As the veteran musical debuted as a new movie, fans flocked in wearing green and pink, selling out each show and breaking box office records. After 21 years on Broadway, director Jon Chu makes a breakthrough in creating the first Wicked musical movie adaptation.
Senior Sophie Gustafson, who has been part of Masco Theater for all four years, has been a fan of Wicked since she saw it for the first time at age 9. She has continued to see the show four times on Broadway in Boston.
“Even if you’re not a part of the theater community, everyone can enjoy this show,” said Gustafson.
In addition, the lead-up to the movie was noticeable with videos on Instagram and TikTok, and the hit song, Popular, playing all over the radio.
“From the clips I saw on Instagram, I felt super pumped going into the movie. I didn’t know a ton about what to expect because I avoided it on social media as much as possible so I didn’t get spoilers, but I was so excited to see it,” said Gustafson.
Like Gustafson, choral teacher Catherine Duval has also been a fan of Wicked for years. She first saw it in Boston when she was 14.
“I remember learning the songs from the cast album in preparation,” said Duval.
Unlike Gustafson and Duval, senior Danielle Hargraves was not a fan of Wicked beforehand.
“I was not a Wicked fan before the movie, and not a fan of musicals in general, but this blew me away. It was so well written and the actors were perfect for their roles,” said Hargraves.
As a choral teacher, Duval took a different approach when watching the movie, paying attention to the vocals.
“I thought as a whole the movie blew it out of the park with the vocals,” said Duval.
After watching behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, Duval was especially pleased with Cynthia Erivo’s role.
“That takes a lot of stamina, and it changes how you approach singing,” said Duval.
Despite her musical theater background, Gustafson was pleasantly surprised by Ariana Grande’s performance.
“I was nervous that she would bring her pop star personality into this,” said Gustafson, “but I was blown away by the difference in her sound between her solo career and her Glinda.”
Hargraves agreed that Glinda was the perfect role for Grande, and said that Popular was her favorite song.
“I think Ariana Grande sounded amazing. Her voice was absolutely perfect for the song,” said Hargraves.
The musical movie adaptation was almost three hours long, and only reached intermission, with Part II scheduled for release next year. However, for some, it was just the right length.
“I don’t think it was too long,” said Duval. “I think a movie with a run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes needs to earn it, and Wicked Part 1 certainly did. I was not bored for a second, even during some slower moments.”
Many Masco students and teachers have already traveled to the theater to see the movie.