Get your pink and green on because the highly anticipated Wicked Part One has finally hit cinemas worldwide as of the 22nd of November! As a musical theatre nerd, I am so excited to see the movie and what they have done with it!
The Plot
If you have been living under a rock and have never heard of Wicked, let me tell you about it! The story is based on the tale from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. Where The Wizard of Oz paints the green witch Elphaba as a treacherous villain and Galinda as the good witch, we see a different side to each of them in Wicked. We learn that Galinda and Elphaba went to school together and that they loathed each other in the beginning.
Throughout the musical, they grow to become best friends. Elphaba helps Galinda look at things more deeply and correct her moral compass. Galinda helps Elphaba become more people-friendly and is her biggest supporter. She knows that Fiyero, the love interest for both women, is more into Elphaba so lets him go without a hint of bitterness. When the time comes for the witches to say goodbye and go their separate ways, one can not help but feel tears well as the two sing about how the right person comes into our lives for a reason but we have to say goodbye at some point.
The Musical
The musical Wicked is based on a book called ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire which was released in 1995. The original Broadway production of Wicked was in the Gershwin Theatre in 2003. It starred Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Galinda. This production won three Tony awards and seven Drama Desk awards. Its original cast album won a Grammy award. In 2016, Wicked surpassed $1 billion in revenue at the Broadway box office, becoming one of three musicals to achieve this and joining The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King. It is now the second-highest-grossing musical on Broadway. It also has a long-running West End production with multiple UK and Ireland touring productions and international productions.
The Movie
The movie version of Wicked is split into two parts. Part one came out on the 22nd of November, ending with the iconic Defying Gravity. Part two is set to come out on the 21st of November 2025, in which the events that happen in The Wizard of Oz take place, from Elphaba and Galinda’s perspective. The movie is directed by Jon M Chu, who is known for directing big movies like Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights. You can see his passion for the musical and characters through the screen.
In the movie, Galinda is portrayed by Ariana Grande, a renowned pop star, known for her whistle notes and long runs. While on the press tour for the movie, the singer revealed that she has wanted to play Galinda since she was a little kid and has a emotional connection to the character. Elphaba is played by Cynthia Erivo, a British actress and singer who is known for starring in the revival of The Colour Purple The Musical on Broadway. She received two Tony Awards for her performance in the main role in 2016. Cynthia’s voice is stunning in this role as she effortlessly belts out every note and perfectly captures the growth in Elphaba’s character in the first half from an awkward and unsure young woman to a powerful and badass witch.
The cast also includes Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slatter as Boc, and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible.
The Soundtrack
Just in case you are not a fan of musicals, I thought I should tell you that this one is a musical! It contains well-known songs like “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” and
“The Wizard, and I.” Grande’s and Erivo’s voices blend extremely well together. Erivo’s deeper voice mixes so satisfyingly with Grande’s more soprano tone. The two personalities of the characters can be heard through the actresses’ singing. Elphaba is more serious and indignant at the way that she has been treated for her whole life for being green. Whereas, Galinda is perkier and brighter as she has never had to worry about a thing in her life.
In “One Short Day,” we get a cameo from the original Galinda and Elphaba, Menzel and Chenoweth and we are treated to hearing some belts and runs from the original duo. Jonathan Bailey, known for his role as Anthony Bridgerton in the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, executes a brilliant performance of the iconic “Dancing Through Life.” So what are you waiting for?! Put on your witch’s hat and your dancing shoes and get to a theatre near you! Time to defy gravity!
