There’s much wickedness to enjoy within this enchanting musical that makes a tremendous transition from stage-to-screen.
It’s fortunate this Broadway ‘staple’ was split into two – this first part comes in at a whopping two hours and forty minutes – but it (generally) seems like a good half an hour or so less due to the enigmatic female leads and toe-tapping numbers.
Undoubtedly separating Wicked into two instalments – the second one is scheduled for next November – helped the character development, with both Oscar-nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) and songstress-turned-actress Ariana Grande-Butera, blossoming in their roles.
Erivo (who is also a singer in her own right) tackles the legendary Elphaba Thropp, a misunderstood young woman with green skin, who becomes the iconic Wicked Witch of the West – made famous in the 1939 Judy Garland classic The Wizard of Oz.
After an intro celebrating the wicked witch’s death, the equally-impressive Grande-Butera’s sorceress Glinda the Good tells the story of her former friend, as the movie goes the prequel route by taking a journey back to the Land of Oz via a flashback story.
Here, Elphaba arrives at Shiz University to drop off her paraplegic sister Nessa (Marissa Bode), and inadvertently gets taken under the wing of Michelle Yeoh’s (recent Oscar winner for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once) Dean of Sorcery, Madame Morrible. She sees something special in Elphaba – much to the chagrin of popular socialite Galinda (who later becomes Glinda) who craves to become a sorceress herself.
The two get saddled together, and despite initially being complete opposites, slowly gain mutual respect for each other. Even when handsome prince Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey) arrives on the scene, and takes a shine to both of them in different ways.
Their friendship really comes alive with one of the standout scenes in the movie, during the ‘Ozdust Duet’ – just one of the many famously catchy tunes that resonate.
Then just as Elphaba, Galinda and Fiyero get embroiled in the animal civil rights controversy sweeping the land – where the creatures are losing their ability to speak – Elphaba receives a personal summons from the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), who has heard about her progress.
With Galinda in tow, the two head to the capital of Oz, the Emerald City, where things go awry when Elphaba reads from the Grimmerie spellbook – and her incantation makes the wizard’s monkey guards painfully sprout wings.
Alas, all is not what it seems, and the rest, as they say, is history. Or at least after the forthcoming part two.
Despite the slightly bloated runtime – that could undoubtedly make some younger members of the audience irritable – the musical is done justice on the big screen, especially with its exceptional production values.
The performances of Erivo and Grande-Butera alone makes this devilishly watchable from start to finish – and will undoubtedly forge this into a family favourite over the festive period.
Rating: 4/5
Gavin Miller
Odeon Luxe Peterborough and Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Jeff Goldblum & Peter Dinklage
Running Time: 2 Hrs 40 Mins
Director: John M Chu
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