What word would you use to describe the feeling most often linked to the release of John Chu’s version of the Broadway show Wicked?
That story will be shown for the first time in movies in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe, and Alexandria on November 22nd. And already alarms are going off and worries are being raised.
On October 8, 2003, Wicked, the Musical made its debut at the Gershwin Theatre. There were sneak peeks of the show for a few weeks, and its actual start date at the Gershwin was October 30.
It makes sense, right? A show about witches that comes out the night before Halloween?
For those who don’t know, Wicked is not really about Halloween. Instead, it’s more about the Wizard of Oz. From the book Wicked:
The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which came out in 1995. The Wicked Witch of the West may be familiar to you from The Wizard of Oz. Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, had the house fall on her in the beginning of the movie.
The Broadway version of Wicked got good reviews and made a lot of money. The show won seven Drama Desk Awards and three Tony Awards.
A Grammy Award was also given to the Original Cast Album. With this much praise, it’s no surprise that the project was intended to also be made into a movie musical.
Cindy Erivo plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande plays Glinda in the movie version of Wicked. Both are very good actors, and reviews of the previews say they do a great job. But at least one theater chain is telling people who might want to help Ariana and Cynthia.
“Don’t Sing Along with the Movie” is the warning. AMC Theaters has already made it clear that “singing” is against their “no talking” policy. No matter how much you want to sing along with Defy Gravity during the movie, you should be singing to yourself or on the streets.
In fact, I can see both sides of this case. I would lean more toward the side that the theater is taking, though. I didn’t pay to be here, and you’re singing the Wicked score.
I paid money to see and hear the actors play the music. Whether you go to see Wicked this weekend or at any other time, please think about the other people who are there.