“Wicked”: Should it be popular?

“Wicked” is the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West, showing us her past leading up to the events of “The Wizard of Oz,” and her relationship with Glinda the Good before either became known as witches. The main question the movie musical asks is, “Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” This foreshadows the tone of the whole musical, exploring the events of “The Wizard of Oz” through a lens you might not have thought about. The movie is in two separate parts, mirroring the act one and two of the original musical on the Broadway stage. 

I grew up listening to the soundtrack on long road trips with my mom, belting out the lyrics, and conducting the imaginary orchestra in our heads. I saw it on Broadway, so needless to say, “Wicked” has a special place in my heart. So instead of being super excited for the movie, I guarded my heart and was ready for it to be awful, to ruin the story and everything good and challenging about it. Why is it in two parts? What is this, 2010? When I sat down in the theater, I was immediately enraptured, and at the opening chord, tears started streaming down my face. I proceeded to cry nine separate times after that. So here is my (relatively) spoiler-free review of the biggest blockbuster of the season.

Jon M. Chu’s vision and dedication to making the world of Oz whimsical and otherworldly were apparent. You could see it with the costumes, choreography, and set. Everything was campy in the best way possible. The choreography was precise, big and looked a little bit not human, which is perfect for a fantasy world like Oz, that’s not human! Seeing those sets on the big screen made me feel fully immersed. The original movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” goes down in film history as being the first of its kind to use big sets like that, so it only makes sense for “Wicked” to rival it with its physical sets, using CGI as little as possible, even going so far as to plant 9 million tulips. All of the physical sets were specifically made for it to feel like a magical world, whether it made sense or not. Should the library be a weird circle that spins? No. But did it look cool? Absolutely.

The ensemble cast brought it and all had angelic voices, and I’m excited to see them shine in part two. The real star of the ensemble cast was Jonathon Bailey as Winkie Prince, Fiyero. Bailey played sweet, stupid and flirtatious incredibly well in a completely different way than Ariana Grande’s Glinda. He perfectly played the carefree quickness, showing us that not being smart doesn’t mean they can’t be clever. He flirted with anyone and everyone no matter the gender, having perfect chemistry with both Grande and Erivo. He portrayed the beginning of his character arc beautifully, and I can’t wait to see the rest in part two.

Cynthia Erivo and Grande absolutely blew me away. I was nervous about casting a pop star with little acting experience in such a huge film, but she made me eat my words. I have never been happier to be wrong. Her comedic timing was impeccable. She perfectly kept the barrier between a lovable bimbo and a person with privilege who doesn’t get all the complexities of the good and bad of the world but is willing to grow a little. The true star was obviously Erivo. Her eyes showed every little emotion Elphaba was feeling. She was quirky, sassy, fiery, and passionate—everything a good Elphaba needs. I cried several times as she fought for the good of Oz and learned that the power of Oz is not quite what she was led to believe. You could tell the two actors were friends in real life, which made their friendship all the sweeter–and their fighting all the funnier.

As a lover of the original musical, I was hesitant about it being broken up into two parts, especially since the first part is longer than the full-length Broadway musical. Walking away, I understand why they needed the extra time to give background and context that stage musicals can’t afford, but movies need. They gave more lore from the original book that I didn’t know and made the plot make more sense. Do I think it needed to be two hours and 40 minutes? No. I felt that 20 minutes from different parts of the middle could’ve been cut (that I won’t divulge here for fear of spoilers). I was sad that I wasn’t able to see the conclusion, and that a lot of people will most likely Google spoilers, which I urge you not to–experience the story’s magic by watching it.

I saw criticism about Hollywood making “Wicked” woke, and I promise you the storyline about animals and Elphaba being lesser than others because of the way they look has been intrinsic to the plot ever since the book came out in 1995 and is unfortunately still relevant today. When you go watch it, I urge you to think critically about the characters and the question Glinda asks at the beginning of the film, “Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” Think about what truly makes a person wicked, and challenge yourself to think about which characters are the wicked ones.