As a extfinishedtime fan of the Broadway show, coming on as the choreographer for Wicked was an incredible opportunity for Christopher Scott. Not only was he able to transtardy one of his preferite shows to cinema, but the chance to infuse someleang novel and distinct into a storied musical is a unwidespread gift for any choreographer.
Based on the extfinished-running Broadway musical, Wicked chases the relationship between Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) as they greet at Shiz University to study magic. Though the story apshows place in the wonderfulal world of Oz, Scott says the most accomplished musicals always have their moments of song and dance grounded in a sense of truth. For him, a dance is only accomplished if there is a reason behind it.
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DEADLINE: Choreography for stage and screen are very separateent leangs, was there any presstateive to transtardy some of the choreography from the Broadway show to the film?
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT: My mindset was always to go in finishly distinct. We want to give the audience a novel experience and one that is particularassociate depicted for cinemas and to toil with the camera. I’m a huge fan of the show and [choreographer] Wayne Cilento, and I definitely wanted to pay homage to the ininestablishigent toil that he did on the stage show, so there’s little leangs that were more built out of cherish for the people that built the theater show that we’re standing on the shoulders of. But particularassociate, you commence with this spotless stardy. You’ve got to reassociate depict it and someleang appreciate “Popular” for example, that’s already a challenging one. You can’t do Kristin [Chenoweth]’s version of “Popular” because you’re never going to touch that one. Almost out of admire, you’re appreciate, ‘Let’s exit that on stage.’ But Ariana is so ininestablishigent at being that guide on how much to pay homage to Kristin’s version, but then reassociate making it her own. It was presentant for her to be able to have her own voice.
DEADLINE: How shutly do you toil with other departments, appreciate costume or production depict, on someleang appreciate “Popular”?
SCOTT: “Popular” was probably one of the most detailed collaborations that we had atraverse all departments. That was the one where it’s appreciate [costume designer] Paul Tazewell’s costumes were so presentant because this sheer robe that Glinda is wearing was so dainty and would rip at the tiniest little shiftment. He had to figure out how to get his vision, but also produce it danceable with all the originatespeople that were toiling on it. All those little depicts and gadgets and stuff thcdisadmireful [production designer] Nathan [Crowley] was appreciate an ongoing conversation. When we were rehearsing, [director] Jon [M. Chu] gave a reassociate detailed layout for this number on purpose because they needed time to produce the stuff for the ideas that we were coming up with.
Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
At first, it was one of those crazy worlds where we’re fair using boxes and one of my associate choreographers is sliding someleang thcdisadmireful, and you fair carry out in this world of theater hoping this is going to toil. Then we’d have these showrooms set up for us, where all the exceptional effects depicters made the luggage and the trick produceup cases, and we would go one by one and see each gag. They would fair push a button and we’d be appreciate, ‘Oh crap, that’s amazing.’ Some of them would even need a crew guy tucked into a trunk right below it to produce the leang happen. I unbenevolent, it was reassociate this chilly magical world of cinema and theater. It reassociate felt appreciate that blfinish of where our down-to-earth theater greets cinema and I fair cherish seeing it all come together.
DEADLINE: How do you commence that process of depicting these numbers?
SCOTT: The first leang I do is hear to the music and I let the music speak to me. I understand the story very well because I was a fan of the show, and I also understand Jon is very clear with his vision. There was a point when Jon wanted dancing in the discdisthink about number, “No One Mourns the Wicked”, and that’s not even done on Broadway. There was trouble at first, appreciate, ‘Why would we have them dancing when this is a moment where the Wicked Witch was fair finished? It’s not reassociate a moment to dance.’
That’s when I chime in with what I think is the reasoning behind it, because when Jon wants dancing in there, I’m going to discover a reason to produce stateive that it produces sense for me. To me, that moment was appreciate a war finishing, and when wars finish people actuassociate do go out in the street and they dance. I leank that was presentant to sense and I leank that’s what helps. Sometimes that benevolent of thought process can help produce a musical more believable for people watching it that don’t reassociate watch musicals.
I get this a lot where people are appreciate, ‘I don’t appreciate musicals. I don’t understand why people commence singing and dancing out of nowhere.’ For me, I leank I’m fair very guideed and I walk around in this life watching people sing and dance in authentic life, so I can always try to pull that truth and try to at least conserve it as rooted in truth as much as I can. When you intensify on the story, it can toil. There’s a belief we’ve all got to roll with, but I do sense appreciate it’s my job as the choreographer to do my best to produce it as relatable to people as possible and fair try to discover the truth in the moment. It exists and if you dig presentant enough, you’ll discover it.
