Wandering Through the World of Wicked

The musical Wicked is reaching a new level of “popular” in 2024 with the anticipation of the new two-part adaptation of the musical, and the first part coming to theaters in November. Wicked first debuted on Broadway on June 10, 2003. The plot of the musical is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked, which is based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical, however, follows the story of two witches, Elphaba and Glinda, during their adolescent friendship. The story leads up to how Elphaba became the infamous “Wicked Witch” and Glinda as the “Good Witch”. This Wizard of Oz prequel has been loved by fans for over twenty years, and the excitement for the musical on the big screen is only growing as the release date approaches.

Wicked was composed by Stephen Schwartz, an American musical theater composer and lyricist. Schwartz has also composed other hit musicals like Pippin and Godspell. Schwartz was a lyricist for several successful films such as Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt and Enchanted. He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, four Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He also received the 2015 Isabelle Stevenson Award, which is a special Tony Award for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent. Schwartz confirmed in 2022 that new songs would be featured in the movie, and that he felt the two-part release was necessary. The Act One closer, “Defying Gravity,” played a big part in that decision. Schwartz stated to a fan publication, “That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic.” Winnie Holzman, an American playwright, screenwriter, actor, and producer, is the playwright for Wicked. Holzman also wrote the screenplays for the upcoming two-part movie versions of Wicked. 

The director of the movie, Wicked (part 1), is Jon M. Chu, an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing f Crazy Rich Asians in 2018. In an interview with “Seen on the Screen”, Chu reveals the magic behind his vision for the film. He opened up about his connection to the cultural phenomenon that is Wicked, and shared insights into his process and the collaboration between the cast and crew to bring the film to the big screens. Chu stated, “What you have to say is unique and is valuable and that’s what you should be chasing, the things that scare you the most – and Wicked scared me.” Chu raved about how his collaboration with stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and the rest of the cast’s talented crew resulted in show-stopping musical numbers, stunning sets and meticulously crafted details that will enchant audiences worldwide. 

The cast of Wicked is what the majority of fans are most excited about. The actress playing Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo, is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Erivo is the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and a Tony Award in addition to a nominee for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo is incredibly thankful for the opportunity to portray a role as complicated and unique as Elphaba in the cinemas. She recently spoke out about the controversy surrounding the fan edits being made of the Wicked poster. In these edits, fans are making the new poster created for the movie look more like the Broadway poster by covering up Erivo’s face. In response to these edits, she stated, “I am a real-life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer . . . because without words we communicate with our eyes. Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.” Erivo felt called upon to speak up about the rudeness of these edits, especially since no edits were made to her co-star, Ariana Grande, on the poster. 

 Ariana Grande, a music artist, actress and composer, is taking on the role of Glinda. Grande starred in the musical 13 in 2008 before becoming a household name from her roles on Nickelodeon. In 2013, her music career took off when she released her first studio album, Yours Truly, which entered atop the US Billboard 200. Grande has stated in multiple interviews that Glinda is her dream role, and she told the director of Wicked when she was cast that she’ll “take such good care of her,” referring to the character Glinda. Since the trailer was released, there has been some backlash against Grande for the way she talks in character. Grande spoke up to Vanity Fair about her voice in the movie, “It’s something that I’m just really proud of” she stated, “Part of why I did want to engage [on TikTok] is because I am really proud of my hard work and of the fact that I did give 100% of myself, including my physicality, to this role. I am proud of that, so I wanted to protect it.” She then added, “When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed. There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really. Tale as old as time being a woman in this industry. You are treated differently, and you are under a microscope in a way that some people aren’t.”

If you are one of the many fans of the musical excited to view the movie, tickets are now officially on sale! The movie premieres on November 22nd, so you can enjoy it over the holidays. Make sure to check out part two of Wicked when it comes out on November 21st, 2025, just a year after part one. Look out for other well-known actors in the cast, and listen to the original Broadway recording of the soundtrack to get into the Wicked spirit while you wait!

(Featured image source: Universal Pictures)