“Wicked” Soars After a Year of Frustrating Movie Musicals

You’ll only wish you could click your ruby slippers together to return home to the feeling of that finale.

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) in "Wicked." (IMDB)
By Chase Hutchinson

There’s no place like home, and for John Chu’s quite fun, nearly three-hour musical adaptation Wicked, the theater is where you’ll joyfully reside. Taking us into the vibrant magical world of young Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) as Shiz University classmates with dreams of meeting the infamous Wizard of Oz, before they become rivals, it’s a charming romp of a film that—absent some oddly muted color choices—flies by.

In a year that’s seen plenty of disappointing movie musicals, from Mean Girls to Joker: Folie à Deux and Emilia Pérez, Wicked is here to put them all to shame. It’s got playful verve. It crushes the classic songs. It boasts solid production design, excellent costumes and two truly great leading performances to build around. Erivo in particular hits all the film’s high notes with ease.

The main downside? This is merely Part 1 of the story. However, when it builds to such a truly triumphant conclusion, Wicked not only manages to stick the landing, but sends viewers soaring into the sky. You’ll only wish you could click your ruby slippers together to return home to the feeling of that finale. PG. Academy, McMenamins Bagdad, OMSI, St. Johns Twin, Studio One Theaters, AMC, Cinemark and Regal locations.

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