On November 22, the long-awaited Wicked Part 1 movie hit theaters, taking the world by storm. The Broadway musical has had a cult following since its debut, making the release of Part 1 a highly anticipated event. Now that I, a long-time Wicked fan, have seen it, I’m here to give you my thoughts.
The film opens at the “end” of the story, or rather the end of the Wizard of Oz, at the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle with a voiceover from Ariana Grande and Galinda declaring the Wicked Witch’s death. This moment, and the still moment of the iconic black hat surrounded by water, gave me full-body chills. This was when I knew just how impactful the movie would be. Many moments throughout the film brought me to tears, including“No One Mourns the Wicked,” performed by Ariana Grande as Galinda the Good. This song has always been my favorite part of the show, so the performance in the film was all the more special. Like many viewers, I was concerned that Ariana’s performance wouldn’t feel like Galinda on screen but rather Ariana Grande in a Galinda costume, but I can confidently say my fears were unfounded. Grande completely threw herself into the role, changing her look and her sound to meet the demands of the challenging role of Glinda. It was clear from her performance in “No One Mourns the Wicked,” a song that introduces the viewer to the tumultuous relationship between Glinda and Elphaba, that she understood the importance of portraying that complexity under the surface of a disingenuous benevolent exterior. During her performance, I was in tears as she sang, “Goodness knows the wicked die alone, she died alone,” with tears in her eyes. This was not the only moment that reduced me to tears while watching, though it may have been the most powerful.
Following the stunning opening number, each song and scene was better than the last, especially with the comedic genius Boen Yang, as Pfanne, there to fill every “dead” moment with a snarky adlib. My favorite parts of the movie were the moments that proved how much more the screen can do than the stage—characters such as Pfanne and ShenSehn (played by Bronwyn James), Galinda’s two best friends at Shiz. On stage, these characters exist simply to fill space and to flesh out Galinda’s character, but in the film, Boen Yang and Bronwyn James were allowed to have a new and more expansive take on the characters and took it. The development of the side characters, such as Pfanne and ShenShen, gave the movie a distinctive new voice compared to the musical.
I would be remiss if I did not dedicate much of my review to discussing Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Elphaba Thropp. Her take on the character is a complete departure from prior versions of Elphaba, the most obvious being the changes made to Elphaba’s appearance. Erivo is only the second black woman to play Elphaba in a major production of Wicked and was sure to bring her identity with her in her version of the character. She worked closely with the costuming department to change Elphaba’s traditional long, straight black hair to waist-length micro-braids and add a complete set of gel extension nails to the character’s appearance. She even went as far as to change the length of Elphaba’s nails as her power grew. Her unique take on the character didn’t stop at her new appearance. It was clear from the moment she appeared on screen that she had thrown herself into the role of Elphaba. The clearest display of her dedication to the character is her performance of the song “The Wizard and I.” During this scene and song, Erivo shows how much of a powerhouse she truly is. The final vocal run of the song was yet another full-body chills moment for me.
While I may have been a biased viewer as a long-standing lover of the musical, the other girls I was with had very little prior knowledge of the musical and were equally blown away. There is something for everyone in the on-screen adaptation of Wicked. Regardless of if you are a fan of musicals or not, I guarantee the 2 hours and 40 minutes will fly by!