“Evil: For good» costume designer Paul Tazewell knew that Glinda's wedding dress would visually reflect a woman fully immersed in the culture of the Emerald City—one who wanted to make an impression.
“She also really loves Fiyero,” Tazewell says.
In the finale of Wicked, Glinda (Ariana Grande) has become a public figure tasked with spreading goodness in Oz. She announces to her fellow Ozians that she is engaged to Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), which of course comes as a surprise to him. Without meaning to, he agrees with this.
Their grand Ozian wedding takes place in the Wizard's Hall of Majesty in the Emerald City. Production designer Nathan Crowley transforms the city's emerald tapestry, transforming the bride into the round trees lining the aisle. Golden butterflies flutter across the floor, creating a dreamy yet natural atmosphere.
Wedding scene from Wicked: For Good, directed by Jon M. Chu.
Tazewell created a layered dress made of organza and silk tulle. “The main dress is made of silk satin and features swirls of voluminous butterflies that run along the hem of the dress, as well as along the edge of the 25-meter veil she wears,” he says. (For reference, this is the width of an Olympic-size pool.)
Glinda's crystallized tiara is also a collection of intertwined butterflies. “It's about imagining her coming into the Hall of Grandiosity where she pushes all these golden butterflies sitting on the aisle aside and they fly up and become the vibe of her wedding dress,” he says. “It becomes a very theatrical moment.”
Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked: For Good.
But the Ozy wedding is quickly ruined when, simultaneously, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) discovers that the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) is keeping the animals of Oz locked in cages beneath the great hall. Elphaba is furious and unleashes her powers, freeing the animals and causing a stampede that brings the wedding celebrations to an abrupt end.
The whole scene serves as a metaphor, explains cinematographer Alice Brooks. Glinda and Elphaba walk down the stairs “to what will be the consequence of their lives,” she says.
Glinda is in the middle of her tale, and the color yellow symbolizes her intuition. “You see it when she takes the yellow brick road, and you see it at the very end of the film when Grimmery opens up to her.” In contrast, Brooks says, “Elphaba is plunged into darkness, into what she doesn't understand or what's going on in Oz.”
Brooks adds that at one point, director Jon M. Chu and editor Myron Kerstein, who “like to try everything,” she jokes, removed an insert so Glinda got the whole wedding experience and Elphaba got her own separate moment.
However, this change completely changed the feel of what was originally intended – these identical processions that were very symmetrical.
“There was a whole discussion about having a wedding and whether that wish would be ruined if we interfered with the secret prison,” explains Kerstein. “It took so much experimentation to balance it.”
Kerstein collaborated with fellow editor Tatiana S. Rigel to discuss their options. The key question was who to turn to when the wedding falls apart after Elphaba stumbles upon the horrors of Oz right below her. Moments before the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) appears and tries to reason with Elphaba, Kerstein is still trying to honor Glinda's wish.
“We want to root for Glinda, who has wanted this all her life—this wedding with Fiyero and the greatness of the butterflies,” he says, explaining their dilemma.
Then, when the animal stampede occurs, Kerstein relies on supervising sound designer John Marquis. “I told John I wanted it to be like [the 1975 film] “Day of the Locust” when everything collapses. After that, nothing comes back.”
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good.
Courtesy of Giles Keith/Universal Pictures
Chu calls the decision to take a break between Ginda's wedding and Elphaba's reveal “one of the best reveals in the editorial.”
“We shot some parallel shots, but I didn’t think they could be superimposed,” says Chu. “Plus, the note from the studio said: “Let the wedding play.” There aren't many bright spots in this film. Why make one bright moment dark?
Plus, viewers already know it's coming. “We’re ahead of the curve on this movie,” he adds. Myron did an amazing job just stitching them together and then finding the matching shots. Truth is in the dark; lies are light. It just made it more interesting.”
The riotous scenes end with a close-up of Glinda.
“She does some of the worst things in the movie,” Brooks says. “You see her walking forward in this very close shot. There's the Wizard and Morrible in the background. We didn't give Myron a chance to cut to them. They're not in the frame. They're completely out of focus. In the background you can hear them talking, but we're just left with Glinda as you watch her make that decision. It's a choice that changes everyone's life, right?”
When producer Marc Platt, who launched “Wicked” on Broadway before helming Universal films, saw the final product and the filmmakers' decision to juxtapose the two, he told Chu, “What you guys made is a movie.”
