A popular theme throughout Hollywood is taking popular Broadway musicals and reworking theme for the big screen. Producers and directors can take high energy campy musicals, edit and tailor them to what they want, then put in some big name stars that have decent singing abilities - unless you are Pierce Bronsan - and you have yourself a hit movie. Movies have the ability to add special effects and benefit from the magic of editing and multiple tapings and angles. Suddenly the pressure of nailing numbers and scenes is lifted but also some of the magic and wonder of a live production is lost as well. Over the years we have seen such musicals as Mamma Mia, Hairspray, the Producers, and RENT hit the big screen with mixed success. Also, most recently we have seen blockbuster movies metamorphosing into a full out Broadway productions including Shrek, Spiderman, Tarzan, Marry Poppins, and Lord of the Rings. The two musicals that I have been obsessively waiting to turn into a movie are AIDA – mainly because I think that Heather Headley is a gift to the Broadway world – and of course WICKED.

As an avid fan of the Wizard of Oz - and any adaptation and reincarnation thereof – I instantly gravitated toward Gregory Maguire's best selling novel Wicked. I loved the story and the appreciated the larger story line of making the Wicked Witch of the West a more complex and tragic character than expressed in the movie. When I heard that they were turning it into a musical – I immediately needed to hear it. Like all musicals I test out, I found one song to listen to on repeat until it has lost all value and worth as a song. That song was Defying Gravity and it became my theme song and anthem to everything in life. I finally saw WICKED with some of my friends in Chicago with Ana Gasteyer [Mean Girls, SNL] . My friends literally had to hold me back during Defying Gravity because I was about to rush the stage and kick Ana out of the way and soar in the cherry picker myself.

My friend Martha just posted on my facebook wall that on good authority they finally gave the go ahead on production for Wicked – the Movie. Scheduled production has already begun on the project is said to conclude in April of 2011. The movie is also said to have signed original cast members Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith as Elphaba and Glinda. All my gay musical dreams are coming true right now. I am a little nervous though. Idina, Broadway diva goddess she may be, is loosing strength in her belts and tends to not be able to hold the notes anymore as well as she used to. Kristin is so cute, little, and adorable that she could play a convincing teenager at any age and still hit those notes. I did have some dreams of Lea Michele from GLEE stepping into the role, but alas, such is not the case. 

SPEAKING of Lea Michele and all things relating to the Wizard of Oz, there is a another movie that is in production is a cartoon called Dorothy of Oz which features Lea Michele as the voice of Dorothy Gale. Dorothy, upon receiving a message from Glinda, travels back to the land of Oz to save the citizens from an evil Jester who is using the wand of the wicked witch to enslave them. The movie also features the vocal talents of Kristin Chenoweth, Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, Kelsey Grammar, and Martin Short. The movie features both Lea and Kristin which is enough incentive for me to go see the movie regardless of plot or storyline. For more information about the movie, check out the website for the movie.