New Wicked film tackles race with witch Elphaba’s green skin and shows how modern society can ‘vilify’ people, claims costume designer

Wicked’s costume designer has said that the musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo tells a story about race and how society can “vilify” people because of their appearance.

Tony Award-winning Paul Tazewall told British newspaper The Telegraph that the character Elphaba, who has green skin, “resonates with race and how we as modern people view differences in race and how we vilify people of a different race.”

He added that the film’s theme is “hugely pro-women” and that the film will “resonate in a very strong way for women everywhere.”

It comes as actress Erivo said earlier this year it was ‘no coincidence’ she was chosen for the role.

“Elphaba’s story is the cautionary tale of what it can sometimes mean to stand in your individuality and your otherness, even when systems of oppression are against you,” she said in a speech at the annual Gala earlier this year from the Los Angeles LGBT Center. year.

Jon Chu’s adaptation of the beloved Broadway production tells the story of Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, and Glinda, the good witch.

After a frenzied press tour and weeks of anticipation, the film is released today in cinemas around the world.

It comes as Grande was accused of ‘queerbaiting’ while reflecting on her Wicked character’s sexuality in a recent interview when she revealed she thought Glinda was ‘maybe a bit closeted’.

Wicked’s costume designer Paul Tazewell has said the musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo is a story about race and women

ynthia Erivo attends the UK Premiere of ‘Wicked: Part One’ at the Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London

Cynthia Erivo (left) as Elphaba and Ariana Grande (right) as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of WICKED

The comments were made when the actress and singer spoke to British outlet Gay Times and was asked about fans shipping Glinda and Elphaba as a romantic duo.

Grande also said that Oz is a “celebration of uniqueness,” adding, “Everyone is just so beautifully strange and that goes all the way back to L. Frank Baum’s books where literally the most overused word in the books is” ‘foreign’.’

The star went on to say, “Every day in the Emerald City [the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz] is a Pride parade… just like the chickens, those chickens are gay.”

Following the interview, fans quickly went online, with one writing: ‘the queerbaiting is getting too out of hand.’

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique in which creators reference same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation without actually portraying it.

Another asked: ‘Why can’t they just be platonic?’

‘OH????’ another said simply.

After weeks of anticipation, the film is released today in cinemas around the world

The stage adaptation of Wicked debuted on Broadway in 2003 and is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel – set before Dorothy Gale’s arrival in Oz, as told in The Wizard of Oz

Another fan added: ‘ariana reposts gelphie memes on her story, likes a post about the flower fields being lesbian colored, says the boy is mine, is about elphaba, then says glinda is in the closet is …’

The stage adaptation of Wicked debuted on Broadway in 2003 and is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel – set before Dorothy Gale’s arrival in Oz as told in The Wizard of Oz – and the 1939 film classic.

The musical production is still going strong 21 years later and is currently the fourth longest-running Broadway production in history.