It seems the “Wicked” movie has been in the works for as long as I can remember. The musical first appeared on Broadway in 2003 and the movie adaptation was announced in 2012. Many young people, including myself, have never known a world without “Wicked.” Given that the musical has touched so many people’s hearts, creating a movie version was going to be a tall order.

“Wicked” is a what-if narrative about a potential backstory for the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch from the 1939 classic film, “The Wizard of Oz.” The novel-turned-musical-turned-movie-musical follows Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), and Glinda, the Good Witch (Ariana Grande), during their time at Shiz University. We watch Elphaba become wicked, Glinda become good, learn about the wonderful world of Oz and question what it means to be good. In an attempt to avoid spoilers I will mainly be reviewing the vocal performances and adaptation of “Wicked” from stage to screen, so if by this point you’ve managed to avoid spoilers elsewhere, good job and feel free to read on.

Theater has such strong emotions tied to it; being in a room surrounded by performers who give their all to a story is a feeling like no other. Successful movie musicals must emulate the energy often unique to live theater of being truly immersed in a story. Based on the trailer, I did not think “Wicked” would be able to pull this off. The audio mixing and the scenes selected for the trailer do not represent the feeling of big Broadway. They are flat, lifeless, strangely autotuned and do not reflect the experience of watching the movie whatsoever. “Wicked” takes the splendor of the stage play and uses the movie medium to amplify it. For instance, the climax of “Wicked” is a dance scene set in a large ballroom. While this was magnificent to see in person, the expansion to the screen gave the creators of “Wicked” license to pull off more complicated lighting, set design and even dance numbers. It feels like big Broadway. Nothing beloved from the play is cut; it is only expounded upon.

Wicked is not just a stunning musical production; there is real heart in the story. The audience is made to truly care for the leading women’s friendship by curtain call. Since these roles mean so much to so many people, the casting for Elphaba and Glinda was extremely important. Erivo, who plays Elphaba, is an Oscar away from an EGOT and a well-respected Broadway performer. There was little argument when it came to her casting. While her astounding closing riff in “Defying Gravity” has become unavoidable by this point, I would like to call attention to an earlier song of hers in “Wicked,” “The Wizard and I.” “The Wizard and I” is a classic “I want” song that sets Elphaba up for her character development throughout the musical. In the song, she yearns for acceptance by her community and hopes to maybe even achieve greatness. For the first time she wants something for herself. Erivo delivers not only a stunning vocal performance, but also a deeply grounded and sympathetic version of this song. The audience can feel the desperate insecurity in her voice in a way that I did not think possible outside of a theater. Erivo continues to amaze for the rest of the movie, but this was the moment I knew I was witnessing something wonderful.

The other leading lady, Glinda, is equally dear to people’s hearts. She had a much more contentious casting, with Grande eventually taking the role. Though Grande is now a pop singer, people often forget she does have a background in acting and theater. Grande clearly devoted an appropriate amount of time to “Wicked” as she is the perfect Glinda. While actresses for Elphaba have their signature riffs, actresses for Glinda often develop signature “Glinda voices.” The character is ditzy and snooty, but largely means well, so most actresses tend to play her with a snobby-yet-naive voice, which packs a strong comedic punch. I do think actresses onstage get to be a little bit more dramatic with their voices than those onscreen, but I will say that Grande managed to strike a good balance there. Just as Elphaba has challenging songs to sing, Glinda’s songs lie in a very high register. Grande hits all the right notes while dancing around like the ingénue she is. In Act 1, Glinda’s most well-known song is, fittingly, “Popular.” In another masterful translation from stage to screen, the creators took this opportunity to include more complicated choreography for Glinda. While singing about the importance of popularity and entertaining people, Grande dances on a railing and spins around a chandelier. It is a truly special comedic performance and adds depth to the character’s carefree attitude. The number reminds you that you are watching young women come of age and bond. This girlish friendship is portrayed marvelously.

Those involved in the musical space, especially the movie musical space, know that singing live on a set is a big risk to take. Generally, when a film has singing in it, the vocals will be recorded separately and added in post-production. “Les Miserables” (2012) is a famously horrible case study in singing live, as doing so hurt the audio of the musical-based film. As such, when it was announced that all singing would be done live for “Wicked,” I was apprehensive. Thankfully, I was proven wrong and the live performances were quite good. It is truly impressive that Erivo performed all of the aerial stunts during “Defying Gravity” while belting. I can only attribute the fact that singing live worked so well to the hard work of the production team and that most of the performers have at least some theater experience themselves.

One of the most intimidating things about the “Wicked” movie was the runtime. Clocking in at about three hours, “Wicked” is a long viewing experience. Though the combined runtime of “Wicked” parts 1 and 2 will likely be more than double the runtime of the stage play, I would say it is a worthwhile use of time. The movie requires multiple establishing shots and moments to show off the scenery that really are not necessary in a stage production. Though I have concerns about how they are going to fill “Wicked” part 2, as Act 2 of “Wicked” has far fewer songs, I remain open-minded.

I was lucky enough to see “Wicked” on Broadway when I was about eight years old, so I can confidently say that this movie fulfills all the expectations that have built up in the 10 years I’ve been waiting for this movie. I highly recommend that you don your emerald glasses and head to the theaters to see “Wicked”—you won’t be disappointed.