When I saw Wicked on Broadway in New York City eight or so years ago, I only bought the ticket because it was one of the few major shows offering tickets through TKTS, the "last-minute Broadway Tickets" broker.
The show had already been running for more than a decade, but it was not on my list even though it was still attracting audiences. Still, we got good seats for less than $100, which is a bargain on Broadway.
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Ultimately, I was surprised by how much I loved the performance. The story offers a fresh take on "The Wizard of Oz," one of my favorite books and movies from childhood, retelling the story from the perspective of the witches — Glinda, the "Good Witch," and the "Wicked Witch of the West." In the retelling, she has a name: Elphaba.
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The new story explores themes of friendship, cruelty, acceptance and identity, among others. So when one of my musical-theater loving friends asked me to see the movie with her on opening weekend, I said yes.
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The "Wicked" movie really takes its time to explore the story's themes: The film clocks in at two hours and 40 minutes (the live theater version is two hours and 45 minutes, including a 15- minute intermission). And honestly, the movie barely dragged. It is a gorgeous spectacle from start to finish — the costumes, the sets, the visual effects, and, of course, the musical numbers.
I had read that some moviegoers on opening day were annoyed by audiences singing along, which may be what prompted theater chain AMC to post signs reading, "To our guests seeing Wicked, we ask that you allow everyone to enjoy the cinema experience. Please refrain from singing during the show."
Many people protested the movie theater's admonishment saying, basically, "It's a musical, we should be allowed to sing." Fortunately at the show I saw, the audience let the stars do the singing.
Sing-along screenings coming to theaters on Christmas Day
Those who really want to immerse themselves in the performance just need to be patient. As reported by Variety, Universal Pictures will offer interactive sing-along screenings that will hit more than 1,000 theaters across North America beginning on Dec. 25.
Specific theater locations that will offer the sing-alongs have not yet been announced.
The show's opening box office numbers were impressive. "Wicked" brought in $114 million from 3,888 theaters over the weekend. "Gladiator," another Thanksgiving holiday tentpole film, lagged far behind, with just $55.5 million from 3,573 cinemas, according to Variety.
In the end, I give two thumbs up to "Wicked." While my reaction wasn't quite as dramatic as Fred Asquith's was ...
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I will admit I shed a tear during Cynthia Erivo's flawless rendition of Defying Gravity. Maybe it's because the themes of the show have extra resonance during this time of political upheaval. Or maybe it was just Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo singing so beautifully together. I'm no music critic, so I can't really explain it, but over on Variety, reporter Chris Willman gives a really thoughtful review, writing,
Related: ‘Wicked’ leads big weekend at the box office
“Wicked: The Soundtrack” becomes an essential post-movie listen, to really take in all the groundwork Schwartz and company have laid in foreshadowing what is actually at least as much a sociopolitical tragedy as a fantasy musical-comedy. It’s the ability to encompass all these elements, so masterfully, that makes “Wicked” not just the greatest song score of our time (or at least tied with “Hamilton” for that) but one of the greats of all time."
Next year, "Wicked" Part 2 will presumably pick up where Elphaba flew off at the end of Part 1, Until then I will definitely have the soundtrack in my Spotify library.
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