Wicked Review: A Broadway adaptation that’s way better than you might be expecting

PLOT: The origin story of the so-called Wicked Witch of the West. While the citizens of Oz are celebrating her death, Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande) remembers how the two started out as friends while they were roommates at Shiz University and learning their magical craft.

REVIEW: First – I must make a confession: I’ve never seen Wicked on stage. Heck, not being a particular enthusiast of Broadway musicals, I would be hard-pressed to name one song from the popular soundtrack, or even really explain anything beyond the fact that it’s supposed to be a deconstruction of The Wizard of Oz. Yet, the play is a full-on phenomenon, with the movie (the first of two) set to become a blockbuster when it comes out later this week.

While some may raise eyebrows at the fact and say that JoBlo should have had a fan watch the movie instead, I’d wager that a huge chunk of our readership hasn’t seen the play either and is more interested in whether Wicked stands on its own as a film. While I’ll admit that there were a handful of moments where I felt I was missing some kind of in-joke for fans of the play, overall, I had a pretty good time with Jon M. Chu’s Wicked – Part I.

Certainly, it’s one of the better modern versions of The Wizard of Oz, far more entertaining than Sam Raimi’s largely forgotten Oz: The Great and Powerful. Chu seems to have a knack for movie musicals, and with Universal clearly pumping a pretty penny into it, it feels like the kind of big, broad fantasy epic that should be able to crossover beyond its core audience of Broadway enthusiasts. 

Cynthia Erivo is terrific as Elphaba, our future Wicked Witch of the West, who’s an outcast in her family due to her green skin. She’s sent to Shiz to keep an eye on her paraplegic sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), the future Wicked Witch of the East, only for her superior magical skills to earn her a scholarship. She winds up as roommates with Ariana Grande’s Glinda, the school’s most popular student, and while they initially despise each other, their friendship blossoms over time. 

Both Erivo and Grande seem ideally cast, with the former expertly evoking both Elphaba’s anguish at constantly being judged and her deep sense of empathy. Grande, a pop superstar, is quite funny as the prissy Glinda, but she also imbues her with a surprising amount of depth, making the two of them a pretty potent pairing.

While some may raise their eyebrows at the fact that all of the students at Shiz University seem to be in their mid-to-late thirties, Chu’s done an excellent job making Wicked almost feel like Harry Potter for adults. The production design is superb, and the heightened fantasy vibe works.

Some may take issue with the fact that the Broadway show is being stretched out into two six-hour movies. While yes, the pace does occasionally drag, I appreciated the fact that some of the supporting characters get fleshed out more than they would have been otherwise. One of them is Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, a handsome prince who initially comes off as vacuous but turns out to have some depth as he starts to fall for Elphaba rather than his more obvious love interest, Glinda. Yet, there are long musical numbers which likely could have been axed in favour of making Wicked one truly great three-hour movie as opposed to two films that are merely “good.”

Given all the hype, viewers may be surprised to see how small of a role Jeff Goldblum has once he’s finally introduced as Oz. Still, if you read the play’s synopsis, all of the really crazy Wizard of Oz stuff, including the introduction of Dorothy, and the surprising identity of The Tin Man and The Scarecrow, all will happen in Part II. As such, Part I includes a lot of setup, but Chu’s sense of pace is spot on, and while it’s a little too long, it’s never dull.

Here’s the thing – Wicked is made with a specific audience in mind, and I wager many of us JoBlo folks aren’t among them. Even still, readers who find themselves watching the movie at behest of someone in their lives may find Wicked goes down a lot easier than they’re expecting. I had a surprisingly good time watching it, and I’m totally on-board to watch Part II when it hits theaters next year. 

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