The timelessly relatable outsider story, amazing songs and a connection to the famous technicolor film, “The Wizard of Oz,” gives the musical “Wicked” a beautiful popularity. Opening on Broadway in 2003 and celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, “Wicked” is the fourth longest running musical on Broadway of all time, according to the New York Theater Guide. The iconic Broadway musical “Wicked” has been adapted into a movie by the same name.
The new “Wicked” movie is releasing this Friday, Nov. 22 and it follows Act One of the musical. A second movie, “Wicked Part Two,” is coming out just shy of a year later on Nov. 21, 2025, which will portray Act Two.
“The first movie is about Oz before Dorothy Gale arrives from Kansas,” said Kaitlyn LaFleur, a Guilford musical theater major, “it follows Elphaba in her studies as she makes an unlikely friend in Glinda, the future Glinda the Good Witch.”
Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, is played by Cynthia Erivo, who is known for her roles in “Harriet” (2019) and “Bad Times at the El Royale” (2018). Erivo is acting beside Ariana Grande as Glinda. Other notable names include Johnathan Bailey as Fiyero, Marissa Bode as Nessarose and Ethan Slater as Boq.
The music and lyrics for the iconic show, “Wicked: The Untold Stories of the Witches of Oz,” were written by Stephen Schwartz, with its novel companion by Winnie Holzman, who was also involved in the production of the film.
Both the novel and the musical were loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which was based on the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” which is an adaptation of the 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum.
This makes the “Wicked” movie an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation of the original book.
The movie gives a more financially accessible way to see the classic musical. With tickets being more than $100 for Broadway shows, being able to watch the movie for much cheaper at a local movie theater is a great way to see the show.
“I am very glad that they are becoming more accessible because it can be very expensive to see them in person and hard to get to a theater,” LaFleur said.
The downside to this is that the rising popularity of Broadway musical movies could possibly restrict the visibility and demand for live productions. LaFleur also commented on this, saying, “While it is a great thing to see musical theater productions as movies, it can be concerning for live theater performances and the jobs that come with them.”
Other popular musicals are accessible to the public as movies. “Mamma Mia,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Cats,” “Chicago” and “Phantom of the Opera” are just a few examples. Movies are also not the only way to watch Broadway productions off stage. Musicals such as “Hamilton” and “Heathers” have filmed their productions to be available on various streaming services. This may be the preferred method of sharing musicals on film.
“I would rather have them film the production over making a movie,” LaFleur said. “I just think it’s better to see it as close to live as possible, and it avoids things being removed from the original production as it’s adapted into a movie. These tours sometimes only happen once, and it’s great to have it preserved and available to see.”
Not just theater students are buzzing with the news about “Wicked.”
“I’m excited to watch it and compare it to the musical,” Luca Desear, a Guilford student, said. “I also think it’s very interesting to see the differences in all the different adaptations of the original story.”
The original novel has had many adaptations over the last 124 years since its release, including the first known film from 1910, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the famous MGM film from 1939, the 2013 film, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” among others, a Screen Rant article highlights the best adaptations here.
