If you have ever had a conversation with me about theater, the odds that I mentioned the musical Wicked are extremely high. For those of you who may not know, Wicked is my favorite musical of all time. Wicked is the reason I love musical theater as intensely as I do. I grew up doing theater as a hobby but as a child it never went past something I did as an after school activity. That was until I found the 2013 Broadway. Com Vlog “Fly Girl with Lindsay Mendez” and my life immediately changed. Lindsay’s vlog explores what it’s like to step into Elphaba’s green skin and the backstage shenanigans that go on at the Gershwin Theater. I watched all 11 episodes in less than a day, truly immersed by the magical world of Oz I saw before me. I always loved the story of the Wizard of Oz so finding out about Wicked was exactly what I needed. I became truly obsessed with Wicked and began talking about it with literally anyone who would listen. 

With all that being said, saying I’m excited for this movie adaptation would be such an understatement. Wicked has been such a massive source of comfort, joy and inspiration for me over the last five years and I’m so thrilled more people will get to experience it. Wicked is one of those topics I know an insane amount of trivia on, can quote at the drop of a hat and am such a massive fan of. I love this story with my heart and I’m so glad I get to write about my love for it in today’s article. Not only am I a fan of this musical but I know its ins and outs in such a deep way.  Shannon did a great job two weeks ago reviewing the trailer and now it is my turn to point out all the easter eggs you might have missed in the official trailer for the Wicked movie.  That being said, this is the official spoiler warning for the plot of Wicked. If you want to go into the movie blind this November, I would strongly recommend coming back to this piece in a few months so nothing is spoiled for you. Now here are my top 5 Easter Eggs in the Wicked Trailer!

1.   “Are people born Wicked or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?”

Anyone familiar with this musical is sure to recognize the following line. The stage version of Wicked opens the exact same way and becomes an overall theme for the musical. Audiences keep this question in mind as they follow along on Elphaba’s journey into villainy. Elphaba will become the Wicked Witch of The West but the beauty of Wicked is that it explores her humanity. The fact that the trailer starts with this iconic line automatically tells the viewers that this movie was made with the fans in mind. Wicked challenges audiences to see the other perspective before automatically villainizing someone. 

2.  There is more to people than meets the eye

A central theme of Wicked is taking the time to see people for who they truly are, not just judging based on external factors. We think we know the story from The Wizard of Oz however just like the tagline suggests,”So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.”  When we are introduced to Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the Wizard of Oz, we instantly know that she is a hero . We don’t question her morality or intentions for half a second. We are meant to hate “The Wicked Witch of the West”. We don’t see her as a human, simply as the villain in Dororthy’s story. However Wicked is able to bring so much more depth into these two women. Glinda(or Galinda when we are introduced to her) is selfish, conceited and snobby. She is the antagonist in Elphaba’s story. She is your stereotypical mean girl, going out of her way to humiliate Elephaba. On the contrary, Elphaba is  compassionate, outspoken and passionate when we first meet her at Shiz University. She cares about social justice and has a strong set of morals. Wicked allows the expansion of these characters, making them full fleshed out characters. Wicked teaches us to look beyond the surface as that is the only way to truly understand people. The same can be said for two secondary characters in Wicked. Madame Morrible and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are less than wonderful people. On the surface they are authority figures who only have Elphaba’s best interest at heart. However, their villainous motives to exploit Elphaba’s power is one of the leading factors to her becoming the Wicked Witch of The West. They do not care about her ,they are simply using her to do their bidding. Madame Morrible is the first one to actually refer to Elphaba as the Wicked Witch in the trailer. In that moment, the trajectory of Elphaba’s life was forever changed.  The Wizard is merely a con artist, (I’ll come back to that later) who does not actually care about Elphaba or the citizens of Oz. 

 3. The Use of the Black Hat 

If you are familiar with the story of the Wizard Of Oz, then you know that at the end the Wicked Witch of The West is melted by Dorothy. However we learn from Wicked that Elephaba was not actually melted. She escaped through a secret trap door. When the musical begins the events of the Wizard of Oz have already taken place. One of the things that is so exciting about getting a movie adaptation is that there is so much room to expand past what we’ve seen on stage opening the movie with the smoking hat is massive foreshadowing for the events coming at us in the second part. Later on in the trailer we see the moment when Glinda has the thought of giving that same hat to her roommate Elphaba. Even though we love the character of Glinda by the end of the musical, she begins the show as the antagonist. She gives Elphaba that hat just to watch people laugh at her. However the trailer shows the moment Glinda stops seeing her as the other and finally sees Elephaba for who she truly is. Glinda had no idea when she gave Elphaba what a crucial moment it would be in both of their stories. 

4. The Songs 

Unlike many modern movie musicals, Wicked is not hiding the fact that this is a musical. The audience is given a look into some of the absolutely stunning visuals in store for the musical numbers.  We get to see moments from Popular, Defying Gravity, Dancing Through Life  and what looks to be What Is This Feeling. Everything from the costumes to the sets looks breathtaking so far. One of the best parts of Wicked is undoubtedly the sweeping score composed and written by Stepehen Schwartz. These songs have become a staple of the musical theater cannon. This score is truly timeless and is even more relevant in its lyrics now than it was in 2003 when it first opened on Broadway. Wicked has always been a very self-aware piece, having embraced the world of Oz to the fullest. We see in the trailer that not only is this a musical, but it is a musical proud of its well beloved status. Two very intentional choices were made when it comes to the music showcased in the trailer. We get tastes of both Arianna Grande’s Popular and Cynthia Ervio’s Defying Gravity. These two pieces perfectly highlight the two leads of the film.  Notably, Popular and Defying Gravity are two of the most famous songs associated with Wicked. Their inclusion in the trailer perfectly encapsulates why these two powerhouse women were cast to immortalize these truly iconic characters.  

5. Political Commentary 

One of the reasons Wicked has maintained relevant is due to its political messages found within it. Wicked’s central themes of power, fear/villainization of the other and acceptance have taken on deeper meanings because of the political climate of the world we live in today. Once again, it is clear from the trailer what a wonderful job John M. Chu has done protecting the integrity of the piece and serving the fans with his choices. We previously discussed Madame Morrible and The Wizard’s exploitative intentions for Elphaba. A small moment of dialogue between The Wizard and Elphaba  shows the moment Elphaba realizes her two alleged mentors’ plan. She says,”You have no real power” to which he responds “I know that’s why I need you”. In modern culture, the over glorification of  politicians has become extremely normal. The Wizard, like these politicians, promises these great remarkable things, yet cannot deliver. His career is that of fraudulence and he needs Elphaba because she has the magic he so desperately wants. Another big moment from the trailer is when the Wizard tells Elphaba that ”The best way to bring people together is to give them a real good enemy.” Unfortunately the Wizard has a point with this line. People love to have a common enemy, someone to rally all of their hate towards. Madame Morrible and The WIzard are more than happy to take the pressure off themselves and make Elphaba this enemy. Later on in the trailer we see a burning witch and a poster that resembles that of a wanted poster. The poster feels very similar to that of one drawn through a lens of propaganda. Both of these are not in the musical but allude to be events taking place in Act 2. Elphaba is persecuted when all she did was speak her mind and go against those in authority. Once again, this is very similar to how our society is today. Those who defy authority and stand up for their principals are regarded as disrespectful and untrustworthy. Maybe those in authority  should spend more time actually trying to make our world better instead of criticizing those who speak out against them. 

With all this being said, I thoroughly encourage you to go check out Shannon’s article and the Wicked trailer itself. I am so  immensely excited for this movie to come out and for more people to discover this amazing story. Thank you Wicked for changing me For Good, you’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart….