Wicked: For Good: Has It Changed For the Better? 

Beginning with the most obvious changes, Wicked: For Good includes 2 brand new songs written by Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist of the original Broadway musical. “No Place Like Home” is placed after Glinda’s speech in “Thank Goodness,” and “The Wicked Witch of the East,” where Elphaba visits her sister Nessarose. It sheds light on one of Elphaba’s most vulnerable moments before visiting her sister: losing the faith of the animals. 

The song itself is Elphaba’s message to those choosing to flee Oz, motivating them to stay and resist the Wizard’s oppressive regime. The inclusion of this song offers much-needed space between scenes, differing from the fast pace of the source script. It also includes a perspective missing from the original rendition of Act 2: the point of view of the animals! Overall, I believe this song is a worthwhile addition that aids in fleshing out the main conflict.

“The Girl in the Bubble” carries a different objective: to portray Glinda’s shift less subtly. Placed in the middle of “March of the Witch Hunters,” this track is essentially Glinda’s monologue, offering insight into the exact point at which her ideological bubble “pops!” as she is finally forced out of her cloud of ignorance. The decision to place this song in the midst of one of the movie’s darkest moments highlights how the gravity of Elphaba’s fate finally breaks Glinda. “The Girl in the Bubble” also features wonderful camerawork that utilizes the numerous mirrors found in Glinda’s abode and an outstanding vocal performance from Ariana Grande. It’s another pleasing addition that eases ambiguities found in the Broadway show.

What exactly did they change to remove the rather insensitive aspects of Nessa’s character? The scriptwriters decided to alter her request to Elphaba and further shift her focus to another character: her lover, Boq. Instead of asking Elphaba to help her walk, she requests Boq's forever love. To keep the spectacle of the original walking scene, Elphaba instead lifts her in the air with magic, in hopes of teaching her that she doesn’t need Boq to be happy. This shift in character motivation both eliminates the controversial aspects of her character and places further emphasis on her relationship with Boq, which leads to her demise.

The final major change made in For Good is the musical number “Wonderful.” In Act 2 of the musical, this song has a much larger focus on the backstory of the Wizard of Oz: how he rose to power and why Elphaba should join forces with him. For Good makes the remarkable decision to include Glinda in the performance! Diverging from the original, the movie track is much more concerned with persuading Elphaba to ally herself rather than explaining the wizard. Child Elphaba’s storytime and the extended ‘Wizomania’ in “One Short Day” had already thoroughly explained the origin of the Wizard in the movie continuity, leaving room for Wonderful to be transformed. With Glinda now featured in “Wonderful,” the reason why Elphaba buys into the Wizard’s “blarney” is much clearer to the audience in the movie version than in the musical.

While there are more differences found between Wicked: For Good and its source material, the changes and additions, both in musical numbers and character motivations, change the experience the most. Through its thoughtful use of film as a medium, Wicked: For Good improves both the pacing and clarity issues found in the original Broadway plot. The new and altered songs enrich the characters, and the “Wonderful” performance of the cast (particularly Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande) serves to create a new and memorable adaptation of Wicked. As Elphaba and Glinda would put it, Act 2 has been changed “For good.”