Defying Gravity! Looking back at 20 years of ‘Wicked’ & all the stars who’ve ruled Oz
film version of the beloved international hit musical Wicked, starring pop princess Ariana Grande as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and Tony Award-winning diva Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
And that’s just part one! Director John Chu has split the film into two halves, with part two debuting Christmas of 2025.It’s long been said in queer circles that the gay appeal of The Wizard of Oz owes itself to the fact that, at its core, it’s the story of two women who want to snuff each other out over a pair of shoes.
So, it came as little surprise that in 2003 when the musical Wicked debuted on Broadway, queer audiences were happier than the Cowardly Lion getting his first makeover in the Emerald City.
After all, what gay doesn’t love a good origin story? Especially one about a misunderstood underdog with green skin who looks great in black and can skywrite from a flying broom?Based on Gregory Maguire’s best-selling 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the idea for a musical version came to veteran Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz, who read the book while on vacation in Hawaii.
