Wicked Part One tells a beautiful story of a friendship between the well known Glinda the Good, portrayed by pop-star Ariana Grande and the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, portrayed by Tony-Award winning Cynthia Erivo, all in songs.

Many wondered why Wicked Part One had the same runtime as the musical in both acts, but director Jon M Chu stated that he wanted to include details that were left out of the musical due to time in an interview by The Hollywood Reporter. The movie extended many songs and included new scenes of Elphaba’s childhood that familiar audiences were not aware of. 

Ariana Grande’s depiction of Glinda showed viewers a new side and sparkle to Glinda. Her performance of “Popular” included an extended outro that Stephen Schwartz, lyricist and composer of Wicked, wrote to show more of Grande’s range.

Cynthia Erivo beautifully portrayed how misunderstood Elphaba is and along with her powerful voice gives iconic songs like “Defying Gravity” a new layer of emotion. During the movie, Grande and Erivo share an emotionally touching scene that further expedites the witches’ friendship with each other. Erivo shares how welcome she felt on set, “I’m so grateful to have been able to do that and walk through any of the little wounds that I have, and the little wounds that Elphaba has, and to sort of put everything on display.”

Wicked, the Broadway musical, has been performed for over twenty years in New York City, gaining a large following from the original cast starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. The movie included Menzel and Chenoweth during the song, “One Short Day” as Chenoweth and Menzel stand next to Grande and Erivo, respectively, and look affectionately at the actors playing the role they originated. Menzel shared on Entertainment Weekly how Erivo and Grande both gave a beautiful tribute and justice toward the characters and story. 

Grande and Erivo are both big contenders for this upcoming award season and many are excited to see what they have in store for Wicked Part Two.