On Monday, Miss 5 and I made the trek out to Karrinyup for the Perth premiere of Wicked.
The foyer was overflowing with Perth’s glitterati robed in pink tulle and green satin, liberally applying champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
Some stopped for a quick pap snap before phones were dutifully sealed in tamper-proof evidence bags to avoid a leak.
The pomp before the opening credits certainly created a mood, but as a ‘musical theatre kid’ I came dressed in my scepticism suit.
Would this movie do justice to a beloved musical that had endured on Broadway for two decades?
Could Ariana Grande hold a hot pink candle to the popularity of Kristin Chenoweth?
Could Cynthia Erivo defy gravity like Idina Menzel?
(As an aside, both OG musical stars make a fun cameo in the film.)
Without any more grandstanding on my part, the answers were: yes, (surprisingly) yes, and hell yes!
For those who aren’t familiar with the plot of Wicked, it’s a revision of the Wizard of Oz which explores the foundation story of the witches.
Before those ruby red slippers marched their way triumphantly down that yellow-brick road, a green-faced and universally outcast Elphaba (who would later take on the mantle of the Wicked Witch of the West) is adventitiously recruited to Shiz University and paired with the very blonde, and universally adored Galinda (later referred to as Glinda the Good).
After duetting about their mutual loathing of one another, the two strike up an unlikely friendship. And they pair up when Elphaba, whose sorcery is growing exponentially, is invited to meet with the Great Oz in the Emerald City.
Without penning any more spoilers, I’ll just leave it with: sometimes it pays not to meet your heroes.
Wicked is based on a book by Gregory Maguire and is actually a not-so-subtle allegory about fascism. It explores how the powerful retain their stranglehold over power by weaponising difference.
The musical is a wisp of fairy floss in comparison to the dark messages in the book.
But the brilliance of this movie is it has somehow combined the best of both worlds; there’s light and shade in equal portions.
What I didn’t realise about this movie before Monday is it has been split into two parts.
Part one ends on a riveting climax, both narratively and musically.
The garish house lights were switched on before I had a chance to hide the hot mess that final scene left me in.
I can’t promise musical haters will fall under its spell. But as a lover of the genre, I think Jon M. Chu has created something that will go down as one the greatest movie adaptations of a musical of all time.
I can’t wait for the finale, which is due to be released after a 12 month intermission. And Miss 5 concurs.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Rated: PG
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Released in cinemas nationally on Thursday, November 21.
