“You’re not being told the whole story!” Dr. Dillamon (voice of Peter Dinklage)
Wicked is not itself the whole story, so I’m in for II. It’s that good.
While knowing The Wizard of Oz enhances your experience of Wicked, by no means is it necessary. Wicked is a rousing fairy tale stuffed with production values, like the art deco design faithfully integrated and a full retinue of eccentric characters, like Oz himself well-cast with Jeff Goldblum slightly holding back as if to let the story and visual delights take over.
Thematically the story is itself well stuffed, especially the help from my friends’ motif, where Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) go through stages of development from competitors to sisters, each in her own way. The film doesn’t allow secondary characters to develop as fully, but the two principals are satisfactory for storytelling needs.
Along the way director Jon Chu with writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox keep their eye on the diversity angle, especially verdigris Elphaba’s ostracization, which allows the characters themselves to evidence the hatred of those not the same by race or color. The most egregious example of racism is the attempt to imprison talking animals with the escape of the monkeys, who have grown wings under Elphaba’s magic.
The Land of Oz is not unlike our own SA filled with well-meaning souls like Dr. Dillamond, the professorial goat captured for speaking out. Trends today in super powers like Russia and the USA to suppress freedom of speech seem most realistic. Nevertheless, while savaging bigotry and exalting friendship are prominent, the overarching joy is the fairy tale fully alive with performers and production perfect for holiday joy for children and adults alike.
Elphaba: “No wizard that there is or was / Is ever gonna bring me down!”