For years now, the topic of a Wicked movie musical has been discussed, but it wasn’t until recently that we saw any movement on the hypothetical project. Enter John Chu, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo: The director and leads of the highly anticipated project. Grande and Erivo exceeded all expectations I had, delivering pitch-perfect performances and John Chu certainly did his homework on the Broadway production before embarking on this journey.
Wicked gets everything right Dear Evan Hansen got wrong, starting with the fact that the movie is unabashedly Broadway and embraces its stage roots as opposed to disavowing them. The costumes in the play are recreated on screen right down to the last buttons and certain isms of the play are recreated on the silver screen, including lines and vocal inflictions. The movie even honors Broadway’s original Glinda and Elphaba by giving Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth a surprise guest appearance during a number in Oz, in which the original witches symbolically pass the torch to Grande and Erivo. The Oz on screen is perfection, every bit as whimsical as the play would have had us believe.
The moment I heard Ariana Grande was Glinda, I knew this had to be a dream role for her, having come from Broadway and interacted with Wicked in particular more than once. I remember Grande’s live performance of “The Wizard and I” on the Broadway show’s 15th-anniversary special and I remember her version of “Popular” with MIKA on the 2013 Deluxe edition rerelease of the original soundtrack –it was no shock to me that she was living a dream come true to star in the movie as Glinda. Like Grande, Cynthia Erivo has Broadway roots, but her particular interest in Wicked was something I learned along the way through cast interviews leading up to the movie. I hope the two of them can rest easy knowing they certainly delivered on their task to bring this production and these characters to life and for a lifelong fan of the production like myself, I don’t think anyone could have done a better job than what the two of them did in this film.
Like John Chu, it’s clear Ariana Grande did her homework, particularly when it came to Kristin Chenoweth’s iconic performance of Glinda. Grande recreates certain isms and vocal inflictions that Chenoweth had in her performance with stunning accuracy. But despite the notable influence, Grande makes the performance entirely her own, adding her own flair to Glinda in certain scenes that feel both entirely hers and authentic to the character. Her acting has never been better, adding depth to certain scenes where it’s needed and levity to others to seal the deal. The opening number is such a great example of this, in which Grande’s Glinda looks visibly pained to tell the story of Elphaba’s fall, almost as if she regrets her choice not to go with her even then. Grande portrays the heartbreak of Glinda so subtly in that opening number, capturing the hardship her unique position has gotten her. She may be branded the “Good Witch” from now on, but it’s clear she isn’t happy with how things turned out.
Rather than recreate and reimagine, Cynthia Erivo makes Elphaba her own and like Grande’s performance, authentic. There were certain numbers where I could hear Idina Menzel’s version in my head, preparing for the note, and finding myself pleasantly surprised at the rendition Erivo brought instead. She made the role of Elphaba hers and the character truly felt brought to life under her care. Erivo flawlessly portrays Elphaba coming into her own and her rise to power, the passion she has for her moral cause, and the heartbreak of telling a friend goodbye. Erivo’s voice hits the highs it needs to and when that beautifully soft approach is needed, she brings it in full. It’s no small order to be told to take the handles on a performance so iconic like Idina Menzel’s Tony award-winning depiction of Elphaba, but Cynthia Erivo takes this challenge and delivers spectacularly on all fronts.
The run time is the biggest gripe I have with the production, which clocks in at nearly 3 hours for half the story, which is essentially the length of the entire Broadway play. At its best, Wicked uses that time to include some more cute scenes with Elphaba and Glinda, expanding on the friendship that is the cornerstone of the play, but at its worst, Wicked fills the time with an obnoxious amount of cuts between the pivotal “Defying Gravity” number. Dividing this play into 2 movies is an obvious cash grab I wish the film industry would just retire, but in Wicked’s case its particularly worrisome when most notable songs were done in part 1. I’m sure Grande and Erivo will kill it with “For Good”, but that’s also the only real high note of the second half musically.
All in all, Wicked is a love letter to Broadway and it’s a love letter to fans of the stage production. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are stellar in their roles and the media takeover this movie has brought is well deserved.
