I really, really enjoyed this! If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know the story of Wicked, it’s the prequel ‘origin myth’ for the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 classic hit motion picture The Wizard of Oz.
Before we go any further, for the avoidance of doubt… Wicked is a musical. Musicals ain’t for everyone so know thy self, okay?!
If you dig a musical though, you’re really going to enjoy this one starring Cynthia Erivo as Elpheba the green witch and Ariana Grande as Galinda the good witch of the north. Because I’m middle-aged and very uncool, I knew nothing at all about Erivo and very little about Grande before the powerhouse publicity tour for this film started filling my social media feeds a month or two ago. They are both brilliant actors and singers in this … der! Grande surprised me a little with how good her comedic chops are. I’d love to see her do more comedy roles.
Just as good with the comedic flair is Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero. Good grief that man is as handsome as hell … sorry, has a marketable face … sorry, is extremely talented and blessed with dazzling hair and cheekbones. OK I’ll stop now. (Writing this drivel, not daydreaming about that handsome face.)
I took my 20-something niece to the preview and we pondered what ages it’s suitable for. She was a kid more recently than me (surprise!) and she works with kids a lot so I trust her judgement. We both reckon it’s comfortably for 10 and up. For those younger than that, they might be ok but there’s a scary bit that I suspect would freak them out and also, at 2 hours and 41 minutes running time, it’s a big ask for littlies.
Wicked is really great, in cinemas Thursday 21 November and is rated PG. Go, go, go!