: (Stephen Schwartz/John Powell) The long,
winding, yellow brick road leading to the 2024 movie adaptation of
began with the 1900 book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and
its successors, the 1939 movie,
, a 1995 novel
concentrating on the Wicked Witch of the West, and finally a 2003 stage
musical, "Wicked." Each of these points in the journey has proven
immensely popular, and the "Wicked" musical earned over a billion
dollars and passed even the stalwart "The Phantom of the Opera" in the
all-time charts. A movie adaptation being inevitable, Universal and the
filmmakers went to painstaking lengths to work with original composer
and lyricist Stephen Schwartz to translate the tale to the screen.
Loyalty to the stage production was the paramount concern, and
Schwartz's heavy involvement in guiding the transition led to important
scripting decisions that successfully retained the integrity of the
musical. With the mass-marketed movie adaptations of
sacrificing (for some,
fatally) the quality of particularly the vocals in favor of preferred
actors,
, which remains a gold standard of popular stage-to-screen
expansions. Unlike the other productions, this one broke its narrative
between two films,
the following year
aiming to broaden the story a bit to fill out the narrative's second
half to justify another feature film. While Schwartz teased that two new
songs would be written for
, the core group of
songs from the first half of the musical would remain intact for
, with one notable song expansion. To help flesh out the
considerable underscore needed to connect the songs, veteran composer
John Powell was hired to provide over an hour and a half of score
material, a somewhat stunning amount of supplementation even when
considering that the movie contains almost wall-to-wall music.
For these high-profile assignments, Powell has lived by
the mantra of "don't fuck it up," and while he has faced ski-high
expectations in the
sequels, nothing can compare with the fanaticism over the
music for "Wicked" from the stage. Powell's role in this equation may
fly under the radar for many mainstream listeners, as almost all of his
music is based in some degree upon Schwartz's iconic tunes. But the
needs of the film are vastly different from those of the stage musical,
especially in the size and scope of the music, and Powell's involvement,
along with that of the orchestration team, is pivotal to inflating the
sound of the play for cinematic depth. Remember, most stage productions,
even the large-scale ones, have only a minimally-proportioned pit
orchestra, often with 20 to 30 players. They are heavily dominated by
pop music regulars on guitars, keyboards, and drum kits. Whereas the
aforementioned stage productions of "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Les
Misérables" pushed the boundaries of pit orchestra presence
(aided by overlays as needed), "Wicked" on stage is a more contemporary
musical experience in that its instrumental backing is less impressively
scoped. The filmmakers for
recognized that the equation
needed vastly broadened in his case, and the combination of significant
re-orchestration of the songs and the robust size of Powell's score
yield an almost completely different listening experience for the whole.
In theory, pushing the ensemble towards 125 players of the London
Symphony Orchestra can arguably improve any popular musical recording,
and the adaptation of
proves this idea unquestionably.
Casual listeners that rejected the stage musical because it sounds badly
underpowered in the instrumental backing will encounter a film version
that is absolutely immense, but it's one that doesn't completely lose
the more modern instrumental elements in the songs. The demeanor of the
entire affair is faithfully preserved while achieving this incredible
transformation in size, and for that achievement alone,
deserves a second chance from Powell's skeptical, longtime film score
collectors.
are
a blend of longing character ballads, comedy pieces, and cast ensemble
expressions of fear and joy. Because the musical has been split into two
films, some of the material integral to the overall narrative isn't sung
in the first film even if Powell very smartly incorporates it into the
score. Foremost in this regard is the closing song, "For Good," which is
so important to the musical that it helms the sequel film's title. In
the first and second-half splits, "Wicked" has sometimes been described
as expressing its emotions like "Fiddler on the Roof," famously
conveying all of its truly attractive and humorous songs in the first
half while the second half is largely defined by despair. In truth, that
dichotomy in "Wicked" isn't quite as heartbreakingly tough as it is in
"Fiddler on the Roof," but listeners encountering this soundtrack for
the first time will need to recognize that
will contain
most of the "fun" of the overall narrative. One critical element of
"Wicked" that remains from the play is Schwartz's absolutely riotous
lyrics. While a few listeners may take offense to the intentional
creation of new words as a tool of humor, there are countless rhymes of
near-brilliance in Schwartz's songs. (For those still trying to recover
from the hideously juvenile lyrics of
is infinitely superior.) The composer's
creative use of progressions in the songs sometimes causes syllables to
carry between multiple notes or straddle them in unusual ways, led by
the song "Popular." Interestingly, what "Wicked" always lacked was one
dynamite song that could dominate air waves, its songs supported by
their overall quality but none of them total showstoppers. (Some will
argue that "For Good" was meant to be that identity, but even it
couldn't quite reach that level.) Not surprisingly, that trait carries
over to the songs in the film, and it also inhabits Powell's score as
well. Despite being of incredible quality with countless remarkable
moments, the score doesn't have one memorably overwhelming cue, its
appeal resting in the consistently high quality from start to finish,
matching Schwartz's songs in that regard.
, per typical in any musical,
carry much of the narrative. The novel uniquely conveyed the Wicked
Witch of the West as the misunderstood hero, the Wizard of Oz and his
accomplices using her as a convenient scapegoat when she refuses to
assist them in subjugating the animal population of the land. In the
first half of the tale carried in this movie,
opens in the
present as the people of Oz celebrate the witch's purported death. As
the news is confirmed by the Wizard's spokeswoman, Glinda, the
townspeople compel her to tell of the backstory of the witch. In
reality, that witch, Elphaba, is a regular young woman like any other
despite being green, and by humorous circumstances at a university
strangely called Shiz, Glinda and Elphaba are accidental roommates.
That's terribly distressing to the super-popular Glinda, but despite
hating each other at first, they eventually become good friends. Upon
the discovery of Elphaba's powers, she is summoned to the Emerald City
by the Wizard via the sorcery professor at Shiz, Madame Morrible.
Elphaba and Glinda make the journey together and find realities and
motives far different from what they expected, setting up the action
involving the original tale of Dorothy Gale in the sequel film.
Thankfully, when casting for the adaptation, the filmmakers hired
accomplished singers in Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for the lead
roles. Erivo's task was more difficult, as she had to compete with Idina
Menzel as the original stage Elphaba, and few will ever be able to match
the resoundingly gravelly tone of Menzel's voice. Grande does a better
job of emulating the perky, spirited manner that Kristin Chenoweth
brought to Glinda in the play, albeit with less sass, and her
performances here are sublime. (Grande and Chenoweth don't rival the
duel between Patti LuPone and Madonna for
, but that was an
extraordinary case.) Jonathan Bailey as the princely love interest
acquits himself well in his limited role. Unfortunately, neither Jeff
Goldblum nor Michelle Yeoh can sing anywhere near their stage
counterparts, Goldblum embarrassing to an extent that one can only hope
that he ups his game for the song "Wonderful" in the sequel. Yeoh lacks
the sinister edge that Carole Shelley brought to the stage role.
One of the obvious pitfalls of reviewing a musical like
Wicked is that the songs and score often interact in
unpredictable fashion and are rarely released on album in ways that
match the chronology of the film. That situation is exacerbated in
Wicked because many of the songs, including "Dancing Through
Life," "Popular," and "Defying Gravity," are presented in split scenes
that require score cues to exist in between sections of the song. These
spoken interludes aren't long enough to qualify the latter portions of
the song as reprises; these songs simply transition between spoken and
sung words at a whim. This circumstance causes the songs and score to
become truly inseparable for those seeking a total sense of narrative
flow. Certainly, casual enthusiasts of the play will gravitate towards
the song album of a core 54 minutes while Powell's followers will
appreciate the 78-minute score-only companion album. For completists,
however, Universal released online an awards "for your consideration"
(FYC) promotional presentation of 92 minutes of the score. In much of
the music that appears on both the commercial score album and the FYC
alternative, the cues are largely the same. But just as the FYC
presentation contains additional whole cues, it also expands several of
them and provides the interludes heard during the songs as separate cues
rather than the suites they are arranged into on the commercial score
album. Some of the FYC or score album cues contain alternate passages
within them, too, so for completists, any full presentation of music
from
Wicked will require a combination of the commercial song and
score albums and a dozen unique cues from the FYC promo, along with a
bonus instrumental cue, "Ozdust Duet," that is featured on expanded
versions of the song album. Such a playlist results in over two and a
half hours of music, and this full playlist is what this review will
cover from here forward. The review will not cover the supplemental
sing-along album that removes the primary vocals from the core 11 songs
but leaves the cast ensemble chorus in the mix. Score collectors may
find interest in that particular album, however, because the
orchestrations in the songs, helmed by Jeff Atmajian, are impressive in
parts, especially in the softer ballads.
Before launching into a chronological examination of the
impressive adaptation for
Wicked, an overview of the thematic
tapestry must be covered. Schwartz is a leitmotific writer inherently,
so his songs tend to contain phrases that carry over multiple times in
the play. But with Powell's involvement, this dedication to themes is
elevated to the extreme. Obviously, each of the songs contains its own
primary and, in some cases, secondary melodies, and these transition to
the score extensively. Some of these references in
Wicked are
keen foreshadowing of songs in
Wicked: For Good, including the
opening phrasing (and in particular the first four notes) of "For Good,"
which becomes a main theme of the whole narrative for Powell. Beyond
these blatant song references, however, you hear several vital ideas
that both Schwartz and Powell develop from specific, small pieces of the
songs. Schwartz refers to the opening bars of "No One Mourns the Wicked"
as the "wicked witch theme," and this idea occurs as the mob hysteria
builds in the story. (Incidentally, the actual melody of "No One Mourns
the Wicked" translates really compellingly to the score in several
places, far lovelier than one might expect.) Most impressive is a "new"
theme for Madame Morrible based on the sequence at 0:08 into "The Wizard
and I" ("Many years I have waited..."), and this adaptation into the
score by Powell is sheer brilliance. Its use as a beautiful, lush
representation of goodness carries through most of the film until the
character's true nature is revealed at the end, at which point Powell
abruptly shifts it into a menacing choral march. Meanwhile, a friendship
theme is based on the phrase at 1:27 of "What is This Feeling?" ("Every
little trait...") and helps define later moments of reconciliation
between the two leads, Elphaba and Glinda. A surprisingly pretty destiny
motif for Elphaba, the Wicked Witch, is termed "Elphaba's Green Toy" by
Powell himself and is built from the sequence of "No One Mourns the
Wicked" that states "Goodness knows the wicked's lives are lonely." A
dark magic motif primarily for Elphaba also accesses the first four
notes of "For Good" but is twisted for a more suspenseful intent. A
theme for the Grimmerie book is a disguised version of "Something Bad,"
offering a women's choir like the Enfys Nest material in
Solo: A
Star Wars Story against skittish
The Call of the Wild
strings.
Less obviously connected to the songs are four other
motifs that Powell utilizes throughout his score for
Wicked.
Among them are separate motifs of empathy and happiness for Elphaba,
along with a fanfare representing the concepts of wonder and the hopes
of a new life. Emerging late is a flying monkeys motif that builds upon
Powell's outstanding use of staccato puffs of trumpets for the perceived
threat that animals pose to humanity. Before the ostinato representing
the actual monkey motif gets rolling in the action portion of the story,
the composer applies these trumpets in "Dillamond Detained"
("Replacement Teacher") and "Hall of Grandiosity" as excellent tools of
nerve. Schwartz and Powell both offer tributes to themes of the past
that are associated with this story in fantastic hints as well. A
specific motif coined by Schwartz that doesn't occupy a song unto itself
but is littered throughout the musical is an "Unlimited" theme, often
carried by that word in the lyrics. Although it utilizes different
spacing in between its notes, this idea is built from the first 7 notes
of the "Over the Rainbow" song by Harold Arlen for the 1939 movie, and
Schwartz has amusingly noted in the past that seven notes is the
technical maximum before plagiarism can be claimed. Also referencing the
Arlen music from
The Wizard of Oz is Schwartz's "Thank Goodness"
song set to debut in the second film, pulling phrasing from "You're Off
to See the Wizard" even though a train is the method of passage here
rather than the yellow brick road, which doesn't exist at this point in
the narrative. As a side reference, likely by Powell alone, the sequence
at 1:55 to 2:12 into "Hall of Grandiosity" is awfully similar, though
eerie in style, to the "wish upon a star" sequence from "Over the
Rainbow" on choir as well. All of these nuggets make for a
spectacular homage to musicals past, obviously with the 1939 movie at
the forefront, and Powell manages to oblige this style of careful
appreciation with open-hearted enthusiasm in the score. While his
contribution may be guided by Schwartz's melodies throughout, and some
presentations of those themes are directly tied to the orchestrations of
the songs, there is no doubt that
Wicked is a distinctively
Powell work. It combines countless facets of his orchestral and choral
style to remind at times of
How to Train Your Dragon,
Solo: A
Star Wars Story, and
The Call of the Wild, all fantastic
works.
For listeners only interested in Powell's instrumental
portion, the commercial score-only album is highly recommended even if
you have no interest in identifying and absorbing all of the Schwartz
melodies. The narrative survives surprisingly intact in just the score
by itself because of all the development of the songs within. More
importantly, the quality of writing is simply outstanding regardless of
the adapted material. The full orchestra is supplemented by the
composer's usual preference for robust percussion, this time weighted a
bit more heavily towards the lighter end such as chimes for the element
of magic. Flutes are an almost omnipresent representation of Glinda's
fussiness. A solo violin offers timeless friendship. The aforementioned
trumpet puffs for animals are excellent. Piano provides warm tones
alongside the metallic percussion. More contemporary acoustic guitar
contributes at times, and you hear a few sparing moments of augmentation
with synthetics, but the outright pop-oriented pit orchestra elements
that carry over to the songs are not present to any great degree in the
score. (Straight instrumental renditions in the score sometimes stray
that direction, as in the extension of "Dancing Through Life" in "Ozdust
Duet.") The score may take some time to really kick the listening
experience into high gear for some Powell collectors, but it supplies
the goods in the adventuresome swells of the train sequence (from "Ozian
invitation" to "Sendoff"/"Train to Emerald City") and forceful action of
the final chase sequence (from "Levitation"/"Transformations" to "Monkey
Mayhem"), the latter strongly resembling the imposing dragon and villain
material from the
How to Train Your Dragon sequels. It's
fascinating to hear Powell filter Schwartz's set of themes through his
own voice, especially as the yearning element harkens back to the
bittersweet romance and betrayal tones in
Solo: A Star Wars
Story. Between the chimes and light choral shades in a clue like
"His Ozness/Yellow Brick Road" ("A Wizard's Plan"), Powell excels at
translating the magical element of the tale into his work, the whimsy
not completely lost even if you know that nothing in the Emerald City's
leadership is what it actually seems. While technically an adaptation,
the score is a quintessential Powell work. Look no further than the
book-reading portion of "The Grimmerie" to know that you hear Powell's
voice despite the "Something Bad" theme coming from Schwartz.
From here, an analysis of the soundtrack as it appears in
the film and on all three combined and sorted album presentations
follows. Track titles will default to the FYC promo as per Powell's
likely original intentions, though the commercial score album's merging
of those cues will have their titles referenced in each case as well.
The movie opens with a preview of the aftermath of the Wicked Witch's
melting, Powell stirring anticipation via ominous tones and the dark
magic motif at 0:09 into "Opening Build," an FYC-only cue. The ensemble
song "No One Mourns the Wicked" provides the Muchkintown citizens
celebrating in usual stage layers of vocals, though the song opens with
the Wicked Witch theme that is destined to bookend the whole narrative.
Elphaba's destiny motif from the score debuts during Glinda's gorgeous
interlude sequence. That song is interrupted at the six-minute mark in
the film by a flashback to Elphaba's childhood scored with the FYC-only
cue "Green Childhood." It includes a creepy reference to the "Unlimited"
theme at 0:25 as the horror of the green baby is seen by the parents. A
sad rendition of the main "No One Mourns the Wicked" melody follows at
0:46, supplanted by Elphaba's happiness motif at 1:05 for her sisterly
interactions and the dark magic motif at 1:46 for her revenge against
taunting kids. The final 90 seconds of the "No One Mourns the Wicked"
song then completes the scene. With the movie shifting permanently to
the flashback at the outset of "Glinda's Entrance" ("Arrival at Shiz
University"), the introduction of Shiz University via its river is
treated by two teases of the "For Good" song melody from the second
film, using varied woodwinds and choir at 0:07 and 0:26. The "Unlimited"
theme at 0:43 ebulliently precedes the "Dear Old Shiz" song melody at
0:50, the official representation of the university. It leads directly
into the wonder/new life fanfare at 1:03 and, as Glinda steps off her
boat with all her ridiculous pink luggage, the charming tones of
"Popular" commence at 1:21. After a quick shift back to the present, the
choral anthem in "Dear Old Shiz" is the ensemble representation of the
song. With a humorous orchestra hit to punctuate the start of "Our
Heroes Meet," Powell delicately previews "No One Mourns the Wicked" on
surprisingly upbeat tones at 0:21, doing the same at 0:38 for the
forthcoming song, "What is This Feeling?" It's tough to escape "Popular"
for Glinda's obnoxiously persistent attitude, though, and Powell returns
to it at 0:52 in its bubbly form.
In "Go With Her" ("Nessarose"), a soft oboe reminder of
"Dear Old Shiz" yields to Elphaba's destiny motif that also represents
"No One Mourns the Wicked," appropriate for Elphaba's father's mandate.
The subsequent "Meet the Faculty" combines with "Glinda's Entrance"
("Arrival at Shiz University") to form a splendid suite of material for
the school. Elphaba's happiness motif delicately opens "Meet the
Faculty," followed at 0:36 by the "Dear Old Shiz" melody. With the
introduction of Madame Morrible at 1:18 comes the lovely interpolation
of her theme from "The Wizard and I," and this wonderfully lush
treatment continues at 1:45 and 2:02, the latter utilizing Powell's
elegant piano tendencies. The wonder/new life fanfare returns at 2:40
but cannot escape the meandering flute and chimes of "Popular" at 2:58
as Glinda incessantly pesters Madame Morrible. In "The Other
Daughter/Wheelchair/Volunteering" ("Elphaba's Power"), the dark magic
motif explodes from the full ensemble as Elphaba's capabilities cause
havoc at Shiz. Madame Morrible covers for this accidental show of force,
however, yielding another soothing rendition of the Morrible theme at
1:44. The dark magic motif returns in that cue at 2:32, however, as
Elphaba admits to being unable to control her powers, the usage skirting
its inspiration in "For Good" at this juncture. The song "The Wizard And
I" offers Yeoh in tones not quite creepy enough to suffice, though the
underlying orchestrations supply that subtle threat. Erivo's rendition
of Marrable's theme is playfully innocent and pulls her into the actual
melody of the song, which is strongly aspirational. The drum kit
presence in this song may offend the score's enthusiasts, but the
electric bass and drum kit are well integrated into the orchestra. The
song also formally introduces the "Unlimited" theme and its underlying
ostinato at 3:52, as well as previews of "Defying Gravity" near the end.
The lyrics in the song are remarkable, the pairing of "degree" and
"verdigris" from Schwartz particularly astonishing. After a lighthearted
reminder of "Dear Old Shiz" at the start of "Reluctant Roomates" ("How
to Loathe Your Roommate"), Powell lays into the prancing references to
"Popular," replacing the flute with celeste at 0:25, 1:13, and 1:34.
Hints of the chords in "What is This Feeling?" at the end of that cue
shift into that actual song and its undeniable humor and excessive
references to loathing and detestation thereafter, including its famous
single-word "blonde" joke.
The score cue "Off to Class" that follows "What is This
Feeling?" is only available on the FYC promo and opens with the
"Unlimited" ostinato before tackling the primary phrase of "The Wizard
and I" at 0:14. Sadly, the sound quality of this cue is suspect, the low
synthetic keyboarding oddly mushy. In "History Lesson," Powell provides
a singular suspense atmosphere until referencing the Wicked Witch theme
at 1:37 and 2:33, succeeded by a return to reality with Elphaba's
empathy motif at 3:02. The composer's suspense voice is put to the test
once again in "Levitate the Coin," assured by Madame Morrible's theme at
0:41, 1:00, and 1:45. The "Elphaba Follows/Something Bad/Tea With
Dillamond/You'd Better Go" cue on the FYC presentation is missing some
of its midsection on the commercial score track "All Around Something
Bad," and the song "Something Bad" is interspersed into this sequence as
well, making its experience on album haphazard. On the longer, FYC film
version of the cue, though, Powell follows a preview of the "Something
Bad" melody with some compelling suspense driven by rolling piano and
anticipatory bass chords. The "Something Bad" references in the cue
continue at 1:19 and 1:39. The goat's "Something Bad" song is comprised
of two parts, Elphaba joining for the second portion; it's too short to
really qualify as a major song in the story, and that's a bit
unfortunate given its attractively melancholic melody. (The pairing of
"paws" and "pause" is another smirk-inducing rhyme.) Powell's choral
comedy awaits in "Fiyero Meets Elphaba/Glinda Readies/Book Place"
("Prince Fiyero of Winkie Country/The Book Place"), Fiyero consistently
represented in the story by the "Dancing Through Life" melody. The long
score cue opens with a reminder of "No One Mourns the Wicked" on
woodwinds at 0:32 and debuts the "Dancing Through Life" theme at 1:08
before launching right into a silly choral rendition of "Dear Old Shiz"
with electric guitar in tow. Whimsical performances of "Dancing Through
Life" on strings represent the book-hating library scene at 1:44 and
2:17. The retro "Dancing Through Life" song is the early 1980's
throwback to Schwartz's heyday, and its style and book mutilation on
screen may represent the film's most offensive scene despite
outrageously inventive choreography. The first 5:45 of the song is split
from the remainder with the FYC-only "Glinda Prepping" in between, that
cue's dominance by the melody of "What is This Feeling?" carrying over
briefly to the final three minutes of "Dancing Through Life."
The eerie piano solo opening "Elphaba's Entrance" (the
first half of "Elphaba at Ozdust") was changed from a more dramatic
moment of synthetic and choral pulses on the score album version of the
cue, "Dancing Through Life" present in both versions faintly but "No One
Mourns the Wicked" punctuating only the commercial score album version.
The FYC cue "The Hat/Humiliation Together" (second half of "Elphaba at
Ozdust") makes two uses of Elphaba's destiny motif (0:09 and 1:36),
again on solo piano only heard on the FYC version. The dance sequence
between Elphaba and Glinda is treated to a contemporary instrumental
version of "Dancing Through Life" heard only in the "Ozdust Duet" bonus
track on the expanded digital offering of the song album, again using
piano as the centerpiece of the moment. With the friendship between the
two leads cemented, "Sharing Secrets" provides an interesting preview of
the melody from "I'm Not That Girl" at 0:12, taking the idea to somber
depths prior to a hopeful harp rendition of "For Good" at 1:01. The
friendship theme, extended out of a sequence in "What is This Feeling?,"
is beautiful at 1:22, though even this charming celeste moment can't
escape a return of a hint of "Popular" at 1:46. The enduring "Popular"
song is broken into two halves with a score cue in between. The first
three minutes of the song is the core that will drive masculine dudes
crazy, but Grande's writhing performance, aided by bass saxophone and
piano coolness, is excellent. The "Look at You" cue in the middle opens
with a slower string version of the "Popular" melody and slowly
transitions to "For Good" by 0:38 for additional warmth. The last minute
of the "Popular" song then follows as a quick reprise with its big brass
flourishes. The film shifts towards its true conflict from there,
"Dillamond Detained " on the FYC album containing about a half minute of
material at its outset that is not present on the score album's
"Replacement Teacher." The shorter version omits the multiple remainders
from "Popular" and another preview of "I'm Not That Girl" (at 0:23). At
1:01 into the longer track, Powell hints back at "Something Bad" as the
goat professor is arrested in class. A minor-mode rendition of the
Madame Morrible theme at 1:17 smartly suggests her involvement even
though she isn't in the scene. The Wicked Witch theme at 1:32 supports
that dread. Later in the somber cue, the "Unlimited" theme's ostinato
mingles with an allusion to the monkey motif at 2:42 that continues for
most of the remainder. Elphaba's magic material then takes a lofty
fantasy tone for the spell sequence.
As the future cowardly lion in the Dorothy phase of the
story is saved in "Cub Rescue," Powell shifts the "Something Bad" melody
into a positive moment of exhilaration at 0:33, with "The Wizard and I"
suggested in the movement of 1:06 as Elphaba pledges to set the animal
persecution straight with the Wizard. As Fiyero and Elphaba bond after
the rescue, "Forest Feelings" delicately previews "I'm Not That Girl" at
its start and several times after 0:55, with a snippet of "Dancing
Through Life" thrown in at 0:31. That cue's orchestrations lead directly
into the sung version of "I'm Not That Girl." Erivo's performance here
is actually more empathetic than Menzel's, and the instrumentation
refrains from any pop inclinations, remaining rooted in the piano and
strings. The adventure portion of the score begins with "Ozian
Invitation" and "Train Station" ("Ozian invitation/Galinda Becomes
Glinda"), the "Unlimited" ostinato leading into a crescendo of fantasy
that boils down to a music box performance of "Wonderful," the song the
Wizard and Elphaba will sing in the second film. The "No One Mourns the
Wicked" melody at 0:51 becomes lushly supported by strings, flowing into
the hope of "The Wizard and I" at 1:44 and the Madame Morrible theme at
2:01, all of it lovely. (The score album breaks the rest of the cue off
into "Galinda Becomes Glinda," but this analysis will continue with the
combined FYC track.) The wonder/new life fanfare enjoys a buoyant
performance at 2:27 for the full ensemble, dissolving down to several
renditions of "I'm Not That Girl" at 3:07, 3:31, and 4:05 as the leading
ladies hover around Fiyero at the train station. Once the train and all
its steampunk gears get moving, Powell dives into the previews of "Thank
Goodness" at 5:00 and in fanfare mode at 5:42, where the historical
"follow the yellow brick road" connections may be made. During the train
journey in "Sendoff" ("Train to Emerald City"), another continuation of
"I'm Not That Girl" opens the cue softly and transitions into the "For
Good" song's backing at 0:24. The friendship theme lets loose on solo
violin and then fuller group at 0:38, wrapping the moment back to "What
is This Feeling?" The massive performance of "No One Mourns the Wicked"
at 1:03 remains a fascinating repurposing of that song for bright
optimism. Powell returns again to "Thank Goodness" on flute hints and
once more in fanfare mode at 1:54, solidifying the 1939 "yellow brick
road" tribute. That extreme positivity is reinforced by the cast
ensemble song, "One Short Day," that introduces the Emerald City and all
of its glitzy glamour after the leads arrive at the dreamy
destination.
A contemporary song best seen in context rather than on
album, "One Short Day" is the only entry from the play expanded for the
movie adaptation. Schwartz added an "Emerald City Players" sequence into
the middle of the song that features a "play with a film" to convey the
backstory of Oz, the Wizard, and the Grimmerie book of spells. This
scene allowed
Wicked to collect talent from both the Broadway and
West End productions to appear in the movie, the sequence filled with
countless familiar faces for enthusiasts of the play to applaud. (Even
the book's author has a line.) The main attraction is the pairing of
Menzel and Chenoweth in this mini-play, the two humorously sparring in
their interactions on stage, each successfully trying to one-up each
other in their performances, much like their original roles as Elphaba
and Glinda. Menzel even manages to sneak in the resounding final notes
of "Defying Gravity" at 4:00 that she made famous when originating the
show, a definite crowd-pleaser. For the last 1:24 of the track, the song
returns to the formal ending of "One Short Day" like a reprise. Clouds
of darkness really emerge in the impressive "Hall of Grandiosity" from
Powell, for which the commercial score album actually contains an extra
30 seconds of material at its end compared to the FYC alternative. The
"No One Mourns the Wicked" theme again opens the cue in deceptively lush
layers, but it is interrupted by the flying monkeys theme and its
echoing trumpet lines as the leading duo encounter the blue monkeys of
the Wizard's guard. The dark magic motif foreshadows their fate at 0:50,
but Elphaba and Glinda remain positive at the hallway doors, a flute
carrying the "Unlimited" theme at 1:17 as the latter reminds the former
that together they can accomplish their mission. This optimism is
supported by a rendition of "For Good" at 1:24. The aforementioned
allusion to "When You Wish Upon a Star" is a remarkable tool of
unnerving ambience later in the cue. Several renditions of the melody
from "The Wizard and I" dominate the first two minutes of "His
Ozness/Yellow Brick Road" ("A Wizard's Plan"), Elphaba's hopes clearly
supported by the Wizard's early demeanor. Later, Elphaba's destiny motif
and her empathy motif interject at 2:54 and 3:52, respectively. The end
of this cue leads into the weakest song of the lot, "A Sentimental Man,"
for which Goldblum simply cannot compare to Joel Gray in the original
recording. (The two do have an uncanny resemblance in their inflection,
though.) The melody from "A Sentimental Man" doesn't much inform the
surrounding cues, and it causes a dead space in the narrative on screen
and album.
One of the missed opportunities in
Wicked was the
greater connection between "A Sentimental Man" and the sequence
involving Elphaba's mother's cheating in "No One Mourns the Wicked," but
that's a minor quibble. (The play and movie both make every effort to
otherwise hide the connection between the Wizard and that early scene.)
Powell really earns his pay upon the commencement of the action in the
final scenes of the film, starting with "The Grimmerie," which offers
one final lovely performance of the Madame Morrible theme as she enters
the Wizard's lair to Elphaba's delight. The theme for the Grimmerie at
0:32, accentuated by the eerie women's choir of Enfys Nest
reminiscence, is actually the "Something Bad" theme achieving its
catharsis. A brief moment of "Defying Gravity" at 1:25 accompanies
Elphaba's own realizations. The fun truly begins in "Levitation/No Real
Power" ("Transformations"), where the painful metamorphosis of the
monkeys into a winged variety after much torture is treated to both the
chords and outright melody of "Something Bad" from 0:39 onward,
culminating in a massive choral version of horror at 2:34. Letting rip
at 2:47 is the flying monkeys theme as it builds into the "Unlimited"
theme at 3:02. The "Something Bad" melody informs the lamentation at
3:15, but the flying monkeys theme returns at 3:44 as the whole guard
appears transformed and ready for instructions as winged enforcers. A
rendition of "No One Mourns the Wicked" in solace marks Elphaba's
reaction to all this chaos at 4:25, leading inevitably to the Wicked
Witch theme at 5:15. "Something Bad" returns at 5:56 on melodramatic
strings and accompanies the sadness thereafter. In perhaps the score's
most dramatic musical transformation, Powell punctuates the cue with a
performance of the Madame Morrible theme at 7:38 that has all the
hallmarks of an evil march, raising the memories of the darkest,
pounding material from the
How to Train Your Dragon films.
Focusing acutely on the flying monkeys theme is the opening of "Monkey
Mayhem/Balloon Escape," that motif smartly overlapping with the dark
magic motif at 0:24. After some unique Powell action ideas, he returns
to the "Something Bad" theme at 1:45 in pure action, the flying monkeys
theme overlapping it at 2:06, again against the dark magic motif. The
latter strays towards "For Good" in personality at 2:24 but transitions
back quickly to the monkeys theme at 2:40. At 3:07, the Wicked Witch
theme and Dark magic motif exist together in the dramatic culmination of
the scene. The twelve minutes of this action climax are Powell in top,
rambunctious form.
The "Defying Gravity" sequence that closes
Wicked is an extremely challenging one to analyze, as the song is
divided into five sections and each has a preceding score cue leading
into the next segment of the song. Of all the presentations that needed
to combine the song and score into one, ten-minute whole, "Defying
Gravity" is that climax. The FYC-only "Open Your Eyes" is a rumbling,
ascending crescendo of drama that leads directly into the opening 40
seconds of the song, "Defying Gravity." The song on album has a really
poor edit at that 0:40 mark, removing the score cue "Propaganda Speech"
(the first 1:10 of "All Around Defying Gravity" on the commercial score
album, but with a different opening), which is built upon the chords of
"No One Mourns the Wicked" on choir. The second sequence in the "Defying
Gravity" song (from 0:40 to 3:13) finally unleashes Elphaba's acceptance
of her role as reluctant villain and provides the song's main phrasing.
The score cue "The Broom" then intercedes (1:10 to 2:33 in the score
album's "All Around Defying Gravity"), the dark magic motif at 0:08 on
flutes followed by Elphaba's destiny motif at 0:16. With resounding gong
and timpani, this material reveals the Wicked Witch theme on trumpets at
0:43 and 0:55, eventually closing with a subtle reference to the
"Unlimited" ostinato. That figure leads into the "come with me" and
"Unlimited" sung sequence in the "Defying Gravity" song (3:13 - 4:21)
that briefly offers hope that Glinda will join Elphaba on her flight
away. The score cue "The Cape" (2:33 - 3:45 in the score album's "All
Around Defying Gravity") enters at this moment, reducing Elphaba's
destiny motif back to the solemn form of the Ozdust dance earlier in the
movie. A confident performance of the "Defying Gravity" theme at 1:12
(with a second statement only on the FYC presentation) sends us back to
the sequence at 4:21 - 4:50 into the song, exploring secondary phrases
before moving on to the score cue "Leap of Faith" (from 3:45 to the end
of the score album's "All Around Defying Gravity," the latter a bit
longer), which pushes back to action with a Wicked Witch theme rendition
at 0:13 for full choir and orchestra and driving moment for the "Defying
Gravity" rhythm at 0:26. Elphaba's destiny motif proceeds on choir at
0:49 and supplies the build-up to the song's final, signature passage
starting at 4:50. This is the meat of the "Defying Gravity" song, the
final three minutes following her escape with flowing cape. Erivo's
performance is defiant as necessary, working in the "Unlimited"
performances that spur her torment of the flying monkeys, the Wizard,
and Madame Morrible.
The adaptation of the culmination of "Defying Gravity"
in
Wicked, regardless of your opinion about the excessive CGI
that defines the shots of the Emerald City and its mid-air chase, is as
satisfying as anyone could have hoped. Erivo throws a bit more
inflection into the famous final notes of the song that Menzel had made
so famous. Along with the cast ensemble reprise of "No One Mourns the
Wicked" in the background, the orchestral force behind these
performances are a notable improvement, especially in the "Unlimited"
reference prior to the timpani-pounding conclusion. As a standalone
experience, the song edit is fairly decent, and the same could be said
of the four score cues combined into "All Around Defying Gravity," which
provide the score-only experience on the commercial album a solid
finish. The end credits of the movie start with a series of straight
instrumental versions of the songs, highlighted by "Popular" and
"Defying Gravity," material best accessed on the sing-along album. This
collection essentially serves as an edited overture prior to Powell's
own "End Credits" arrangement, which is an FYC-only recording. This long
assembly transitions between parts of "Ozian Invitation/Train Station,"
"Sendoff," and "Look at You" before exploring a version of the friendship
theme similar to "His Ozness/Yellow Brick Road" and wrapping with a
rather stoic performance of "Defying Gravity." Ultimately, all of this
music reveals a treatment of the source that is exceptionally
intelligent by Schwartz and Powell. Aside from the poor vocals from Yeoh
and Goldblum in their limited singing roles, the soundtrack for
Wicked is substantially flawless, one of the best adaptations
from stage to screen to ever exist. Some listeners will find fault with
how the song and score albums were edited together to separate each
listening experience. Enthusiasts of the movie will have to do some
creative editing of their own to assemble all of the available pieces, a
situation that greatly resembles that of
Moulin Rouge in 2001.
For Powell collectors,
Wicked is absolutely saturated with the
composer's mannerisms and unique voice despite working with the existing
themes. It's fascinating to hear Schwartz's longstanding themes receive
the Powell treatment beyond just the large-scale orchestration of the
songs themselves. Powell has taken Schwartz's ideas and expressed them
in amazing new directions, particularly succeeding with the Madame
Morrible theme. The FYC score album is unfortunately lossy in sound, but
the commercial score-only album represents one of the top film music
listening experiences of 2024, Powell revealing his own wizardry in
achieving the near-impossible.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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