Stage Adaptation – Matthew Liedke on Film

The stage is out and the screen is in with another adaptation of a Broadway musical hitting the screen. This time around, it’s the Wicked Witch’s turn.

As the title implies, this film is about the Wicked Witch of the West, though the audience gets to see her before she earned that title. In the movie, she is known by her name Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a young woman shunned by much of society because of her green skin, which has only made her closed off.

Because of her apparent magical abilities, though, she’s invited to the same mystical university her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is attending. There she meets the popular but ditzy Galinda (Arian Grande-Butera). After a poor first meeting, the two aren’t fans of each other, but end up becoming roommates.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Much of ‘Wicked’ soars thanks to musical sequences”

“In the Heights” is an appropriate name for this film and the stage production its based on.

Not only because it takes place in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, but also because it’s an experience that earns high scores.

The film is set in a Latin community and follows several characters, but the main focus is on Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a bodega owner who dreams of reopening his late father’s beachside business in the Dominican Republic. One of the regular customers to Usnavi’s shop is Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), a young woman working at a salon who wants to pursue a career in fashion.

Early in the film, Usnavi and Vanessa meet up with Nina (Leslie Grace), a Stanford University student whose father owns a taxi company. That company is where Benny (Corey Hawkins), who has relationship history with Nina, works. The four of them spend time with others in the neighborhood and try to navigate their futures during a heat wave across New York City.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Get in the theater for ‘In the Heights’”