Wicked

 It’s finally happened people.

After years of false starts, Wicked, the celebrated musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, is finally half a movie!

Wait, what?

Yeah, the creators didn’t want to cut anything, so they split it into two movies. Wicked, which actually corresponds to the musical’s entire first act, runs 160 minutes, slightly longer than the average stage production. Did director Jon M. Chu and the writers make the most of it? Let’s find out.

Ding dong, the Witch is Dead! All of Oz is celebrating now that the Wicked Witch of the West has been liquidated. Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande) tells a crowd of Munchkins how she knew her Wickedness. Back then, she was known as Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), daughter of the Munchkin Governor. She was supposed to see off her sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), at the prestigious Shiz University. But Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Dean of Sorcery, notices her magical prowess and invites her to attend.

Elphaba is assigned Glinda, then known as Galinda, as a roommate, which doesn’t please either of them. But soon, this loathing becomes friendship, albeit with some rivalry for the dashingly dim Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). The Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) notices Elphaba and summons her to the Emerald City. Glinda tags along too, but their one short day changes their lives forever.

Thus, ends Act One.

The writers, specifically original librettist Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, pad out a few musical numbers, intensify a few scenes and provide some more exposition here. It's a miracle that only some of this adaptation expansion is a bit superfluous.  The expansion is especially noticeable in the finale, the show's signature song Defying Gravity. The musical momentum is frequently disrupted by the Wizard's guards, but Elphaba asserting herself as the Wicked Witch of the West makes it all pay off. If anything, some of the other changes help the libretto flow as a screenplay.

Any doubts about the leads will cease once you see them. Erivo is quite believable as the initially timid Elphaba, who just wants her father's approval. She's quite compelling as she asserts herself, partially with Glinda's help. We empathize with her all the way at her highest and lowest moments. Speaking of Glinda, Grande is quite funny when she plays her as a vapid mean girl. Her moments of legitimate kindness, such as joining Elphaba at a dance, are quite moving. She still gets a few funny lines afterwards, though, a lot of them during another of the show's popular songs ... Popular. Reportedly, much of the film was sung live-on set, and it shows with Grande and Erivo's buoyant chemistry in their numbers.

Let's get on with the supporting cast. Bailey as Fiyero is memorably vapid, but he jumps to help Elphaba free the future Cowardly Lion. He's a more likable Gaston, and you'll like him even if you don't know his eventual fate. Ethan Slater is quite nice as Boq, a munchkin who will also be relevant in part two. What we see of Madame Morrible and the Wizard cements them as decent-enough villains. The best supporting player is Peter Dinklage, who voices the talking goat Professor Dillamond, whose ostracization factors into Elphaba's descent into "villainy." A close second is Sharon D. Clarke, who voices Elphaba's sympathetic bear nanny Dulcibear.

Naturally, as an Oz film, you can expect plenty of good-looking visuals. The crowning achievement of Nathan Crowley's production design is the Shiz Library, which has rotating bookshelves. A close second is the Wizard's diorama of Oz, where Glinda and Elphaba come up with the Yellow Brick Road. Neither of these sets are CGI. The talking animals, however, are all pretty good CGI creatures. It's downright scary when Elphaba is tricked into turning the Wizard's monkey guards into the Flying Monkeys. It's even scarier when they literally fly in a rage and attack Elphaba soon after. On a lighter note, we have some splendorous costume designs by Paul Tazewell, most of which are on full display at the Emerald City during the number One Short Day.

Speaking of that number, composer Stephen Schwartz, along with Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, all have amusing cameos there. Schwartz's score was adapted, expanded, and supplemented by John Powell quite nicely. Elphaba's power bursts are accentuated with some impressively forceful sound effects. I can go on about its technical goodness, but I won't.

So instead, I'll leave it to you to check out Wicked for yourself. It may be half a story, but it's still an entertaining half. Its opening minutes are awe-inspiring, whether they've seen the show or not. I don't think next year's Part Two needs to be as long as this one. But whatever the length, I'm ready for it, and judging by my audience's applauses, they are too. I'm sure you'll be ready for it once you get on the Yellow Brick Road this year. I think it's worth the excursion.

Well, are you coming?