Tag: Dana Fox

Wicked: For Good (2025) | REVIEW

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-Butera in WICKED: FOR GOOD — PHOTO: UNIVERSAL PICTURES (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Jon M. Chu — Screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox.

The wait is over for musical theater fans all over the world. The long-awaited sequel to 2024’s Wicked, both based on the musical theater show of the same name, has hit theaters and is already one of the biggest hits of the year. Still directed by In the Heights director Jon M. Chu, Wicked: For Good is an adaptation of the second half of the aforementioned musical theater show and is thus one of the decade’s key part two films. The sequel follows the wrongly villainized Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo), known for her green skin and her magical powers, some time after the events of the first film, which culminated in an instantly iconic performance of “Defying Gravity,” as Elphaba escaped the Emerald City and left her best friend, Galinda ‘Glinda’ Upland (played by Ariana Grande-Butera), to become ‘Glinda the Good,’ a pinkly-dressed faux-witch and key representative of the Wizard of Oz (played by Jeffrey Goldblum) and his empire. The film sees our main duo step into their roles as opposing forces, hoping for reconciliation and a better future for Oz, with Elphaba being particularly focused on improving the rights of animals and anyone else who may lose their ability to speak up as a result of the Wizard’s regime. 

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Wicked (2024) | REVIEW

Ariana Grande-Butera and Cynthia Erivo in WICKED — PHOTO: UNIVERSAL PICTURES (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Jon M. Chu — Screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox.

Sometimes I like to think of myself as an ‘unrealized musical theater kid,’ since I do, and always have, enjoyed performances, musicals, and whatnot but didn’t really have school programs or friends to help steer me in a fulfilling direction when I was younger. As such, it sometimes feels like I’m behind on a couple of musical theater touchstones that I undoubtedly would’ve loved when I was younger. Although I knew of “Defying Gravity,” through, I think, Glee, Wicked has been a little bit of a blind-spot for me, despite my love and appreciation for The Wizard of Oz. In early 2024, I did express some doubt about this entire big-screen adaptation project of the musical theater phenomenon, as the adaptations of Cats and Dear Evan Hansen appeared to have only lessened the reputations of those shows. So, I openly asked, on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, if this was something people actually wanted to see? Wicked die-hard fans were quick to respond with a clear and obvious ‘yes.’ Now that I’ve seen the big-screen adaptation, I can happily say that I totally get the excitement. Although I, admittedly, don’t think it’s perfect or the best movie musical of the last ten years, I found Wicked to be utterly delightful. I understand why it is, ahem, popular.

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