OBSESSULATED

Can ‘Wicked: For Good’ Save the Musical’s Horrendous Act 2?

The second half of the stage version of “Wicked” is notoriously weak. Does the newly released “For Good” trailer give hope that the film will salvage it?

The full trailer for Wicked: For Good is here, which means fans like myself who are obsessulated with the musical got the chance to dissect every frame and note to figure out what it all means for the second installment of the film adaptation coming out this November.

What I’ve surmised is that there’s a lot of padding needed if this Part 2 of the film isn’t going to absolutely suck.

If you’ve seen the live musical version of Wicked, you know the whole show runs 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is the length of the first movie, which ended where the musical takes intermission. The first act runs for an hour and a half, which leaves about an hour for Act 2 after intermission. That means that director John Chu & Co. are adding over an hour of new material to make a full film feature out of the second act.

I’m all for this as I’ve complained to anyone who can listen, including y’all that Wicked has some problems with the timeline and could use some expansion and explanation.

We already know there are two new songs in Wicked: For Good that don’t appear in the musical, plus some kind of prologue at the beginning called, “Every Day More Wicked.” From the titles, “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble,” which are new songs for Elphaba and Glinda respectively, we can surmise these are character and plot deepening songs (and have an added bonus of making the movie Oscar eligible for Original Song).

From the trailer, we see a bunch of new footage, notably an expansion of the “Rainbow Room” scene from the film’s teaser—which also isn’t based on anything that is in the stage show. People (I’m people) have guessed this is an expansion of “Wonderful,” which takes place in the Wizard’s throne room in the Emerald City before play’s finale.

Something I find annoying in this segment, and throughout the trailer, is how many call backs there are to the first Wicked movie (Glinda says, “Think of what we can do together”) and the original Wizard of Oz (Elphaba says “I’m off to see the wizard,” an oft-repeated phrase in the film). This tells me Chu and co are wanting us to remember how much we love the original IP (well, original adaptation of the book, Wizard of Oz) and his very successful first installment.

I think all the call backs are because Act 2 is, in my professional opinion, weak AF. There are no showstoppers like “One Short Day” or “What Is This Feeling,” and, while “No Good Deed” is gonna hit like crack, it’s not as visually exciting as “Defying Gravity.” So Chu needs to remind us that we love Wicked despite its Act 2 dramaturgical failings.

Something I know we’re going to love is “As Long as Your Mine,” the Fiyero/Elphaba duet that goes along with their brief and passionate affair. In the trailer, we see a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse of Fiyero and Elphaba floating in each other’s arms in their special woods place (not a euphemism). Flying sex! We know Jonathan Bailey and Cynthia Erivo are going to kill the vocals on this and their chemistry is great.

One interesting twist is the trailer shows Elphie and Glinda discussing the concepts of “a plan.” SPOILERS: In the musical, Elphaba and Fiyero concoct a plan to fake Elphaba’s death, which is the famous “I’m melting” scene. The musical ends with Elphaba and Fiyero about to run away from Oz. They discuss how they can’t risk telling Glinda that they’re okay, and Glinda ends the show sad and alone. Will that be changed (for good) in the film adaptation, to give us a happier ending? I’m not yet sure how I feel about that, as I do like the tragic end that befalls our Glinda due to her hubris.

Whatever changes Wicked: For Good makes which deviate from the source materials, I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re all going to love the sequel as much as the original. If nothing else, I hope the press tour is as fun.

Laura Wheatman HillFreelance Writer

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