‘Wicked: For Good’: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Soar Through the Emotional Heart of Jon M. Chu’s Dazzling and Darker Second Act

Alci Rengifo

Darker and driven by grandiose feelings, “Wicked: For Good” concludes director Jon M. Chu’s stirring fantasy that, in the end, proves to have always been about the intricacies of friendship. Chu’s adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s record-breaking Broadway classic premiered its first half last year, instantly winning over audiences with its exhilarating visuals, combining contemporary sensibilities with the feel of bygone Hollywood musicals. It is important then to remember that this is not really a sequel but the concluding chapter of a whole piece. Chu did well in not attempting to condense the entire musical into one film, because “For Good” provides broader strokes and truly deeper meanings. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, so full of youthful fear and wonder in the first movie, now plunge headlong into despair.

Part one of “Wicked” ended with Elphaba (Erivo), the green-hued outsider who displayed powerful magical abilities, rejecting an offer to be the right hand of the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), after discovering the Wizard is both powerless and a tyrant. Now she is the dark clad rebel smeared as the Wicked Witch of the West by the Wizard’s mouthpiece, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). All Oz has been made paranoid by Elphaba’s exploits, which include flying in her broom to disrupt the building of the Yellow Brick Road with animal labor. She is trying to fight on behalf of the persecuted animals of Oz, as they continue to be forced to lose their power of speech to become silent subjects. Meanwhile, in the Emerald City, popular girl Glinda (Grande) has been branded as Glinda the Good, the always in pink protector of Oz. Like the Wizard’s entire regime, it’s a charade as Glinda has no actual powers and is even provided a mechanical floating bubble. Glinda’s boyfriend, Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) has also been named captain of the guard, tasked with hunting down Elphaba. The Wicked Witch will not relent, however, and is preparing for a final reckoning with the Wizard and her former best friend.

“For Good” does justice to the stage musical while also capturing more of the essence of the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, the original source for the Broadway production. As a work of pop art, the entire concept is a brilliant reimagining, and even deconstruction, of the iconography from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” (and to a lesser extent the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum). This is a glorious fantasy where the personal and political collide, often with sly humor. If the first movie was a wildly entertaining parable about friendship forming out of opposites coming together, in the form of Elphaba and Glinda, the second act is about their lives being absorbed by the situation imposed by the Wizard. Elphaba has the courage to resist and be smeared in public as a villain, while Glinda can’t turn away the prospect of immense fame. Her character, in particular, is even more richly drawn out this time around, as someone good at heart, but dominated by her insecurities. There is a wonderful flashback to Glinda’s childhood, during which we see her as a little girl (played by Scarlett Spears) celebrating a birthday party where it becomes evident (to her) that she has no actual magical abilities. The talentless student told by Madame Morrible at Shiz University is now the Wizard’s only counter to the image of Elphaba skywriting subversive messages in the clouds. 

The musical numbers also have a fresh depth. Act one has those catchy songs, like “No One Mourns for the Wicked” and the anthem “Defying Gravity.” In this second act, two new songs have even been added by Stephen Schwartz that help profile the leads so vividly. While discovering some of Oz’s animals fleeing like refugees, Elphaba now sings the haunting “No Place Like Home,” which plays on the famous phrase from “The Wizard of Oz,” while Glinda gets “The Girl in the Bubble,” a revelatory song that brings home the fact that she is not so one dimensional. Some of the familiar numbers take on new life as well, like a colorful performance of “Wonderful” by Jeff Goldblum showing off the Wizard’s megalomania as he makes a last attempt at luring Elphaba to his side. Cynthia Erivo drops a real showstopper during “No Good Deed,” which combined with Chu’s overwhelming visuals as the Wicked Witch seems to accept her menacing persona, becomes the kind of sequence that makes going to a theater worth it.

Visually, “For Good” can be as enveloping as the first movie, with nearly every frame bursting with life from the sweeping cinematography by Alice Brooks and astounding production design, costume work and visual effects. Just the wedding sequence where Glinda prepares to tie the knot with a (hesitant) Fiyero, whose feelings still ache for Elphaba, is a triumph in art direction. Yet, it would all go to waste if the screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox lost focus on the characters. Like all great fantasies, the sights are decoration for the real heart of the tale. Beneath all the songs and pomp, these personalities are brilliantly imagined with the most frail and human of actions. Nessarose Thropp (Marissa Bode), Elphaba’s paraplegic sister, is made governor of Munchkinland and doesn’t want to be judged by her sister’s actions. Her assistant is now Boq (Ethan Slater), the Munchkin who showed her some affection by taking her to a dance in the first film. She clearly loves him but alas, he still pines for Gilda despite having no chance. One desperate choice by Boq when he learns of Glinda’s wedding, combined with the arrival of Elphaba, sets off a tragic chain of events. In a tyrannical system, a broken heart near the seat of power can lead to shocking results. Familiar characters from “The Wizard of Oz” will also appear, like the Cowardly Lion (a rather underused Colman Domingo), who is traumatized from having been experimented on as a cub by the Wizard. The Tin Man and Scarecrow appear too, as they must, though now reimagined as a wounded soul or seeking revenge for the situations that brought about their condition. 

What about Dorothy, the Kansas farm girl tossed into Oz by a tornado? Of course she appears, but almost faceless, like an odd footnote, accompanied by her dog Toto. They are essentially unintended players who fall by circumstance into the conflict embroiling the land of the Yellow Brick Road. What matters is how Elphaba and Glinda will come to terms with being on opposite ends in a world ruled by one man’s propaganda. Both actors are doing career best work here, but Grande, in particular, dominates, giving Glinda dimensions we would have never imagined. She is displaying the complexities of a person, channeled through fantasy. A brilliant aspect of “Wicked” is the irony in how it profiles the origins of a “villain” while never reducing its duo to simplistic caricatures. Elphaba is driven to extremes by the cruelties she witnesses, and Glinda may become an adversary but never a mortal enemy, even when her own heart gets broken. It is the real evil of oppression and power that places the friends in tragic circumstances, leading finally to that famous encounter with Dorothy and a fatal bucket of water. How riveting it is to watch it all unfold. “For Good” caps off a great spectacle of music and storytelling, threatening to make us lose hope before closing with ecstatic cheer. Now complete, Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” is a spectacle that does feel like it defies gravity.

“Wicked: For Good” releases Nov. 21 in theaters nationwide.