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MickeyJoTheatre
The hidden secrets in WICKED: FOR GOOD | Easter Eggs + References to The Wizard of Oz & the musical
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Mickey Jo Theatre
Par le tout francais, hablas espanol?
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Mickey Jo Theatre
See, for me, it isn't just that that final shot in the film made me cry because I know it made all of the musical theatre fans cry. I would say it was closer to starting a Cardiac episode that I fear hasn't necessarily subsided since. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to another Wicked Weekends video with me, Mickey Jo Theatre celebrating all things Wicked for good in the weeks after the film has finally been released in cinemas. Let us be glad, let us be grateful that we have finally had a chance to see both parts of the two part film adaptation of the Broadway musical and cultural phenomenon Wicked. But let us rejoice if I also that we now have had the opportunity, as I have been doing over the past few weekends, to really dig into all of the minutiae, the delicious details, and we can appreciate the depth and meaning and care that went into adapting this property for the screen. Care not only for Wicked the musical as a property, but also the book upon which it is based and the iconic story and iconic film adaptation upon which that is based. I am talking, of course, about L. Frank Baum's the Wonderful wizard of Oz, the MGM film adaptation, Gregory Maguire's novel the Life and Times of the Wicked, Wish of the west and the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked, all of which culminated in the two part feature film adaptation Wicked and Wicked For Good. And with that much history going into something not you, I know that monkey's looking at me. I said history. Honestly, every time. With that much history going into something like this, it is of no surprise that the film is going to be riddled with each other Easter eggs and references and meaningful homages just like the first one was. And this time last year I made a whole bunch of videos about the Wicked movie. There was one talking about Easter eggs and references. We're going to do the same thing about Wicked for Good, only this is not an exhaustive list. It hasn't been released digitally yet. I have seen it twice in cinemas and I made a note of everything that I was paying attention to. I have also reviewed the film here on social media. I've talked about changes from the second act of the musical and the perspective that I am bringing to this particular part of the conversation about Easter eggs and references and nods to other things is the perspective of a theatre fan who has seen this show more than a dozen times on three different continents around the world. Not to brag, but I have. I have seen Wicked. And so there are going to be other things in like cinematography and like classic cinema references that I won't necessarily be picking up on, but I am hoping to be able to deliver you all of the detail in terms of the stage musical references. But also, there's so much and think of this less as an entire list of every single Easter egg, but more as a starting point, a jumping off point to which you can bring anything additional that you noticed to the comments section down below. And please do let us know your favorite Easter egg from Wicked for Good, as well as any that I don't mention in this video. In the meantime, here is everything that I did notice. Strap into those broomsticks. Subscribe and turn on notifications if you haven't already. And get ready to talk about every single Easter egg in Wicked for Good. So here's how we're going to do this. I have split these into several categories, beginning with choreography and references to the first film, because most of them do exist within the choreography. But there are a couple of other things in establishing shots as well. And one of my last videos I was talking about changes from the musical to the movie. One of the biggest differences is that in the musical you're watching it on stage, there's a 15 or 20 minute intermission, depending on which country you're seeing the show in. And then you see the second act, with the first still being very familiar to you with the films. There was a one year gap before this was released, so there needs to be a little bit of work done to remind audiences of what happened in the Emerald City to Elphaba and Glinda a full year ago. So some of these details serve to remind us of things from the first film. Others just sort of playfully nod to them. One of the first shots that I noticed was Elphaba doing this familiar thing where she pulls her hair across the back of her neck. She did it as she was approaching Shiz University for the first time. She was about to meet Glinda and it was sort of this green fish out of water situation for her. She does it as she is flying around trying to halt the construction on the yellow brick road. And the link in terms of cinematography is that I believe in both of these instances, this is the moment when we see Cynthia as Elphaba for the first time in each film. We see the back of her head and her moving her hair out of the way moments before we see her face for the first time in each movie. Now, around the same time, we have an introductory sequence that cuts between various different scenes songs. One of these musical moments added for the film reprises the melody from what is this feeling? As they sing Dearest Glinda, you are still there Best ba ba ba ba. And that's not the only thing they're appraising, because this moment of choreography when they're all holding books and moving towards the camera in sort of a pack down a corridor doing what I would call TikTok choreography, certainly choreography that they are hoping people would replicate on. TikTok is incredibly familiar of the viral book TikTok Dance from a later part of the song in the first film when they were doing Loathing for Forever Loathing. Truly, deeply. I would recreate it for you here if I had just any dance skill whatsoever. Oh, that's not what you watch these for. You watch these to listen to me talk for an extended period of time while wearing something thematic. Carrying on when Elphaba and Glinda do finally reconcile in Wicked for good, one of their first interactions with each other is in the song Wonderful. And there is an extended dance break and they end up in potentially sapphic rainbow lighting. Read into that as much as you would like to. During which they replicate a couple of pieces of Choreography from their dance together at the Ozdust Ballroom the night that they finally became friends. They're giving it this with the elbow. They're giving it the little hand wave on the head, which was an emotional moment in the first film when it was brought back, the hand wave, because they did it a couple times. I for sure thought that that was going to be something they would use when they say goodbye to each other at the very end of the film. But no, we only see it in a happy context here, a happy, potentially lesbian context. Choose your own adventure on that one. And there are lots of other visual references to the first film. There were lots of Emerald City establishing shots with the green train approaching it in the first movie. And the second one, we have the same thing, but with a pink train as they're singing about Glinda, because she is this new personality that they're celebrating very much alongside the wizard of Oz and not instead of him, but it's to illustrate that they are falling in love with her and everything. Pink represents Glinda in this world. There are more things that we could point out between the two, but you know how much of it is an Easter egg, really, and how much of it is just plot. One thing I do want to talk about is costuming, the work of Academy and Tony Award winner Paul Tazewell. And you better believe that there is detail in this costuming. I spoke in my review about the tailoring of Elphaba's outfits and how the texture on all of them sort of resembled the bristles of a broomstick. Even her hat and the way that it's constructed, sort of tied together and splaying out. Splaying, good word. But it's actually Glinda's outfit from Wicked for good that I really want to focus on. And it's the one with the pluffy sleeves, the iridescent one, the one that is sort of pastel shades. And this got toured around. I managed to see it in London and in New York on display. And it sort of reads as lavender on screen, but if you get up really close to it, you can see that that is achieved through blue and pink sequins simultaneously. Paying tribute to the iconic pink Glinda dress worn by Billy Burke in the wizard of Oz movie, and the blue Dior esque Glinda bubble gown worn originally by Kristin Chenoweth in the Broadway production. Glinda famously swapped colours. I can't recall if that was because of licensing, because there's only so much from the wizard of Oz. That they were able to recreate in Wicked on stage. Same with Wicked on screen. We will talk about that later, believe me. Or whether it's just that Kristin Chenoweth simply looks better in blue. In any case, this was a design choice dedicated to both of the dresses simultaneously, with the hopes that it would make all the fans happy. Because you best believe people have strong opinions about whether it ought to be a blue or a pink ball gown. Meanwhile, Elphaba's out here just trying to survive in black. Now, this one has been talked about a lot on social media, which is how I know about it. I still didn't manage to catch the frame. I'm gonna have to wait until I can see the film again and then pause it at this moment. But there is a moment before Defying Gravity happens in the first movie when Glinda and Elphaba are being chased by the Mon monkeys and a monkey tears Glinda's pink jacket from her. Allegedly, that monkey not only still has that jacket in the second film, but is actually wearing it like a fashionable monkey, which we do sort of have no choice but to Stan in some of the early moments of the film, I think when Madame Morrible is giving a speech. I've seen a still of this posted on social media. I have no reason to believe that this isn't the truth. And honestly, what a great choice. Because also years have passed. I know that it was. They weren't specific about this. There was a certain number of years of tide turns or clock ticks or however we're telling the time in this baffling, baffling system. Honestly, I thought converting between Celsius and Fahrenheit for temperature was hard. Whenever I go to the us try making a lunch date with someone from the Emerald City. I don't know what seven and a half clock ticks means. We don't carry calculators and none of us have smartphones here. Carrying on, there are a few details which sort of nod to the fates of characters or to the wizard of Oz. Origin of all of this is in designs on people's clothing. This was noticeable when a character portrait was revealed for Ethan Slater as Bok in this film. And once I got past the objective shock that was his hair. I noticed that the insignia that he has over the left side of his chest specifically also sort of resembles a heart, which. And it sort of feels moot. Issuing a spoiler alert for a video where I talk about like hidden details and Easter eggs of this movie, but obviously goes on to be significant for the character. Meanwhile, Jeff Goldblum's lovely, stylish wizard coat is embroidered with, among other things, a poppy design. Poppies, of course, being significant both. In the first Wicked movie, lots happened in that poppy field. Elphaba brought in poppies and then used poppies. Poppies also used in that moment because of their relationship to the plot of the wizard of Oz. Poppies. Honestly, we could talk at length about the costuming and the styling choices and the fact that, like, Nessarose's hair looks more like her mother's, and the way that people are styled, nodding to different things. That could be an entire conversation all of its own. But we're going to move on. Because there is more I want to say about the visual elements of this film. Not necessarily tethered specifically to the stage show or the book or the wizard of Oz just yet, but these are a few things that I noticed, one of which was right there, very easy. I'm sure everybody spotted this, once again, a nod to the ultimate trajectory of Bok's story here, because before everything that happens to him happens to him, he is seen chopping wood at one point. Meanwhile, on so many of the occasions when we see Glinda and I commented on this when talking specifically about the way that the girl in the bubble is shot, but it happens on several other occasions throughout the film as well. She is encircled literally, or she is surrounded by circles and bubbles. And it's a visual idea that is sort of consistently held with her until she breaks herself free from it, until she seeks out Elphaba and literally and figuratively frees herself from the bubble that she is in. Interestingly, it was reported by WatsonStage.com that cinematographer Alice Brooks planned for Glinda to be shot in a way that emulated the style of 1930s movie musicals and that sort of classic glamour leading lady quality. Elphaba, meanwhile, would be shot in a very different way in order to characterize the difference between their positions at this point and the way that they are perceived and understood and recognized in the Land of Oz. This next one is maybe my favorite Easter egg in the entire film, and it's something that I would not have noticed and I didn't notice. And it was brought to my attention by a very perceptive commenter and regular follower here to whom I am very grateful. You know who you are, and this is an iconic cinema reference, but not to the wizard of Oz. And it happens during. Wonderful. At which point Jeff Goldblum, as the wizard, is doing a lot of like practical magic tricks. And a lot of it feels very Disney coded, as I've said before, as he's playing with his train set. It also references his past as like a carnival magician entertainer before the winds of fate blew him to the Emerald City in his balloon, which some people are calling an Easter egg. Again, I just call it plot and backstory. But one particular thing that he does is to play with this inflatable sort of balloonish ball. And he tosses it above himself, knocks it back again, and then gives it a headbutt, which is almost an exact recreation of something that Charlie Chaplin does in the film the Great Dictator. And so much about these moments have such exact parallels. Because not only does Jeff Goldblum have sort of quite Charlie Chaplin esque energy, the entire song Wonderful musically captures an old timey vaudeville style. It's that kind of like nostalgic entertainment feel. But also Charlie Chaplin is portraying a dictator the likes of which we have by this point realized the wizard of Oz himself to be. And in the lyrics of the song Wonderful, he is acknowledging the position and the cult of personality that he has established for himself. Now, I think we have gone long enough without talking about the wizard of Oz of it all, I think there were actually probably in this film even more nods to the wizard of Oz than there were like subtle ones to Wicked, because, you know, it's an adaptation of Wicked. So to distinguish between what is an obvious reference, like Elphaba's green in the show and she's also green in the movie, and what is a little sneaky hidden detail like that final frame moment is a little bit more difficult. But the wizard of Oz references felt very deliberate and fun. There's also something to be said, I think, for the format being able to replicate that exactly, because this is a movie paying tribute to another movie, that's an easy thing to do. And we will begin with the visual references. And just like in the first film, we have this greenified Universal logo and a nostalgic title card in a Wizard of Oz replica font. It has been said as well that you can glimpse a cyclone effect behind the Universal logo or in the midst of the Universal logo. I haven't been able to spot this for myself, but I have heard about it. Of course, it's after the cyclone itself that the majority of the wizard of Oz references arise in this film. But there are a couple of things that happen beforehand, including, and this one is quite fun, the appearance of various animals tunneling through a hole in the yellow brick road in Order to escape persecution in Oz, Elphaba arrives to try and persuade them not to, that they ought to stay and fight for their own home instead. It's very politically complex. And she sings a song called there's no Place like Home, which, of course, is a massive wizard of Oz reference. One which I pointed out when I discussed it in my review, is both a nod to the iconic phrase prompt, probably the most iconic line from the wizard of Oz of all time, but also serves to remind us that the Wicked Witch of the west and Dorothy could have this same feeling, could share this same desire and longing, and are perhaps more similar than either of them realize. Of course, it is Glinda who actually feeds the line to Dorothy. Click your heels and just say there's no place like home. But it's not the song I wanted to talk to you about. It's what we see when this is happening, because there are so many animals congregating in this scene of all different shapes and sizes, some of them winged. There are some tigers. The ending of Elphaba's song is ultimately interrupted by the arrival of the Cowardly lion. And she has a reunion with Dulcibert, the bear nurse who delivered her and cared for her as a child. And if you think about the three different types of animals I have just illustrated to you and where they are at this moment, they are on the Yellow Brick Road, but in the midst of a forest, the kind that Dorothy ventures into with the Scarecrow and the Tin man, they have encountered, among other animals, lions and tigers and bears, which is another iconic line from the wizard of Oz. Lions and tigers and bears. Oh, my. That line actually gets referenced in Wicked, the stage musical. They cut it from the movie. But at the Ozdust Ballroom in the first act, somebody asks what's in the punch? And I think it's Fiyero, who tells Glinda, melons and apples and pears, I believe. And she replies, oh, my, that's a great line. That's maybe my favorite wizard of Oz reference in all of Wicked the Musical, but because there are so many other animals, I didn't really even think about it when I watched it the first time. But technically, you know, Dorothy and friends aren't wrong. In the woods, you may encounter lions and tigers and bears. Now, there's one more moment before Dorothy hits the road that I want to talk about. And this is as Elphaba and Glinda are starting to sing, as long as you're mine. Having finally reunited, lots has been said about this, and the way that it is done on film. But one of the things that Fiero does before he eventually goes to embrace Elphaba is to study everything that she has been collecting, including propaganda artwork of her, one of which is so clearly styled after classic photographs of Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the west, with the sort of clawing nails. It's a very striking visual. The same one which I believe is said to be indicated in the clouds, as well as in the negative space of one of the posters that was released for the film as well. It's that silhouette image of the side profile of Margaret's Wicked Witch of the west that has been popping up in a few different places. Which brings us, at the end of this song, to the cyclone and the arrival of a house in the middle of Munchkinland, a house which has blue gingham curtains. And this is sort of a little redundant to my mind, because we see Dorothy from behind in this film and we can see that she is wearing the iconic blue dress. So it's not like we need to pay tribute to the iconic blue dress by making the curtains also blue gingham, but they are. Some audience members may have been surprised to see Dorothy wearing silver shoes, the silver shoes that she obtained from the. The protruding legs of the Wicked Witch of the East. And this, like I mentioned earlier on, is one of the things that Wicked the musical has never been able to take from the wizard of Oz, the movie, because I think in the Wonderful wizard of Oz, the L Frank Baum book, the shoes are silver. They were red on screen in order to celebrate the glorious Technicolor that was available to them with all of the different colours they could then show. I think. I think that's the reason why. Similarly, I don't think the Wicked Witch of the west was actually green in L Frank Baum's original novel, which is so interesting because now she's named after him. Elphaba comes from El fa B, L, F B, L Frank Baum. If you haven't had that before, that's a fun bonus little Easter egg for you. The upshot is those iconic shoes are silver in this film, and when we see somebody other than Dorothy wearing them before she gets her grubby little mitts on them. The audience's red expectations are placated somewhat by the red striped socks that they are being paired with, rather than black and white striped socks, as might be the more familiar visual. The shoes also, just like they do thanks to lighting in the stage musical, temporarily glow red when they are enchanted by a spell in the Grimory, they are not permanently changed to red. I've seen a couple people saying this about the stage musical and the film. In neither instance do the shoes permanently turn red.
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Mickey Jo Theatre
Now let's continue talking about the wizard of Oz, but references to it in lines of dialogue rather than visual elements, beginning with one of my favorite superhero exits from Elphaba, who is just so dramatic this entire film. And can you blame her? She has an awful lot on her plate. She's also, you know, going weeks at a time in her hideout by herself with nobody to talk to, singing reprises of the wizard and I desperately pacing around basically when Elphaba, having returned to Munchkinland, leaves her sister, realizing that nothing she can do for her is ever going to be enough to finish all of the all of the trauma that's going on there. Alphabet is many, many things, but she is not a therapist and the Grimory can't write prescriptions. In any case, she flies off. But before she does, she announces to Nessarose, I'm off to see the Wizard. Of course, an iconic spoken and sung line from the wizard of Oz. We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz. Incidentally, I only learned recently that it is believed that the whole because because because because because thing is also referenced in Wicked the Musical. I knew of so many little references to the wizard of Oz in the stage show, including the melody of like couldn't be happier, simply couldn't be happier. Da da da Da, da, da. Follow the yellow brick, Right? Follow the yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road. You hear it? But back to the because, because, because thing. There is a moment in the first act in Dancing Through Life when Bok sings to Nessa. No, it's because, because, because you are so beautiful. And for him to be doing it specifically as a character, it does feel like it could be a deliberate choice. He says, because three times in a row, I'm willing to believe that was an Easter egg from Stephen Schwartz. Now, it's during the song thank Goodness that Elphaba appears in the film, bursting through a layer of cloud, skywriting the phrase Our wizard lies. Something which does not happen in the stage musical, but obviously pays homage to the Surrender Dorothy message written by the Wicked Witch of the west in the wizard of Oz. Now, it's been a very long time since I have actually watched the wizard of Oz. I feel like I definitely need to rewatch this. Maybe I'll even notice some more Easter eggs and crossover references. But this one I had to find out about, because Madame Morrible has a line in Wicked for Good when she says these things must be done delicately as she is plotting something maniacal. Which is an exact line that the Wicked Witch of the west says about Dorothy and the extraction of the ruby slippers and the breaking of their magic in the wizard of Oz towards the end of the film, I believe. And truly, that is a parallel design. To show us what exactly? Well, to show us that. Mm. Adam Morrible, when you flip it around, Wwicked Witch. I say that not just as a meme, but as an actual inference. Because if we're drawing parallels between Wicked things done by the Wicked Witch the West in the wizard of Oz to Dorothy and things done by Madame Morrible to the likes of Elphaba and Nessarose, then we're making a very clear point about who's really the wicked witch here. Mm. W. W. I'm just saying. Now, the last two I have here both take place in Munchkinland. One occurs during the Fallen House moment, as it is often called, when Elfba and Glinda have something of a feud. And this is new for the screenplay. This is not a moment that happens be to in the stage musical. Elphaba laughs at something. Glinda then takes a breath and mocks her own cackle back at her and says, where did you get that? Poking fun at another part of the iconic identity of the Wicked Witch of the west, so much of which was seen coming together in the moments of defying gravity. That part where she finally put the hat on and had the cape and the broom for the very first time. Glinda gave her the hat initially as a practical joke, but they both came to love it. Glinda gave her the cloak, wrapped it around her because she said she looked cold. Elphaba enchants the broomstick and so it's nice that Glinda also acknowledges her cackle. It's sort of like Glinda is really helping to create the imagery of the Wicked Witch of the west that Elphaba allegedly becomes. And there is one more little homage that happens in Munchkinland. Glinda has this line right towards the end of the film when she is trying to broke a peace between the. I guess humanoid. Are they humans? Are we calling them humans? I guess we are the people of Oz and the animals of Oz. As she entreats the animals to return by saying, come out wherever you are. Which is something we have heard sung by Glinda before. Come out, come out wherever you are and meet the young lady who fell from a star. I think it's what she sings to the Munchkins to lure them out to greet Dorothy when she first arrives in Munchkin Land. Now here is the part where we talk about the book by Gregory Maguire. And this is where I really want you to pop off in the comments section, because I know there are people who watch these and comment with parallels with things that happened in the book. I also know that there are a great many differences. Fiyero does not have blue diamonds on his face. There is not quite as much death in the stage musical. It was not an exact adaptation. That being said, there are still a couple of references differences. There is a character called Avarick in the film who is a Munchkin working for Nessaros at the Governor's mansion. He is played by musical theatre actor Aaron Teo, who I have seen on stage before, and he was a student alongside them at Shiz in the first film. What's interesting is there is also an Averick in the stage musical, but he is Fiero's driver who nearly runs down Elphaba and who brings him to Chis the first time. Fiero tells him he probably won't last much longer at this school than any of the others. They do like a secret handshake and Avarick disappears, never to be seen again. And I believe both of these are references to the fact that there is a character called Avarick in the Gregory Maguire novel, but I don't think in the book Avarick is either of those people, though he bears, I guess, a slight resemblance to the film character. Because a hasty Google search indicates to me that Avarick in the book was a friend of BOC and Glinda and a perhaps rival of Elphaba, but the roommate of Bok of whom he was a little bit jealous in part because of his wealth. And of course, if you add an E onto the end of the name Avaric, you get Avarice, one of the deadly sins representing this greed or lust for wealth. In fact, just greed, lust is an entirely different deadly sin. Now there is another reference to the book in as much as it's a detail from the novel that was changed for the stage show that was then reverted to Wanted Back because Fierro is a part of this SS style militia implemented by the wizard called the Gale Force, which is never referenced explicitly in the stage musical. They just call him the Captain of the Guard, but that exact line when it arrives in the film is now said as Captain of the Gale Force. They go back to that idea. And of course it is also Gregory Maguire's way of paying tribute to Dorothy Gale, as well as the whole idea of cyclones and tornado imagery, which they just love. Now here comes the part where I talk to you about cameo appearances during Wicked for good. And of course there were many, many in the first movie, most of them in the same sequence together. Elphaba and Glinda, I was about to say Alphaber and Ariana. They arrive together at the Emerald City for the first time. They're singing One Short Day. It's all grand, it's all green. The buildings are as tall as Coxwood trees, which is a little puzzling because every time we see trees for the rest of the two part franchise, they do seem to be a very normal height, but that's fine. And we meet characters portrayed by Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, Wicked original book writer Winnie Holtzman, as well as the show's original two Broadway leading ladies, of course, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who play the magical ancient women or something to that effect. That's what their Funko Pop figures are called anyway. And Wicked has a substantial history on stage and has played around the world. And there are Wicked fans around the world who treasure the actresses who originated the roles in their own countries. There are iconic performers who have played the role in multiple countries, like Philomene Vakaic, who has played it on Broadway, in the West End and around most of Europe. There's a Lovely and exciting detail in the dubbed version of the films where for a lot of them, the Elphaba who they've seen on stage also provides the Elphaba vocal for the movie. But it does, I guess, create something of a problem for John M. Chu and everyone putting this film together because you have so many, too many performers. I mean, 22 years on Broadway, plus all of the other companies around the world and it's shooting in the uk. So the decision that they ended up making was to include a lot of iconic former British Elphabas and Glindas from the London run. However, the scene that they were in is one that has been cut from the film. I know, I know. Allegedly you can see Kerry Ellis, the first British actress to play Elphaba in the West End after Idina Menzel opened the production at the Apollo. Victoria, allegedly she can be seen during the March of the Witch Hunters. But the likes of Rachel Tucker and Louise Dearman and Diane Pilkington were all in these very avant garde green Ozzian outfits, outfits for whichever number had Glinda in the pink swirly dress with the big tulle skirt and the Lullaby League, the kids who were singing to her as she was doing this little Rainbow High esque press tour. And not only that, so many of the West End performers who haven't been in Wicked necessarily were also extras in that sequence. So many people have been posting about it. I won't begin to list all the names, but there was this moment when you could could scroll through Instagram and it was everyone posting like mirror selfies of them in great expensive looking, detailed costumes that could not have been easy to design, make or put on these performers for footage that hopefully still exists somewhere and we will see one day, but as of right now has not been used. Also, it does sort of seem like it was a musical moment. So what music has been cut because it's, it's nothing from the stage show. It could only have been new. Now, all of this being said, there is one former West End Elphaba who has made it into the movie. That is Alice Fearne, who plays Glinda's mother, whose name I mentioned this time last year when I was talking about cameos in Wicked Part 1 because she drops her off at Shears. But she has a more substantial scene in this one as we see a flashback to a birthday party for young Glinda. And it's Alice as her mother who bestows the advice that everybody loves her and that's all she's ever going to need. It's fascinating that and you know Alice is a blonde in real life she is playing a character linked to Glinda. She has been cast as Glinda's mother when to West End audiences she was an iconic Elphaba. One of the best to do it here actually. And it's sort of criminal that she doesn't get to sing in the film. It would be very egregious to have her do like this power riff to her small disappointed child on her birthday. I would have liked to hear it. Nonetheless, there are also a few western musical theater actors who were lucky enough to be in other scenes that weren't cut, including some. Summer Strallen likewise was in the first film, but we got to hear her sing in this one. I think she was the munchkin who sang I hear some wild animals are giving her food and shelter. Summer is part of a musical theatre acting dynasty. Her aunt is Bonnie Langford, icon of the stage, currently appearing in Paddington the Musical. Her mother, Sharida Langford was the librarian in the dancing through life scene in the first movie and has been an iconic performer and chaperone beloved by many in the industry. Summer is one of multiple all singing, all dancing sisters and her sister Zizi is currently playing Glinda in the West End production of Wicked. And in that moment, the other Munchkins who have sung lines are also British performers. Lucy Fredericks pops up in there and there are a few others as well throughout the film. Cleave September I think was an Ozzy and guard, but no one who is necessarily featured as an obvious conspicuous cameo like we had in the first film movie. Hell, even Dorothy only gets shown from behind. Which actually brings me to a different Easter egg in my final.
- [34:04]
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- [34:19]
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- [34:38]
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- [35:16]
Mickey Jo Theatre
Section. So having told you at the beginning of this that my point of view here was as a fan of the stage show who had seen it so many times, I feel like I used up the majority of my expertise telling you about all of the changes. And if you haven't watched that video yet, go and check out that one. I think it's quite interesting to see how the show evolved from the second act of the stage musical to a standalone film, but there aren't that many examples of things that really feel like Easter eggs and nods to the stage musical. I've pulled out a couple, one of which, as we were talking about Dorothy, is her being seen simply as a silhouette in the moment that she throws a pail of water over the Wicked Witch of the west, believing subsequently to have melted her and lifts the broom aloft. We see her do this from Glinda's perspective in Wicked for Good, and it's the fact we see it from Glinda's perspective that allows it to be conceivably a shadow cast on the wall. In the stage musical, Glinda is downstage and a translucent curtain is drawn across to hide her so that nobody knows that Glinda is there. And it's behind that that we see the tossing of the pail of water and once again the silhouette of Dorothy, which is as much as you ever see of her in Wicked. On stage. You don't see her skipping down the yellow brick road. You don't see her watching, wearing the shoes. That is the only Dorothy shot we ever get in the stage musical, that is in the current version. In developing early versions in workshops, she was played by Sutton Foster and it was very different. Now here is quite a fun the arrival of Elphabert to Munchkinland to pay a visit to her sister. Very different in the film for a handful of reasons. For one thing, she already knows that her father is dead. That isn't news that she has to receive. For another, when Nessa asks her why she has come, she does not reply. There's no place like home after all. How could she? That's a fun little nod of the stage musical script to the iconic line, but she's just sung a song in the film version, which features that in its Lyrics Many, many times, if she then said to Nessa, there's no place like home, she'd start to feel like a doll that you could buy where you pull a string in her back. And that's one of three things that she says. There's no place like home. I'm off to see the wizard. Some kind of an epic belted war cry. And I don't know. Free that goat. You better free that goat. You free that goat. And in fact, the way in which she arrives is different as well. In the stage musical, she appears in the wardrobe, which was an external mirror, and then suddenly you could see Elphaba inside it. It's a little magical entrance moment for her. And she says something sort of spooky, and she's like, the beautiful only get more beautiful, while the green only get greener. And this mirror changing trick, which is also, for what it's worth, very Phantom of the Opera, is, I think, nodded to in the fact that Nessa sees Elphaba behind her in a cracked mirror, but without the indignity of her having to magic herself into a wardrobe for no real reason other than, you know, it's an impressive and magical thing to do on stage. Finally, and I'm sure there are plenty of things here that I've missed and that you can tell me about in the comments section down below. We have to acknowledge the biggest Easter egg of all time, the biggest one, without a doubt, in the film, which is that final shot. And I cannot believe. I cannot believe that all of the clues were there. And it's one of the earliest things that we saw. I think it's the earlier shot we saw of Elphaba and Glinda together, because we had a flash of it when she was starting to tell the story. What a tease that was for this moment. And we could see that Glinda was in a white hooded thing as well. But I didn't know, even then, I did not know that we were gonna get such an explicit reference to the iconic Broadway artwork. The one with the green face smirking in the wide brimmed hat with Glinda whispering to her in white. Which is sort of puzzling because Glinda, outside of, like, the Muppets wizard of Oz with Miss Piggy playing various different witches, is never really depicted as having long white hair and a wide, brimmed white witch's hat. I'm sure there are other examples, and people will tell me that there are. And actually, in this cartoon, in the. In the 70s, I'm not a Wizard of Oz historian. I saw like 200 musicals this year. That's who I am. So they had to do a little bit of creative thinking here to get Ariana inside profile with a nod to the white, but they managed to make it work with this white hood. Basically this final shot of the film is a flashback to this memory of the two of them in the poppy field with Glinda whispering a secret to Elphaba recreating that iconic image, at which point, like I said, I about died. There was a very strong reaction to that in the early screening that I saw in New York, and it just confirms, I think, the love and care and understanding that all of the team who brought Wicked to the screen have for the original stage musical. And they knew how much that moment would mean to people. And it's, you know, it's a peculiar shot to end on if you don't trust that the audience is going to recognize and appreciate and treasure that. And boy did we. Which brings me to the end of my list of Easter eggs, references, nods, homages in Wicked for good. Like I said, an inexhaustive list. I'm sure there are plenty more and I would love to hear some other fun, really hidden ones as well, like that Great Dictator moment. In any case, feel free to share your favorites and all of the other ones that you spotted in the comments section down below and then together we will all find out about even more cool references. In the meantime, thank you for joining me for another Wicked weekend. I think there will be one more of these as we glance at the possibility of a future life for Wicked on screen, the possibility of sequels, prequels, spin offs, all these things that have been talked about in various press tour interviews. Whether I think that's a good idea and whether from the perspective of the original stage musical, it's something that would even be feasible and what it might look and sound like. In the meantime though, I will be talking about many other shows on Broadway in the West End. If you would like to hear my reviews, my news run and my theatre going vlogs, make sure to subscribe here on YouTube. Turn on those notifications so you don't miss my daily video content. For now, I have been Mickey Jo and even if this video didn't change you for good, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Micky Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
- [41:33]
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- [41:51]
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- [42:26]
Mickey Jo Theatre
Par le tu francais hablas espanol?
- [42:29]
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