The moment Gregory Maguire’s Wicked was taken from page to stage, it became an instant hit. Producer Marc Platt and Director Jon M. Chu managed to bring the stage performance to life with live vocal recording and Cynthia Erivo’s Defying Gravity by doing her own stunts while singing. What better way to pay tribute to the musical than to film the movie in the same way. But what fans will love most is that no songs or characters were cut. No scenes were deleted.
Ariana Grande’s performance channels Kristin Chenoweth’s performance as Galinda perfectly while also adding to the character and making it her own. Chenoweth described it as a love letter to the stage show that gave it a new life through the lens of a camera. The chemistry she has with Cynthia Erivo can be seen on screen and off in their press tour. They even got tattoos to commemorate their roles in Wicked. It’s an added bonus to get cameo appearances from both Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the film as well.
Nothing compares to the powerhouse performance of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Every song brought me to tears because the emotion she brings to the performance is unmatched. Her ability to capture the pain and heartache, as well as the joy and hope of Elphaba, is a testament to her acting ability.
“The beautiful thing about Glinda and Elphaba is that everyone can see parts of themselves in them,” Grande says. “They represent so much complexity, humanness, gorgeous nuance, love, boundaries—all the complexities of loving, disagreeing, finding oneself, doing what’s right, all rooted in love. The story of Wicked is a testament to the depth of the human experience, of the complexities of being misunderstood, of having both good and wicked within us and of embracing our differences.”
The theater kid in me wanted to jump out of my seat and start singing with the movie but I managed to keep it together and enjoy the performances and experience the joy with the packed out theater. We still cheered after a musical number that brought us to our knees just like you would in a stage performance. Wicked continues to be an important story about the way we treat people who are different and are quick to vilify them if they don’t follow a set of beliefs that matches their own. It’s a story that we live through daily that continues to set us back in society. I look forward to a day when stories like these are history and not something we are used to.
Wicked part one is in theaters now. Part two will be in theaters November 21, 2025. I can’t wait to see the second act of this wonderful story.
Wicked – The Love Letter from Stage to Screen
Summary
Wicked brings the beloved musical to the screen with perfect execution. The performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are above and beyond anything I expected. I can’t wait for part two!
