Wicked Bewitches and Beguiles at the Box Office

Wicked, the much-anticipated film adaptation of the longest-running Broadway musical is enchanting audiences everywhere garnering close to $200MM in global box office revenue in its first week. The film also has the distinction of delivering the strongest box office opening ever for a screen adaption of a Broadway musical.  

Loosely inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked was conceived as a prequel to L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), on which the legendary film The Wizard of Oz  (1939) is based. Maguire’s Wicked depicts an elaborate backstory in which Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West,  was friends with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, while the two women were university students.

Starring pop star Ariana Grande as Glinda, and Broadway actress and singer Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Wicked is a visual and emotional masterpiece with stand-out performances by the two leads along with the marvelous presence of Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard.  Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), Wicked was filmed in two segments with Part Two scheduled for release in November 2025. (READ MORE from Leonora Cravotta: AI Snake Oil: Separating Hype From Reality in Artificial Intelligence)

The film opens with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, proclaiming the death of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, to the citizens of Munchkinland.  Following these remarks, a young woman in the crowd asks Glinda to confirm a rumor that she and Elphaba were once friends. While Glinda tries to downplay their relationship by saying that their paths crossed, this exchange serves as the vehicle for the recounting of how she and Elphaba became acquainted as students at Shiz University, a school for would-be sorcerers.

The film provides a detailed portrait of Elphaba’s painful early childhood where she was rejected by her father and ridiculed by other children for her green complexion. Although Elphaba was deeply hurt by the way others treated her for being different, she soon became cognizant that she possessed an ability to move objects with her mind. It is this magical power that served as the catalyst for both her successful academic career at Shiz and her unlikely friendship with the beautiful, superficial but ambitious Glinda.

Wicked’s blockbuster performance at the box office is not surprising given the incredible popularity of the long-standing Broadway production which debuted in 2003, and the public’s familiarity with the show’s signature songs including “Popular,” “I’m Not That Girl,” and “Defying Gravity.” Moreover, the decision to cast Grande and Erivo, who are both blessed with magnificent singing voices, was also critical to the film’s runaway success.

Furthermore, having the two stars record the songs live instead of looping the vocals in later additionally enhances the cinematic experience. Wicked pays homage to the original Broadway production by including a scene showcasing the singing talents of Idina Menzel, the original Elphaba, and Kristen Chenoweth, the original Glinda.

Wicked is also peppered with references to MGM’s The Wizard of Oz (1939). For instance we witness Grande as Glinda arriving in Munchkinland via a pink bubble just as Billie Burke did in the classic movie. There are other more subliminal references such as the scene where Elphaba while a student at Shiz inadvertently turns over a vase filled with poppies and puts the whole class to sleep. This scene recalls Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film, attempting to circumvent Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion’s journey to the Emerald City by sprinkling their path with poppies.

The Politics of Wicked

The story further honors The Wizard of Oz legacy by embedding political messaging into the plotline. Since its initial publication, L. Frank Baum’s novel has been described as a political allegory with Dorothy representing everyman, the Scarecrow the agricultural worker, the Tinman the industrial worker, and of course the Wizard representing the U.S. president and Emerald City, Washington D.C.

When Baum’s book was published in 1900, William McKinley was president. McKinley would die the following year as a result of an infection from an assassination attempt by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. The death of McKinley ,who was very popular at the time, only reinforces the immense power of the political machine and the ultimate humanness of those serving as its representatives.

Interestingly enough, when Gregory Maguire published his novel in 1995, Bill Clinton was president, yet because George W. Bush was president in 2003 when the Broadway production was launched, critics interpreted the story as satirizing Bush. The Wizard as played by Jeff Goldbum is also a parody of  the contemporary president of one’s choosing. Although production wrapped on the film in January 2024 when Joe Biden was president and the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for the 2024 Presidential Election, liberals are already reading anti-Donald Trump messaging into the film.

While the movie has several political references, perhaps the most compelling is Shiz University’s decision to discriminate against animals by forbidding them from serving as university instructors and physically locking them up in cages. Not surprisingly, Elphaba sees a parallel between the hardships she experienced as a result of her green skin and the silencing and othering of the animal professors. Consequently, she takes up their cause, a decision which ultimately puts her at odds with Madame Morrible and the Wizard. (READ MORE: Follow The Washington Trail: New Cloak and Dagger Mystery Lampoons DC Corruption)

Wicked captivates audiences because like The Wizard of Oz, it has multilayer appeal. On one hand, it is a very adult story which satirizes political corruption, personal ambition, and prejudice. The film also raises existential questions such as whether people are born evil or become evil as a result of their life experience. On the other hand, Wicked is also appropriate for older children in that it celebrates the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, two very different individuals.  Children benefit from the teachable moment that not only is it important to be tolerant of those who look or act differently from us, but that these differences enhance and enrich friendships.

I highly recommend Wicked as a fantastically entertaining, intelligent production. I am already looking forward to Part Two.

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