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You're probably suffering from Wicked fatigue by now, thanks to the whirlwind press tour for the Wicked film that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been on. Every week has seen the stars emerge in variations of black, green and pink couture – and their beauty looks have been dissected and examined like Taylor Swift's lyrics. Have they taken themed dressing to a whole new (possibly unnecessary) level? Maybe. But did Cynthia look incredible in a witchy, custom Thom Browne gown at the Mexico City premiere? Absolutely.
More than 30 wigs, custom green body makeup, and hours in the makeup chair brought Elphaba and Glinda to the big screen.
It's easy to dismiss the movie as an OTT indulgent fantasy film by director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, 2018) and pooh-pooh their marketing methods as performative. But the whimsical trailer and extravagant red carpet looks actually distract from the heartwarming (and at times heartbreaking) story behind the film that originally made the musical become so, well, Popular. There's a reason why the original Tony and Grammy award-winning stage production surpassed The Phantom of the Opera as Broadway's second-highest-grossing musical behind The Lion King.
On paper, Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, recounting the story of the witches of Oz before the arrival of Dorothy and Toto. In the film, Ariana Grande stars as Glinda, The Good Witch, while The Colour Purple star Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, the green-all-over Wicked Witch of the West.
But if you dig beneath its frothy surface and catchy show tunes, Wicked is a deeply moving story of false first impressions, battling misconceptions and most importantly, friendship — fronted by two female leads, no less.
Long before Elsa and Anna stole the hearts of young girls for putting sisterly love over boyfriends in Frozen (I know, groundbreaking), the Wicked musical – which first hit Broadway just over 20 years ago starring Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda – was similarly revolutionary in a time where boy-meets-girl tropes still dominated the majority of stage stories. Let's not even talk about the problematic (read: creepy) themes behind Phantom of the Opera – where a deranged, jealous man ensnares his young female protegé. The point is that female lead roles on Broadway and the West End were few and far between, let alone two in one show.
Then there's the actual story. As with any Bildungsroman with a solid arc, Wicked is based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire – and is a revisionist tale of how the iconic witch came to be. But it's not a straightforward origin story of a classic villain. In fact, spoiler alert: the villain is actually the good guy… well, gal. And the peace that she helps usher in is brought forth through a powerful friendship between two friends. Like I said, not your average story of good vs evil. And that's why I've seen it four times.
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With each viewing, I am reminded of the complexity of the characters and themes covered — uncomfortable ones, too — from racism to politics to propaganda that feels more relevant today than ever. Elphaba starts off the introverted social pariah thanks to her fluorescent facade, Glinda the popular kid with bouncy, blonde locks. Over the course of the story, they fall in love with the same guy, and manage to maintain their bond without bitterness – a modern feminist feat in itself – help each other shed their insecurities and unmask a false wizard.
Wicked is a love story, yes, but of two women, who could not be more different at first (in fact, they found each other “loathsome”), but who encourage each other's idiosyncrasies rather than try to change them, who defiantly ignore external pressures and perceptions, and whose loyalty to one another becomes the true legacy of the story.
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Without fail, I tear up each time For Good is sung at the end. My stoic husband couldn't help but shed a tear himself. The lyrics go, “I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them, and we help them in return… I know I'm who I am today because I knew you.”
It reminds us all of the friends who have undeniably moulded us to become who we are, the women in our lives who have propped us up even when, and especially when, we didn't believe in ourselves, and who taught us that we could, with their help, even defy gravity.
Wicked the movie is out in theatres from Nov 22, and the West End stage production is playing at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London. For more information and tickets, visit the website - www.WickedTheMusical.co.uk
