Wicked surpassed all expectations with its record-breaking commercial success and astounding critical acclaim but also surprised with the quality of singular moments within its nearly three-hour runtime. When the focus of the story is the friendship between Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera), the moment where they become friends needs to be executed perfectly — but arguably hasn't before now. The dynamic between the future Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good is initially hostile, as their polar-opposite personalities and worldviews clash when they are forced to room together at Oz's Shiz University.
Wicked has gone from a book to a stage musical to a movie, the narrative shifting with each iteration. Jon M. Chu's Wicked is primarily based on the Broadway musical rather than Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; therefore, Wicked makes many changes to the book. Of course, this means some of the biggest moments from the beloved musical that once starred Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth transfer over to be performed by Erivo and Grande-Butera — one in particular with a much better effect than before.
Elphaba & Glinda's Dance Scene Could Be Better In The Broadway Show
The Distant Setting Of A Theater Makes It Difficult For The Effect Of Wicked's Dance Scene To Come Across
Elphaba and Glinda reconcile when Glinda's prank results in Elphaba being the laughingstock of the Ozdust Ballroom. Glinda, realizing her cruelty, steps up and mimics Elphaba's odd dance, turning it into a beautiful duet. It objectively is a strange sequence of events to play out, especially when it inspires everyone else to join in. When the entire story hinges on the friendship, it feels like this should be a magical, larger-than-life moment. However, the nature of a musical theater production and even the absence of the movie's new score for this scene leaves much to be desired.
In the stage version of Wicked, Elphaba and Glinda's dance scene can come across as a little bit awkward. Elphaba and Glinda's actions are both bizarre and only the audience members in the orchestra section have a good view of what the actors are trying to convey that the characters are thinking. Its execution is stilted and somewhat melodramatic when viewers can't perceive the subtext. Other scenes allow Elphaba and Glinda's performers to better express emotions through singing and physicality, but they do not speak and have cemented choreography in this scene.
The Wicked Movie Allows The Dance Scene To Be Much More Intimate
The Acting Is Stellar & The Emotions Palpable When Elphaba & Glinda Reconcile At The Ozdust
This, however, set the stage for the Wicked movie to completely transform the dance scene. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-Butera are both spectacularly playing their characters and have incredible chemistry with each other, showcasing Glinda's regret and kindness as well as Elphaba's vulnerability and joy at that moment. Of course, the movie has the benefit of up-close shots of their faces, which really highlights the stellar acting at work. Additionally, the cinematography and the way it works in between their physical closeness makes the whole thing much more intimate.
When the audience actually feels this, they believe that everyone else in the scene is being affected by it in the way depicted.
When the Erivo and Grande-Butera are doing their jobs so amazingly and the cinematography and score are only elevating them, it truly feels like an otherworldly moment that can't be put into words. When the audience actually feels this, they believe that everyone else in the scene is being affected by it in the way depicted. Occasionally cutting away to Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) watching the whole thing in awe underscores this point. Overall, the dance scene more effectively serves the story purpose it is supposed to in the movie, largely because of the very nature of the medium.
Other Scenes In Wicked That Prove The Value Of Movie Adaptations Of Broadway Musicals
Wicked's Movie Better Shows The Characters' Emotions & Enables More Subtle Performances
This example highlights the general advantage of movie adaptations of Broadway musicals: the entire audience can actually see the actors’ faces. Stage actors do impressive work, but those representing the Tony Awards and major review outlets probably have access to the best seats, where they can actually analyze the nuances of the performances. Other scenes in Wicked majorly reap the benefits of simply being a movie: for instance, viewers can see the undercurrent anger, disapproval, and grief Glinda is experiencing during "No One Mourns the Wicked," rather than just assuming the whole thing is an act for the Ozians.
Part two of the amazing musical extravaganza, Wicked, is headed to theaters in 2025, and here's all there is to know about For Good.
Aside from "No One Mourns the Wicked" being another one of Grande-Butera's strongest scenes in Wicked, Erivo can play a more reserved but still powerful version of Elphaba when she doesn't need to settle for line delivery that will be comprehensible to people sitting in the back row. Scenes like Elphaba and Fiyero's first meeting were rewritten to feature a sharper, less exaggerated kind of humor. Wickedwas a worldwide phenomenon before its movie adaptation, but the new version leaves an impression in an entirely different way, further cementing the story's legendary cultural status.
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Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Release Date
November 22, 2024
Runtime
160 Minutes
Cast
Cynthia Erivo
, Ariana Grande
, Michelle Yeoh
, Jeff Goldblum
, Jonathan Bailey
, Ethan Slater
, Marissa Bode
, Bowen Yang
, Bronwyn James
, Keala Settle
, Peter Dinklage
, Aaron Teoh
, Grecia De la Paz
, Colin Michael Carmichael
, Adam James
, Andy Nyman
, Courtney Mae-Briggs
, Sharon D. Clarke
, Jenna Boyd
Character(s)
Elphaba Thropp
, Glinda Upland
, Madame Morrible
, The Wizard
, Fiyero Tigelaar
, Boq
, Nessarose Thropp
, Pfannee
, ShenShen
, Miss Coddle
, Doctor Dillamond (voice)
, Avaric Tenmeadows
, Gilligan
, Professor Nikidik
, Glinda's Father
, Governor Frexspar Thropp
, Melena Thropp
, The Midwife
Director
Jon M. Chu
Writers
Gregory Maguire
, Winnie Holzman
, Dana Fox
, L. Frank Baum
English (US) ·