Making Wicked

This featurette concerning the production of "Wicked Part 1" is more than the usual BTS promotion hype, in how it demonstrates the care and creativity that went into that recent movie hit.

It was useful to hear from the original creators how the initial concept of "Wicked" as a movie project was wisely switched to developing the stage play first, and how key principals including Chu, Grande and Erivo were personally attracted to the project way back when, long before each could realistically expect to have gotten the gig.

The decision to record the singing live during the acting performance (a technique less successfully used in some movie musicals like Bogdanovich's "At Long Last Love" and more recently "Les Miserables") is vividly shown in several production clips, including rehearsals, that add to the effect of watching the finished product. I learned useful information about "Wicked", setting the stage for the dramatic conclusion ("For Good") coming this fall.