Wicked: Two Points of View

Wicked, a new movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has been wildly successful and praised all over the world. Originally, the movie was a Broadway musical, famously starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. Here are two different points of view from a fan of a cast member, Nina, and a long-time musical lover, Ava.  

Nina’s review:

I didn’t know anything about the musical going into the movie theater. All I knew was that it was a prelude to The Wizard of Oz, which I'm a big fan of, and Ariana Grande was in it, and this was the reason I was going in the first place. I’ve been a huge Ariana Grande fan since I was in middle school, and I still love all of her music, so being an OG fan and seeing her in Wicked was so amazing.  It was nice to see her sing a different style of music I'm not familiar with. I was nervous that I wouldn’t like the movie because I'm not a huge fan of musicals, and I don’t really understand the musical genre hype, but I absolutely loved Wicked! The storyline was pretty easy to follow, the acting was so good, and the music was actually really amazing. I loved the enemies-to-friends plot line. I also loved the outfits and sets! I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who likes fantasy movies, musicals, or just likes good music and good movies.

Ava’s Review:

 I recently went to see Wicked and I was completely astonished. Being an active theatre kid, I was really nervous that they were not going to go full out or completely shy away from the plot, but director Jon M. Chu did not miss a beat when it came to this film. The plot was easy to follow. I watched it with my family who hadn’t even heard of the musical before the film, and they had no problem with the plot arcs. 

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande completely blew me away. I have heard Cynthia sing Broadway-style from other projects she has participated in, but this was like a completely new Ariana Grande. I was so used to hearing Ariana sing pop and act in TV shows such as Nickelodeon.  I won’t lie, I had my doubts about her as Glinda the Good, but she did not disappoint whatsoever. Cynthia and Ariana were able to blend their voices together so well, and it truly felt like they were made for these roles. Along with the rest of the cast, they truly put their heart and soul into this movie. Something I was especially super proud of when it came to music in this movie was their ensemble. A lot of times, what I've noticed in musicals being transformed into movies is the ensemble tends to get overshadowed, but the ensemble’s vocals and dance numbers were so appreciated and put another level of magic into the movie. I completely adore this movie and I am so excited for the second act to come out!