting, required. In 2021, it was announced that Elphaba and Glinda would be played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, respectively. Any disagreement on the casting was immediately shut down with the release of the movie. Cynthia’s breathtaking belt, combined with the quirky physicality Ariana brings to Glinda, made for an incredible cast. The amazing thing about movies is to see how each actor can bring their own unique twist to a character. The movie, in fact, has a little tribute to the original cast in the form of a cameo done by the original Elphaba and Glinda, Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. What might have been just a fun scene to new fans made all the difference to fans of the musical.
The cameo occurred during the song “One Short Day,” where the two girls travel to the Emerald City for the first time. The production and design—not just in the city, but in the entire film—is absolutely incredible, earning nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Editing, and Best Production Design along with seven more nominations. One of the most well designed scenes takes place during the song “The Wizard and I.” This happens when Elphaba sings of her dream conversation with the Wizard, and believes he might say, “Would it be all right by you, If I de-greenify you?” For a brief moment, they flash pink lights across her face making her almost look de-greenified because of the color opposites. This small thing, which might be unnoticeable to some, became one of my favorite moments in the film because of how simple but clever it was.
Of course, in order to create an adaptation, there must be changes. Some changes may not be necessary, but most definitely contribute to a more enjoyable viewing experience. Since the movie was split into two parts, the film’s creators have room to go into way more detail. They did this for Elphaba’s backstory and childhood, which was completely passed over in the stage version. The film version allows the viewer to watch her difficult childhood, including the emergence of her powers and harsh bullying, which led to a much better understanding of her character. Some other changes were made throughout the soundtrack, including a few lyrics in “Dancing Through Life.” In the original soundtrack, Fiyero asks mid-song “So, what’s the most swankified place in town,” but this fan favorite line was cut out of the song in the film. The best explanation for this was that because of the movie’s extra time to explore conversations between characters, they already portrayed Fiyero as this big party boy and they had already had a conversation on where the best place in town was.
One of the biggest song changes was the length of “Defying Gravity.” One of my only issues with this film was how broken up this song was. The original broadway recording features the song with a runtime of 5:53. In the movie, it lasts two minutes longer and is stretched across more than ten minutes due to dialogue breaks.. These breaks and dialogue add to the climax of the film and to the plot, but it splits up the song too much and almost makes it feel like it’s not all one track.
Overall, the movie was an incredible take on the Broadway musical, and it significantly boosted the popularity of the original production. Ticket sales hit an all time high of $338, and had an average of $280 since the release of the film. This was an increase of over $100 from the same week a year previous. Altogether, Wicked, the movie, majorly captivated a whole new audience and brought back some new magic to the show so many fans have loved for decades.
