NO REST FOR THE 'WICKED'

Having slept at several points during past stagings of Wicked, I, of course, am not the best person to talk about why you should see the film sequel Wicked: For Good.

- the x-pat files SCOTT GARCEAU

Witch will win? Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) square off in Wicked: For Good.

(Photos courtesy Universal Pictures)

The young girls in costume packed into cinema seats at Ayala Cinema in Glorietta 4: it's for them, really, including those who memorized every song in the catalogue.

For me, Part 1 of John Chu's Wicked has its showstopping song. That's Defying Gravity. The sequel has one great song, repeated several times: For Good showcases Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's interweaving harmony lines, and it's a good summation of what makes Wicked: For Good work.

When Erivo and Grande are on, there's magic. Especially when the gloves come off during a witch fight midway through over Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who has misgivings about marrying Glinda (Grande), whom the kingdom of Oz look upon as a paragon of goodness. Fiyero still carries a flame for Elphaba (Erivo), and you can see where the problem lies.