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Exclusive First Look at Wicked's "What Is This Feeling?" Performance - How to Watch
Prepare yourself for plenty of "unadulterated loathing"!
Wicked fans across the nation got an exclusive first look at the hotly-anticipated film Tuesday night with NBC's Defying Gravity: The Curtain Raises on Wicked special, which encourages viewers to pay attention to the artistry behind the curtain of director Jon M. Chu's ambitious Wizard of Oz prequel.
Now streaming exclusively on Peacock, the 42-minute presentation closes out with a sneak peek at one of the show's earliest musical numbers — "What Is This Feeling?" — in which Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) hilariously voice deep displeasure over the fact that they've been assigned as the other's roommate at Shiz University. This initial friction between the two characters ultimately dissipates as the two young women realize they have more in common than they thought.
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"As we explored this complex, intense friendship, we found it was the heart of the show,” Winnie Holzman, who adapted her own stage book into the two-part screenplay, explains in the official production notes. "It’s the idea that you meet someone, and that person changes the course of your life. And it’s also about two young women realizing that they want to make a positive impact in their world… and where that realization leads them."
Listen to "What Is This Feeling?" from Wicked's original Broadway production
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What is Wicked about?
Based on Gregory Maguire's bestselling 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the Broadway musical and its two-part film adaptation imagines a Wizard of Oz prequel centered around the green-skinned Elphaba, the eventual Wicked Witch of the West. Before she gained her flying broomstick and an army of flying monkeys, however, the character is a talented student at Shiz University, where she rooms with the popular Glinda. Things start to go downhill once Elphaba travels to the Emerald City and meets the so-called Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), who may not be as "wonderful" as we once thought.
RELATED: How Having His Own Band Prepared Jeff Goldblum for “Once in a Lifetime” Wicked Role (EXCLUSIVE)
Chu's guiding philosophy throughout production was the idea that "‘Light in this movie is not light and darkness is not darkness. Good is not good and evil is not evil,'" cinematographer Alice Brooks told NBC Insider. "I went to bed and that kept seeping into my mind over the course of prep. I had this idea where the sun would always rise for Glinda and set for Elphaba."
How can you watch Wicked in theaters?
Wicked will begin to defy gravity in theaters everywhere this Friday — November 22. Click here to pick up tickets for yourself and the whole family! The sequel — Wicked Part Two — is set to follow on November 21, 2025.
