Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
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“Wicked For Good,” is the long-awaited second half of the two-part movie adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked.” With the immense success of the first half, “Wicked For Good” had its work cut out for it.
Generally, the second acts of musicals are much more nuanced and darker which set “Wicked For Good” at a disadvantage. Despite this, “Wicked For Good” ultimately manages to honor the original source material while simultaneously adding more depth giving audiences exactly what they were hoping for.
The first half of “Wicked” focused on showcasing how Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, met and became friends during their days at Shiz University. The second half, “Wicked For Good,” tells the story of what happened after Elphaba learned of the Wizard’s deception and Glinda was taken in by Madame Morrible, played by Michelle Yeoh, to become a political puppet.
Box-office wise, “Wicked For Good” has already broken records. The film made $150 million in North America during its debut weekend, which surpassed the original $112 million that the first installment made during its debut weekend, according to USA Today. This means that “Wicked for Good” has set a new record for biggest opening weekend for a film that is based on a Broadway musical.
Considering the second half of the Broadway show is shorter than the first, source material had to be added to extend the run time. There is now more time in between the musical numbers and two new songs were added — all of which helps the storyline to not feel as rushed and gives more time to flesh out individual characters.
Stephen Schwartz, the composer of “Wicked” the Broadway musical, said he and Jon M. Chu, the director of the film adaption of “Wicked,” found spots where they felt it was important for the characters to showcase their feelings through song, according to Elle magazine.
“In the second movie, we identified two places where it was very important that each of the characters be able to express what was going on inside them, what they wanted at that moment, and that was best done through the medium of a song,” Schwartz said. “The first one I did was ‘Girl in the Bubble,’ and I did write that pretty quickly. ‘No Place Like Home‘ went through various iterations because, at one point, it encompassed more of the storytelling than it does now.”
“No Place Like Home” takes place relatively quickly after the film’s opening and is a moment where Elphaba tries to convince the Animals not to leave Oz. At first listen, it’s fairly surface-level but it does a decent job of showcasing just how much Elphaba truly cares about the animals feeling safe and not fearful of being persecuted and even references how she has never felt like Oz loved her.
In contrast, Glinda’s new song “Girl in the Bubble” is more of an introspective look at what her life has become but more importantly, what she wants to do with it. The song is placed toward the end of the film, as Glinda watches the citizens of Oz sing about wanting to kill Elphaba, who has become known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Other than the two new songs, the film sticks fairly close to the original Broadway score. While Glinda has been added to “Wonderful” to give Elphaba more of a reason to join forces with the Wizard, played by Jeff Goldblum, and there are small lyric changes in the opening song, “Every Day More Wicked,” the film sticks close to the original source material.
Acting-wise, Erivo and Grande shine as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.
Erivo is a vocal powerhouse and anytime she sings, she steals the show and captivates the audience. Her acting is just as phenomenal and her range is on full display during songs such as “No Good Deed” and “For Good.” When she belts Fiyero’s name in “No Good Deed,” the pain is so raw and so present, audiences are left feeling rocked to their core.
Similarly, Grande’s acting can’t help but make audiences feel for Glinda. The pain that is ever so present during “Thank Goodness,” helps to showcase how Glinda, despite wanting fame and fortune, ultimately just wants to be truly loved and actually have magic, instead of having to fake it.
The supporting cast, Ethan Slater as Boq, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Marissa Bode as Nessa, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible also generally bring powerful performances.
When Boq said, “I too, have a personal score to settle with Elphaba, with the witch,” the anger in his eyes made audiences feel true fear, for it was evident that he wanted her dead.
Bailey’s performance as Fiyero is yet another standout performance. He has transformed from a spoiled prince just floating through life into someone who knows what is right and wrong. He willingly makes the choice to go with Elphaba, knowing that his life will never be the same and through his acting, audiences are able to relate to how hard making the right choices truly can be.
While “Wicked For Good” had the bar set high, the film was still able to resonate with audiences. The film is a timeless story of remembering that no matter how hard it may be, it is always important to fight for what is right and make the choice to truly be good and the film does an excellent job of conveying this message.
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu