Let’s start with the good news about “Wicked For Good,” a movie that’s review proof. Here’s the thing about a movie like this: the fans, and they are legion, love it before they see it.
So the great new is that Cynthia Erivo is off the charts as Elphaba, now known as The Wicked Witch of the West. She’s one of the few things that make sense in a film that lives on shifting logic. Erivo, already so good in the first “Wicked” movie, gets a total star turn singing “No Good Deed” backed by Flying Monkeys will be on every single highlight reel for 2025. She brings passion and depth to every scene she’s in.
Not to say Ariana Grande is a slouch. As Glinda, the Good Witch who is absolutely clueless about her own life, Grande continues to invest an unflinching sweetness to the role. No one’s going to argue about her voice.
“Wicked For Good” continues the idea that The Wizard of Oz — a befuddled con man in “The Wizard of Oz” — is evil, doing Trumpian like things like caging the flying monkeys and dozens of other animals as if they were arrested immigrants. If you don’t get this point, which is hammered home, just listen to Jeff Goldblum’s cynical show stopper, “Wonderful,” in which he sings:
“I never saw myself as a Solomon or Socrates
I knew who I was
One of your dime a dozen mediocrities
Then suddenly I’m here
Respected, worshiped even
Just because the folks in Oz
Needed someone to believe in”
That’s the real story of “Wicked For Good,” how the Wizard has hijacked the land of Oz. Elphaba, painted as the wicked witch, sees right through him. Glinda, an airhead with no real powers, goes along with everything. Of course, to match the ending of “The Wizard of Oz,” Glinda has to have an epiphany, so screenwriter Winnie Holzman invented Madame Morrible for the stage show and lets the amazing Michelle Yeoh become the movie’s real bad guy.
“Wicked” remains a phenomenon on Broadway. Twenty two years and a zillion dollars later, Stephen Schwartz’s musical continues to be a powerhouse draw, especially for little girls. That audience needn’t question some of the bigger leaps and holes in the story. They lavish in the relationship of the frenemies — Elphaba and Glinda — and don’t care how it’s resolved.
Last night’s lavish premiere at Lincoln Center wasn’t just filled with children. There were plenty of young adults, dressed like the characters and in their colors, all reliving their theater experience. These grown up kids are bathing in nostalgia while the actual kids are getting their first rounds of “Wicked” magic.
Besides the actors, what really works is the production. Nathan Crowley’s design, all the below the line artisans have created an Oz for the ages. It does look like no expense has been spared, although I thought Jonathan Bailey’s Fyero had an appropriately funny reaction when he left Glinda’s lavish digs and saw how Elphaba was living in exile.
A few things don’t work at all. For some reason, director Jon M. Chu skips over Dorothy getting Nessarose’s ruby red slippers. (It’s referred to but I don’t think we even see the shoes.) Also, not so cool dropping Dorothy’s house on wheelchair bound Nessaroe, although Marissa Bode is one of the gems of the film.
Much more than the first “Wicked,” “For Good” really relies on retelling “The Wizard of Oz,” only this time from the other characters’ perspectives. Where it falters is when Chu and Holtzman drag in the Tin Man — now an angry vigilante not on the right side of the subject — and an un-charming Cowardly Lion. You just can’t compete with the originals.
Again, “Wicked For Good” rises and falls on the stunning visuals. Glinda’s flying bubble is a winner, and everything that happens in the forest — particularly the monkeys — feels unique and special.
Is “Wicked for Good” an Oscar winner? I don’t know. The hype surrounding it is in overdrive. Erivo is the standout, Yeoh is an essential ingredient. Bailey and Erivo’s romantic episode didn’t seem so convincing, and until Grande finally gets angry about Fiyero leaving her for Elphaba, she had a blandness.
But “Wicked For Good” will be a monster hit. You could tell from the audience last night. And where it packs a punch is in the allegory of power hungry pretenders pulling the wool over the eyes of an easily duped electorate. That note resonated as an anchor.
In the audience last night, a smattering of interesting people including singer Natasha Bedingfield, the great Jane Krakowski with David Rockwell, Phillipa Soo, Patricia Clarkson, Neil Meron, Gayle King, Sonny Hostin, Donna Murphy, and Universal Music Publishing’s Evan Lamberg. There was also a phalanx of Golden Globes voters flown in from LA for a “Wicked” vacation. God bless them.
