Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. – When I heard the Broadway musical Wicked was being adapted into a movie musical in early 2024, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Seeing multiple movie musical adaptations not market themselves as musicals – or hire a stunt cast full of celebrities – made me worried for this film.
Nevertheless, Wicked: Part I delivered a movie musical for musical theater fans.
Although my biggest worry centered on the casting of Ariana Grande, her performance lightened the otherwise inconsistent tone of the movie. Grande’s comedic chops shone throughout the film as she used simplistic body humor to convey Glinda’s shallowness.
Grande’s performance glistened in its gentle excitement on screen, bringing her own unique mannerisms onto the screen.
Cynthia Erivo delivered a quiet power on the screen as Elphaba. Much as I would in the theater, I could hold my disbelief as Erivo marked Elphaba’s transformation from shy to confident. Even as she boldly communicated many of the themes present, I could feel tears welling in my eyes as Erivo captured my mind and imagination.
The supporting cast is equally as strong. Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero, sparkles with the character’s unabashed sexuality while subverting subtle aspects of the character.
“Dancing Through Life” became revived by newfound riffs that could shape the direction of his character entirely. Bowen Yang’s humor as Pfannee transformed the small role into a much larger one, despite his lack of importance in Wicked: Part I.
Despite these successes, I can’t help but feel the tone of the movie is discombobulated, quickly flashing between intense conflict and cheery musical numbers. A classroom scene with Dr. Dillamond quickly changes to Glinda trying to transform Elphaba into somebody popular.
The near-technicolor background feels out of place in a scene where dark themes are shown.
Like many movie musicals, these faults lay in the Achilles heel of the musical’s original plot, easily hidden by the flashiness of song and dance. It’s harder to hide these flaws in the plot when movies demand tighter storylines and can extend for hours on end.
For me, much of the film’s appeal centers on its identity as a ‘revival’ — or a new production of the musical after the original run ended. It’s not an exact copy of the first Broadway run, but the movie never meant to become one.
In one scene, Kristin Chenoweth (the original Glinda) and Idina Menzel (the original Elphaba) sing in a number. Menzel even sings a battle cry from “Defying Gravity” to reference the original production.
Much like the newer riffs, these references never existed in the original production of the musical. But these choices give the movie – and the stage production – a new life. Both will be able to exist apart from each other while telling the same story.
And for people looking to get into musicals, maybe it’ll even start them down a road into attending live theater around them.
I’m not worried about the second act of the film anymore. I’m excited to watch these new interpretations transform Wicked.
Dana Kim is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
