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On Friday, November 29, I went with my mom, sisters, and niece to see Wicked in theaters. I was super excited to see the movie, as I saw Wicked on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre back in 2021, right after Broadway reopened during the pandemic. We had incredible seats – if I’m remembering correctly, I believe we were in the third row! – so we were very close to the stage. I remember it being a fantastic show with incredible musical numbers that had me completely rapt with attention for the entire show. 

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wicked: Part One. Read on at your own risk! 

About the show 

Directed by John Chu, the movie stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. I was very excited about this casting and knew we were in for a good show, as both actresses are powerhouse singers with voices that can blow the roof off. 

Wicked: Part One was released nationwide on Friday, November 22, and the film currently has a 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Clocking in at two hours and 40 minutes, the movie has major star power in the form of Jeff Goldblum at the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and SNL’s Bowen Yang as Glinda’s friend Pfannee. 

Going into the show, I didn’t realize that they were splitting it into two parts. The Broadway version of Wicked is two hours and 45 minutes with a fifteen minute intermission, and the movie adaptation — which is only the first part! – clocks in at the same length! 

Upon discovering that, I was afraid that they were going to drag the movie adaptation out unnecessarily and diverge from the original story just to add extra minutes to the movie. However, I can honestly say that while they did add more scenes that weren’t originally in the Broadway production, they only enhanced the story and allowed us to get a better sense of Elphaba’s backstory, as well as the way in which Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship blossomed. 

Adaptation changes from the Broadway show

Although Wicked doesn’t alter any of the major plot points of the musical, there are some differences in the movie as opposed to the Broadway show. For one, in the Broadway play, Elphaba is also enrolled in Shiz University, along with her sister, Nessarose. In the movie, Elphaba is only there to drop off Nessarose and see that she gets settled in at her new school, but ends up impressing Madame Morrible, who later invites her to stay and take a sorcery seminar.

The scene before Elphaba gets on the train to go to the Emerald City is also extended. There is more dialogue while she waits for the train, including Glinda’s concern that Fiyero is “thinking too much” and has seemed different since Dr. Dillamond was taken away from Shiz in the middle of class. This portion of the scene comes straight from the Broadway play, but there are slight changes to the following scenes. In the movie, Elphaba decides to invite Glinda to go with her after she gets on the train and looks at a gift that Glinda gave her, while in the Broadway play, Elphaba only invites Glinda because she feels bad that Fiyero seems to be neglecting her. 

When Elphaba and Glinda make it to the Emerald City, they see a show called “Wizomania,” which details the story of how the Wizard came to be the ruler of Oz and foreshadows the importance of the Grimmerie, an ancient spell book from Oz. 

After Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard in the film, he shows them the “Oz of Tomorrow” which is a scaled model of Oz including a path that he plans to build to connect Munchkinland to the Emerald City. He asks Elphaba and Glinda for their help in choosing the color for the brick road, in which Glinda chooses yellow. This scene is not in the Broadway show, but adds a fun little detail to the film adaptation. 

The final scene is far longer as well. Instead of “Defying Gravity” being performed with only brief breaks – like it is in the Broadway play – the song is broken up into sections and intersected with additional dialogue and scene elements, making the entire “Defying Gravity” scene clock in at 14 minutes. Cynthia Erivo also changes the final battle cry note of “Defying Gravity” slightly, essentially making it her own and cementing her version of Elphaba. 

Final thoughts 

I know people are very loyal to Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel’s versions of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, and I have to say, I was a little apprehensive to see Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo take on such iconic characters. 

However, Ariana Grande completely blew my socks off as Glinda. She not only maintained the essence of the character, but also was able to make it her own. Her voice was also incredible, and I completely adored her version of “Popular,” which has been stuck in my head since seeing the movie. 

Cynthia Erivo also stunned as Elphaba. I was unfamiliar with Cynthia Erivo and didn’t realize she had such a beautiful voice! I had actual chills while she was singing “Defying Gravity.” 

I also think that Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero truly was the unsung hero of Wicked: Part One. He not only has a great voice (that I was unaware he possessed!), but he is also an incredible dancer! He truly made “Dancing Through Life” his own and I found that he outshined all of the actors in the scene when it came to the choreography. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him! 

My final consensus is that Wicked: Part One was a faithful, wonderful adaptation of the Broadway show and I would highly recommend seeing it – whether you’re familiar with the story or not! 

Wicked: Part One is playing in theaters now. Wicked: Part Two is set to be released in theaters on November 21, 2025.