Summary
Overview
Gilbert Cruz hosts a lively discussion about the newly released Wicked for Good with Kyle Buchanan and Madison Malone Kircher. The trio examines how the second film compares to its predecessor, the challenges of adapting Act Two of the beloved musical, and why Wicked has succeeded where other movie musicals have failed. They explore the press tour phenomenon, the film's political undertones, and the powerful chemistry between stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The episode concludes with a Wizard of Oz-themed trivia game.
Setting the Stage: The Hosts' Wicked Credentials
The hosts establish their varying levels of Wicked fandom before diving into the film discussion. Gilbert has seen the first movie multiple times but never the Broadway show, Kyle came to Wicked as a complete virgin but brings fresh perspective, and Madison is a longtime devotee who attended the post-pandemic reopening with her sister. Madison shares a touching memory of seeing the show return after COVID, when the opening line "it's good to see me, isn't it" brought cathartic joy to the audience. She also reveals she performed "For Good" at her eighth grade graduation, establishing her deep personal connection to the material.
- Gilbert has never seen the Broadway show but has seen the first movie several times and listened to the music
- Kyle had never seen Wicked on stage, giving him a clean perspective on the movie project itself
- Madison saw Wicked return on Broadway after the pandemic shutdown with her sister, who predicted the crowd would go nuts for the opening line
- Madison performed 'For Good' at her eighth grade graduation with a girl she never saw again
" The crowd is going to go nuts. It will cure the depression we've been sunk into for years. And she was right. "
" I think this may well be how people come to Wicked in the future, because the movies are such a phenomenon that I think a lot of people and future generations will experience this as a movie first situation. "
The Challenge of Act Two: Making Wicked for Good Work
The discussion turns to the inherent difficulties of adapting the second act of Wicked into its own feature film. Madison explains that Act One ends on the highest note in the show—literally, with that iconic riff in Defying Gravity—and Act Two immediately crashes down from there. The second act is notably thin on plot and lacks strong songs compared to Act One, with numbers like "Wonderful" and "Sentimental Man" being ones that musical theater fans typically skip. Kyle notes that while the first film felt remarkably complete, answering all the real questions of the property, the second film doesn't feel as urgent but works as an extended coda with beloved characters.
- The team split Wicked into two films, with Act One as the first movie and Act Two as the second
- Act Two is fairly thin in terms of content and plot, with the big twists not coming until the last 10 minutes
- The second act songs are generally weaker, with fans typically skipping numbers like 'Wonderful' and 'Sentimental Man'
- Much of Act Two exists to tie in the world around existing Wizard of Oz IP, connecting the Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy, and the original story
- Kyle found the first movie surprisingly complete, wondering what terrain was left to cover in the second film
" Act One ends on the highest note in the show, right? It ends on that riff in Defying Gravity. There's quite literal height to it. And so there's an immediate crash that follows. "
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