By Kirsten Coachman
Elphaba is not seasick. She did not eat grass as a child. She’s always been green. Glinda is popular. She is very perky and very into pink. She’s always desired to be a sorceress. And this weekend, director Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) is bringing part one of their epic journey to the big screen.
For those not familiar with the story of “Wicked,” or maybe only know of the songs from the Broadway stage production (or, in this writer’s case, “Glee”), the film is based on the Tony Award-winning musical and the Gregory Maguire novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of West.” At the center is the origin story of the friendship between the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good well before they were known by their renowned monikers.
In a stunning feat of cinematic storytelling and artisanship, this first installment of “Wicked” introduces Elphaba (Emmy, Tony, Grammy Award winner, and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Grammy Award winner Ariana Grande) as foes-turned-besties who cross one another’s paths at Shiz University in Oz before venturing on a life-altering trip of their own to the Emerald City.
The film also stars Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton”), Ethan Slater (“The SpongeBob Musical”), Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”), Marissa Bode (making her onscreen feature debut), Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”), and Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park”).
The performances in the film are nothing short of remarkable. The onscreen duo of Erivo and Grande is electric, and their vocal performances are soul-stirring and complementary to one another.
The result? Pure ear candy.
As Elphaba, Erivo is beautifully vulnerable onscreen. Though her character may have her defenses up, Erivo lets the audience feel her character’s inner pain and torment, as well as the flickering moments of joy Elphaba allows herself to revel in. Erivo is in her vocal bag throughout the film, but it was while she was mid-“Defying Gravity” that genuinely moved me to tears.
Comedy suits Grande, who makes a meal of her moments on screen as Glinda. She garners well-earned laughter throughout the film as her character moves through life at Shiz with a well-timed hair toss and operatic interludes. From her character attempting to win over Madame Morrible (Yeoh) and wooing Prince Fiyero (Bailey) to dramatically throwing herself onto her bed during a late-night convo with Elphaba, Grande is pitch-perfect in her delivery.
Another standout is Bailey, who is a bonafide triple threat, as the oh-so-charming Prince Fiyero, who strolls into Shiz with flirty smiles to go around. Bailey plays the duality of his character with both charisma and nuance. In one moment, Fiyero cheekily encourages his peers to sneak out of Shiz to “dance through life” at the Ozdust Ballroom. Later, the character’s actions reveal to Elphaba that he’s perhaps deeper than he lets on.
But it’s not just the performances alone that make up “Wicked.” It’s the craftsmanship on display throughout the film that enhances the overall experience of the film.
Production Designer Nathan Crowley’s practical sets immediately immerse the audience into the land of Oz. Aisles of colorful tulips greet the audience at the top of the film as children run to the center of Munchkinland, complete with several small houses and large barrels of water. Shiz University is vast and intricately designed—both the architecture and the accompanying landscape. The luxe shared living quarters of Glinda and Elphaba, as well as the seemingly large library and study area—complete with multiple rotating wheels of books—were not only overwhelming in the best way to view on screen but seemed to be functional for the film’s choreographed musical moments, which were also impressive in their own right.
Also playing a role in the films’ creative storytelling is Costume Designer Paul Tazewell. Elphaba and Glinda’s costumes were seemingly thoughtfully designed in terms of how the characters view their inner selves. I enjoyed how their school uniforms are variants of what the majority of the students at Shiz wear—blue and grey with peachy-orange detailing. Glinda’s school wear is pale gray with pink and white, while Elphaba’s school ensembles are mostly darker hues with blue and white. They are uniquely themselves amongst their uniformed peers. The garments Elphaba and Glinda later wear to the Ozdust are appropriately delicate, which speak to the characters’ respective vulnerabilities on display during their dance sequence.
Chu’s “Wicked” is truly a collaborative work of artisanship that bursts with life on screen. So much care is showcased throughout, with each creative facet of the film working hand-in-hand, making for one of the year’s most memorable theatrical experiences.
What is this feeling? Unadulterated joy.
“Wicked” is now playing in theaters.