We Couldn’t Be Happier that Wicked: For Good is being released this month – nearly a year to the day since Wicked: Part One came out. To celebrate, Cineworld is returning to Oz in a number of ways.
Rolling out the emerald carpet, Wicked: For Good is being released in a number of special formats, and you can even watch it a day early with a special MediCinema screening. If you want to relive Jon M. Chu’s adaptation as if it was the original Stephen Schwarz Broadway show, though, the only viable option is the Cineworld double bill.
Watch Wicked: Part One and Wicked: For Good back-to-back and relive some of the best scenes from the first part of the duology while being one of the first people to experience the cinematic version of Act 2 on release day. Here are our picks of the best Wicked scenes we can't wait to watch again on the big screen come 20th November.
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The opening scene featuring Wizard of Oz easter eggs
Don’t you love a story that starts at the end? That’s exactly how Wicked begins, with Glinda announcing to Munchkinland that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead. Before this, though, the scene is set with a flyover shot of the yellow brick road, with Dorothy – and her gaggle of friends made along the way – seemingly making the final approach to the Emerald City. We also get a shot of Elphaba’s pointy black hat abandoned on the floor with swirls of smoke coming off it.
All of these are delightful nods to the beloved characters of the Wizard of Oz and the story that it tells; a book and then film which went on to inspire Gregory Maguire’s – and subsequently Stephen Schwarz’s – Wicked.
Elphaba’s bridge in “The Wizard & I”
We’ve never felt euphoria quite like it. When Elphaba reveals her magic, Madame Morrible takes a keen interest in honing Elphaba’s abilities, filling her mind with grandeur and the possibility of realising her dream of working with Oz’s ruler, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The scene in which Elphaba performs “The Wizard & I” is beautiful, and our first time hearing Cynthia Erivo’s impressive vocals. While there are enrapturing and curious moments throughout this performance – namely Elphaba appearing to see the future of her “melting” demise – it’s the final bridge of the song that takes our breath away every time.
She’s running through a golden field, her fortunes changed with this revelation. It’s emotional, the high note is exquisite, and we’re in our feels every single time we rewatch it.
The tension in “What is this Feeling?” is gold
When Glinda is forced to share a room with Elphaba, having witnessed her magical abilities and been shunned by Madame Morrible in favour of her, she is pretty put out to say the least. Afterall, how is there possibly room for a roommate in her suite with all her essential (very pink) things?
The tension between the pair is palpable, showcased at its boiling point in their duet “What is this Feeling?” in which the pair both complain directly to each other and confide in their friends about the woes of sharing a room with someone that is so completely the opposite of who they are and what they value.
It’s such a pivotal moment that it went viral, with Ariana Grande’s book-wielding choreography blowing up on TikTok – and we’re living for every last one.
Fiyero in the library at the beginning of “Dancing Through Life”
Another social media moment, Fiyero’s choreography in “Dancing Through Life” has been recreated over and over on TikTok and Instagram, because it’s just so fun – and Jonathan Bailey looks so good while he does it! Those hips, that charm. It’s a real showcase of what Jonathan Bailey does best. He makes us so happy we could melt!
It’s also the first instance we get to hear his singing voice (unless, like us, you’d already gone down some internet wormholes looking for deep cuts of Bailey’s previous stage performances), and, arguably, one of the most iconic Wicked songs.
Glinda and Elphaba dance together at the Ozdust Ballroom
Yes, this is another mention for the “Dancing Through Life” sequence, but it’s a whole new scene – and, anyway, we make the rules around here! Because we can’t talk about the first Wicked movie and not talk about the turning point in Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship in the Ozdust Ballroom.
Glinda pretends to extend an olive branch to Elphaba by lending her a ghastly, black pointed hat, which Elphaba then turns up to the Ozdust Ballroom wearing. Her peers stare and laugh at her and Glinda is suddenly regretful.
When Elphaba begins to carry out a bizarre and awkward dance in an attempt to show she doesn’t care that she doesn’t fall into their social norms, Glinda chooses to mirror her movements and join in, the score of “Dancing Through Life” playing quietly in the background. This moment is a symbol of the unlikely friendship forming between the two women, and a celebration of difference as the rest of the crowd join in.
Fiyero and Elphaba rescue the lion cub
What we love about Fiyero is, while he may play up the “too cool for school” façade, he never uses his popularity as an excuse to shun Elphaba. Even so, the development in their relationship from acquaintances to being Elphaba's friend by proxy of dating Glinda, to Fiyero growing his own conscience is a joy to see. The moment in question happens when Elphaba and Fiyero must rescue the lion cub that has been put in a cage designed to prevent animals from learning to speak.
Having put everyone to sleep in the classroom, including dear Professor Dillamond’s replacement, Professor Nikidik, the only person that remains awake alongside Elphaba is Fiyero. The two cycle outside of Shiz in order to free the lion, and there is a moment when, scared, that the cub scratches Fiyero across the face. A tender moment ensues in which Elphaba, unthinking, puts her hand on his cheek and the two hold each other’s gaze a little too long.
While Fiyero leaves, Elphaba sings “I’m Not That Girl”, a ballad that is painfully relatable to any girl that has ever felt her feelings could never be returned simply because she does not fit the model girlfriend mould. Knowing what is to come in Act 2, though, it honestly makes us squeal!
The Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth cameo in the Emerald City
Glinda joins Elphaba on her visit to the Emerald City to meet with the Wizard. Of course, it’s as flamboyant and sparkly as you’d expect. The best bit, though, is a new addition in which the players explain the history of Oz, the Grimierie spellbook, and Oz’s saviour, the Wizard as an interlude in “One Short Day”. And the players are none other than Wicked alumni Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth – the original Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway. It’s a magical moment that officially sees Menzel and Chenoweth pass on the baton to Erivo and Grande.
Act 1’s closing with “Defying Gravity”
Look, we can’t not talk about it. It’s the most recognisable song from the musical and also one of the most climactic scenes as Elphaba must choose to play the villain in order to overpower the fraudulent Wiz and protect the animals. Meanwhile, Glinda must play her own part as the Good Witch in order to help Elphaba from the inside.
Throughout the course of the song, something must come undone between the two women as they let go of each other to go on their separate paths, with tensions rising as the Wizard’s guards attempt to enter the clock tower. And then, of course, Elphaba herself defies gravity and finds, with Cynthia Erivo delivering an incredible vocal performance, nailing the iconic high note and leaving us sat for a whole 365 days ready for Wicked: For Good.
Relive the breathtaking instalment and then sail straight into Wicked: For Good like the flying monkey that you are with Cineworld’s double bill screening on 20th November.
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