Movie Review: ‘Wicked’ fans, rejoicify! Erivo, Grande shine in lavish adaptation of Broadway classic

It’s the ultimate celebrity redemption tour, two decades in the making. In the annals of pop culture, few characters have had as much of an image transformation as the Wicked Witch of the West. Oh, she can be vengeful and terrifying in “The Wizard of Oz.” But something changed—like, really changed—from the yellow brick road to the great white path. Since 2003, crowds have flocked nightly to Broadway’s Gershwin Theater in “Wicked” as the green, misguided Elphaba soars on her broomstick”Defying Gravity,” a girl power anthem. How many people have seen “Wicked”? Early math suggests more than 15 million on Broadway alone. And now we have “Wicked,” director Jon M. Cho’s lavish, faithful, impeccably produced (and nearly three-hour) retelling of the origin story of Elphaba and her (eventual) bestie—Glinda. , very nice and very blonde. Welcome to Hollywood, ladies. Before we get to thatThat the film does well (those big numbers! Those costumes!), just a few thorny issues to consider. Does “Wicked,” starring a sultry Cynthia Arevo (possessing one of the best singing voices on the planet) and the beautiful, hilarious, hair-raising Ariana Grande, turn musical theater haters into lovers? Will change? Difficult question. Some people just don’t buy into the musical thing, and they should be allowed to live independently.to continue” Finally, after two hours and 40 minutes, realizing they’d have to wait a year for Part 2? Hard too. Sure, it could have been a movie. But then, they “pulled. How would “Defy Gravity” have followed, which brings down the curtain (and house) of Act 1 on the show? It’s hard to imagine just the plot continuing. Yes, the plot: We’re Grande’s Glinda’s Munchkinland. But start landing with your glowing bubble, which has been upgraded with a comfortable couch since 1939, to announce that, indeed, the Wicked Witch is dead. But someone challenged Glinda: Is it true that you were her friend? Well, yes, Glinda replied cautiously. Their paths crossed — back at school. Inauguration Day at Chase University. Glinda — well, for now, Galinda “with a ga” — an aspiring witch majorSquares and fantasy nightclubs and emerald-colored cities make perfect sense to you, and especially if you already love “Wicked,” you’ll love this movie. If it feels like they bought the best “Wicked” movie money – well, that’s because they did. Much of the credit goes to Cho, who has said that he spent so many years working on “Wicked” that out of his fiveThree children were born during this time. Musical theater is clearly in Cho’s DNA, as we already knew from “In the Heights.” Its actors don’t awkwardly break into composer Stephen Schwartz’s famous pop show tunes: they run headlong into them, and sometimes blow the roof off with them. Another question: will people be turned off when they see “