4 major Hollywood directors fight for Wicked, including J.J. Abrams

The Wicked movie adaptation is picking up steam, with a lot of Hollywood directors in the running. But it makes us wonder: What would a J.J. Abrams musical look like, and how fast would the actors have to sing?

Deadline is reporting that the contenders include Abrams (Star Trek), James Mangold (Knight and Day, Walk The Line), Ryan Murphy (Eat Pray Love, Glee), and Rob Marshall (Chicago). We’re biased in favor of Abrams, for obvious reasons. But we would also love to see his take on the strong women in Wicked, a character type he loves to play around with, and isn’t it time Abrams made a musical? As for Marshall, if he gets the project, we just hope he’s learned from his mistakes on Nine.

Wicked is based on a novel of the same name, that tells the “true” story of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her roommate in magic school, Glenda. Basically, everything you know is a lie. And the scarecrow is really hot.

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The creative minds behind the hit stage musical “Wicked” have begun meeting with Hollywood directors in search of the right person to direct the project on the big screen. Universal is in charge of the feature film project after producing the stage musical with producer Marc Platt.

The musical’s producer, Platt, along with book writer Winnie Holzman and songwriter Stephen Schwartz have begun holding meetings with film directors as the first step towards getting the project to the big screen. JJ Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall are rumored to be among the directors who held meetings with “Wicked” project members or thrown their hat in the ring.

“Wicked” made $2 billion worldwide on the stage, mimicking the success of stage hit “Mamma Mia!” whose film adaptation grossed $600 million. “Wicked,” which began as a feature project but went to the stage first, is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” and is based upon the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire.

The Broadway hit “Wicked” opens today at The Uihlein Hall Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee WI, but crews spent all day Tuesday setting up for its glitzy four-week run.

The musical, an expansion on “The Wizard of Oz,” follows the Wicked Witch of the West through her childhood, explaining just how she got her name. The show is known for its dazzling production, catchy music, and heartfelt storyline of growing up different, according to show’s production stage manager, Bryan Landrine.

“It’s got great music. We’ve got flying witches, flying monkeys. The set’s fantastic. There’s a lot of artistic things in the show that really pique people’s interest,” Landrine said.

It takes a lot of help to set up for a show as logistically challenging as Wicked. In all, the production company hired 90 temporary workers from Milwaukee, and it plans to retain 40 of them for the run of the show. But all the work is worth it, Landrine said, to bring top-notch Broadway entertainment to Milwaukee.

“We bring the big experience here, that’s the whole thing with wicked, we bring a ton of stuff. It really looks like the Broadway show,” said head carpenter Justin Klynsma.

Tickets are still available for most performances, ranging from $32 to $149. The production company is also offering day-of-performance tickets to patrons aged 8 and up in a lottery. Winners will be able to purchase a limited number orchestra seats for $25 each day of the show.

“Wicked” runs through Aug. 8. Buy Wicked Milwaukee WI Tickets, Save $10 on Wicked Ticket Orders over $350! Code AFF$10