Wicked

Grade: B+

I’ve appeared in some musicals under a director who likes to talk about giving her audiences an immersive experience – the kind that you can’t get from the small or large screen. You just have to be there. I never get tired of hearing her make that speech. On the other hand, film and television can offer elements that a live theatre experience couldn’t, and Wicked: Part I capitalizes on this.

If you’re showing up for this movie, chances are you’ve seen the stage production that’s been running on Broadway since 2003, a national tour stop in your city, you love the soundtrack, and/or you’re otherwise an Oz fanatic. I like the show just fine; it’s not one of my favorites, or even my favorite Stephen Schwartz score – and you definitely couldn’t call me an Oz fanboy. However, this film gave me much to love. It makes the choice to devote the entirety to Act One of the stage show (Part II comes out in November 2025). It’s 2 hours and 40 minutes, about the length of the whole show. There is momentum, though, and almost everything feels necessary. For the most part, it earns its runtime. I’ve always found the stage musical a bit top-heavy, as practically all of the best numbers are jam-packed in the first act (and therefore, this movie). It doesn’t seem like there’s much left for next year’s conclusion, but I’ll keep an open mind.

Wicked is an origin story about certain prominent residents of Oz, before that girl from Kansas dropped in. The woman who becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West is named Elphaba – a phonetic pronunciation of original “Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum’s initials. After unintentionally doing some magic on the grounds of Shiz University, she ends up attending, and rooming with the ditzy, self-absorbed Galinda. Ariana Grande has a beautiful voice and plays this future good witch with eyes that suggest there’s little going on in the organ behind them. She is just right. Cynthia Erivo is an inspired casting choice as the green Elphaba, ostracized due to the color of her skin. I was certainly feeling some spirits with me as I watched this, particularly Stephanie J. Block, who has played Elphaba in regional productions (I worked with her on a project in 1995, and she’s the sweetest) – and my friend McKenzie Kurtz, who recently did a year on Broadway as Galinda.

The superb supporting cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, and Peter Dinklage. After The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, this is the second November in a row to feature Dinklage in a prequel about a good person who becomes less innocent. The sets look real and functional. The choreography is never anything short of exciting. Wait’ll you see “Dancing Through Life.” It looks dangerous.

Everything has been an opening act for the finale – one of the best numbers I’ve seen in a movie musical. I was extremely affected by “Defying Gravity.” It’s a perfect culmination and presentation of a song that has always moved me lyrically and especially musically. Wicked: Part I is grand, epic, and is done the best possible way it could be. You can’t get what you see here from a live theatre stage.

Intermission!

Grade: B+