The film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked” has been long in the works and perhaps anticipated for even longer. Starring Ariana Grande (billed as Ariana Grande-Butera) as Galinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphabaslots that pay real money, it is an ornate adventure that serves as a sort of prequel to “The Wizard of Oz.” (It is also the first of two films; the second one will be released next November.)
Grande and Erivo have been praised for their performances onscreen, but they have also been performing in a parallel show, making viral magic on the press tour. The result has been a film rollout that at times feels louder than the film itself.
On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about how “Wicked” survived the transition from stage to film, how Grande and Erivo inscribed new narrative into their roles, and how the real film may well be Grande and Erivo’s public appearances.
Guest:
Joe Coscarelli, The New York Times’s pop music reporter
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