By I have been singing for as long as I can remember. My first memory of singing is with my granny in her kitchen while she cooked. I was still in the highchair her daughters used and us grandkids all used as well. Almost everybody on mama’s side of the family is musically inclined. Music is a coping mechanism for me and singing is part of the way I express myself and where I first felt a connection to what became my faith. Given all that, it should not be a surprise that I grew up both a church choir and a chorus kid. I was in chorus all the way through high school as a matter of fact. I still sing all the time but just for self-expression, coping with life, and fun.
With that preface, the fact that I love musicals, and musical theatre should not be a stretch, either. After I saw RENT on the big screen in 2005, I wanted to know what else that incredibly talented cast had done. One answer was Idina Menzel’s Tony award winning turn as Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked. I love Idina’s powerhouse voice and was eager to hear the cast album of Wicked. What I heard was nothing short of phenomenal and I immediately purchased a copy. In the years since, I have given that album as well.
There were rumblings and rumors of a Wicked movie adaptation for years. It never materialized and then it was finally greenlit. From hearing the original cast album so much for so many years, I hoped that everybody involved with the movie would treat it with the care it deserved. I identified with Elphaba immediately. Her circumstances, that she did not do anything to get or ask for but nonetheless make her an outcast and the subject of scorn and ridicule is something I know about all too well given being born with my condition. Her triumph in Defying Gravity felt like my anthem, too.
I knew whoever directed the film adaptation and was cast as Elphaba and Glinda respectively was going to have meet enormous expectations. After seeing the movie now multiple times, it is better than any expectations I had for it, and I had high expectations. The world director Jon M. Chu created with his team is immersive and extraordinary. Thank you for taking such extraordinary care and dedication of a piece that means so much to me and so many others! Ariana Grande is a revelation as Glinda! I have been a fan of her music for years and have all of her albums like millions of fans around the world. Brava, and that academy award nomination is beyond well deserved! Thank you for sharing another facet and dimension of your talent with us all, Ariana! Before the movie, I am sorry to say I was not familiar with Cynthia Erivo, her extraordinary talent, or work. I am an enthusiastic fan, for life, now! I lack the words to tell how much I love your super star making performance as Elphaba, Cynthia. You had giant shoes to fill, and not only did you do that, but you also made Elphaba your own, giving her even more layers and depth. Wow! Thank you to the three of you, and the entire Wicked Movie family for such an incredible film! I cannot wait for and eagerly anticipate part two in the fall!
~Stacey
