Wicked: The Soundtrack＜限定盤/Split Pink & Green Vinyl＞

Premiering in 2003 and featuring original songs by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippen), the Broadway smash Wicked was loosely based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West rather than being directly adapted from the legendary 1939 film The Wizard of Oz or the Frank L. Baum books. As such, it offered a new spin on the characters for those only familiar with the Judy Garland classic. The 2024 film, in turn, is an adaptation of the 2003 musical. While featuring several songs that are unusually exposition-heavy and melodies that are wide-ranging but not exactly euphonious, the Broadway musical nevertheless has endured, likely due to its strengths as a vehicle for acrobatic belters and as a teen-friendly celebration of outcasts, including but not limited to anyone whos suffered from unrequited love. 2024s Wicked soundtrack delivers in the singing department, with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande cast in the roles originated by Idina Menzel (the green-skinned Elphaba) and Kristin Chenoweth (the pearly white Glinda), respectively. And they dont merely pull it off, but impress. Although Erivo does hold back -- by design -- throughout most of this first installment of the two-film series, Grande gets to show off her nearly operatic skills from the very beginning of show-opener "No One Mourns the Wicked," a true rather than virtual exposition that plays out over seven minutes. The pop star goes on to feature heavily throughout the track list but gets her own song with the comically immodest "Popular." Thats followed by Erivos earnest yet restrained "Im Not That Girl," and she finally lets loose on "Defying Gravity," the musicals showstopper and a verifiable earworm. (Menzel and Chenowiths original went platinum in the U.K., a Glee cover of "Defying Gravity" hit the U.S. Top 40, and Erivos version charted in the Top 40 in places like the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as reaching the Top 50 stateside.) Some of the other members of the stellar big-screen cast include Olivier Award-winning actor Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero ("Dancing Through Life") and newcomer Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Elphabas younger sister, who is a wheelchair user. Also in key roles -- but those demanding distinctive presences more than singing technique -- are beloved actors Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond ("Something Bad"), Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible ("The Wizard and I"), and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard ("A Sentimental Man"). With "Defying Gravity" closing Act I, the nearly hour-long soundtrack, and the over-two-and-a-half-hour movie, theres plenty more to come, and the performances by the leads almost guarantee a return audience. (While there are tweaks to some of the Broadway songs, there are no new numbers featured in the film.) ~ Marcy Donelson