Let Cynthia Erivo feel how she wants.

 When tickets for the Wicked movie came on sale, one of the posters that popped up scratched an itch a lot of fans had. Showing Ariana Grande's Glinda whispering to Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba, it clearly re-enacted the classic poster/Playbill cover for the musical.

However, some fans weren't pleased at the tribute to the poster because it didn't mimic the original poster closely enough.

The original poster is a little brilliant in how minimalist it looks. As Wicked would have its cast change, the decision to not clearly depict the original cast members means it would work after they'd been replaced. And as such, over 20 years later, it's still the artwork used to promote the show. When the show opened in London's West End, it even got a remake with more detailed human figures.

Well, it seems some fans got into Photoshop and decided to make the movie poster look more like the Broadway image. I've elected not to use it here. Apparently, who made it is no secret and there's a video where they talk about it, but I do not wish to harass or call them out specifically, I am going to take the charitable reading that they wanted to make it more closely resemble the musical poster and as such did some touch ups in Photoshop and posted it online where it got passed around.

The main edits were putting a shadow over Elphaba's eyes to hide them and make her lips red and twist them into a smirk. Glinda, whose outfit doesn't resemble the poster at all, only got an edit in raising her hand over nose.

Cynthia Erivo shared the fan edit on her social media with a message strongly disapproving of it:

This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful Ai of us fighting, equal people posing the question "is your ***** green

None of this is funny
None of this is cute
It degrades me
It degrades us

The original poster in an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer ...because, without words we communicate with our eyes.

Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.

I have only transcribed the text, no editing. I'll also note that her post included the edit as shared by a Wicked Mexican fan account, so not the original artist's posting, but a share by an account representing the fandom.

The reaction to Cynthia Erivo's objection has been mixed and given the internet, can be very shortsighted and even very nasty. Ultimately, people are going to be watching the movie as people will likely be able to eventually stream it or get a cheap DVD copy and not much will be thought about the poster. But right now, some fans are heated up about it.

Some feel Cynthia shouldn't have said anything, implying she's privileged if this is the most offensive thing she's experienced. Others have been more empathetic.

I guess I need to disclaim that I'm a cisgender gay man who describes himself as white, Cynthia is a woman of color who identifies as queer. I am not the same as her. As such, I am referring to how I've heard people of color talk about their experiences, not from a place of authority. As such, if I make a misstatement, I welcome correction in the comments. And I must state, people of color are not a monolith and can have very different experiences.

People of color, especially in the entertainment industry, often feel disadvantaged as opposed to their white counterparts. Dylan Marron, a man with Latin heritage, has publicly stated that he went to a casting call for Home Alone 3 and was clearly turned away for not being white, not even being considered out the gate. Donald Glover's comments on how Hollywood wouldn't consider him for Spider-Man led to the creation of the popular Spider-Man character Miles Morales, which is a nice outcome, but Donald Glover hasn't yet been able to have a featured role in a Marvel movie. (He's appeared in two, so maybe one day.) And too often, when people of color found roles for them asked for, they often have to play stereotypes or criminals.

In an Oz example, the 1925 silent slapstick film The Wizard of Oz includes African-American actor Spencer Bell using his stage name G. Howe Black as the ironically named character Snowball, who plays up many stereotypes for comedy, his character first being seen eating a watermelon. And this was the most we'd seen a person of color associated with Oz until The Wiz opened on Broadway fifty years later.

There are improvements happening, for example, we have stories intended for people of color to tell in film and television, Cynthia Erivo herself coming to prominence in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple, a story specifically about an African-American woman's life in post-Civil War America in the southern states. Still, we've got a long way to go.

As Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo had to wear makeup and a wig for basically every scene she filmed. (As I haven't seen the films myself yet, I can't say this for sure, but given the source materials, I doubt we'll actually see a "de-greenified" Elphaba.) You don't see her actual skin in the film. As such, in the poster, her eyes are the only thing that is 100% her.

This also ties into how women and especially women of color are expected to maintain a certain appearance in public, leading to how often they use makeup, hair care products, hair extensions or even full wigs. Meanwhile, men generally just have to make sure they don't look terrible.

What I'm trying to get at is that as Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo likely feels a lot of pressure as a woman of color starring in a major motion picture in an adaptation of an internationally beloved musical with a built in fan base. If she doesn't like to see how her image is being altered and presented by fan pages online, let her say so. We've heard enough to get that she had a lot of input in how her version of Elphaba would look and be presented.

Film is a collaborative art. I get it's also subjective. We've been expecting Wicked's film adaptation basically since it became a hit on Broadway. We all have ideas on how moments should've been done or how designs should've been done for a big screen version.

But consider that the people who made the decisions of how it should look and actually were photographed are people themselves. Ariana Grande has commented that bringing the musical to life on film was very emotional, so people really put their all into this. To see their work remixed without a thought as to how they might feel can really be a blow.

And consider this. The film is actually just the first part of the story, adapting the first act of the musical, except they've made it just just twenty minutes shy of three hours long. There's a lot in the film that's not in the musical. We've yet to see and fully appreciate just what these efforts are. And as such, that the poster paying homage to the musical's famous artwork isn't an exact mimic should really be expected.

And I'd be a hypocrite to criticize fan edits having done some myself, but they should be done and presented as tributes or imagining ideas, not presented as an alternative to a realized creative vision.

And when people feel something diminishes their own work, maybe instead of telling them they're entitled or that they shouldn't have said anything, maybe try hearing them out with an empathetic heart instead.

Wicked hype and who's sitting it out

 As of this week, tickets are on sale for the long-awaited film adaptation of the musical Wicked. The film is confirmed to run for 160 minutes, 20 minutes shy of three hours. Winnie Holzman better have written the heck out of the story in this new, expanded form because this movie is only adapting the Act 1 portion of the musical with Act 2 making up Wicked: Part 2 next year.

The cast and crew are doing interviews and planning tours, some fans have gotten huge promotional gifts and have even seen the movie early. (Not that they can say anything.)

And there's a ton of merchandise from tie in books to a board game, a Monopoly game, clothing (including a Target exclusive line of clothes designed by costume designer Paul Tazewell), prop replicas, Halloween costumes, Funko Pops, LEGO sets, Squishmallows and dolls.

I decided to get the dolls based on picking up earlier lines of dolls tying in with Oz the Great and Powerful, the 75th anniversary MGM Wizard of Oz dolls, and a doll based on Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return as well as customizing my own dolls based on Polychrome, Ozma and Glinda.

Given that the Wicked dolls are likely to be popular, I've been proactive about getting them, preordering them before they can sell out.

Here's what's available: six dolls are available from most retailers, please note that only dolls with the word "deluxe" in the name or description include a doll stand. All other dolls don't, so if you collect Oz dolls for display, either leave them in box or prepare to invest in some stands.

• Deluxe Elphaba (based on the "Defying Gravity" sequence, complete with hat, bookbag, cape and broom)
• Deluxe Glinda (based on the "bubble dress" she wears during "No One Mourns The Wicked, including a crown and wand)
• Singing Glinda (based on her outfit during the "Popular" sequence, the doll plays two clips from the song)
• Nessarose (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence with her wheelchair)
• Elphaba (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence with her hat and a bookbag)
• Glinda (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence)

Three dolls are exclusive to Walmart stores and being sold online:

• Elphaba at Shiz University (dressed as she appears in scenes in the film as seen in trailers, featuring a striped asymmetrical jacket and a pleated asymmetrical skirt)
• Glinda at Shiz University (dressed as she appears during her arrival at Shiz)
• Madame Morrible (dressed as she appears early in the film)

Two dolls are exclusive to Target stores and are available online:

• Singing Elphaba (dressed as she appears in the latter portion of the film during "One Short Day" and going forward, but without her "Defying Gravity" cape and broom, the doll plays two clips from "Defying Gravity")
• Fiyero (dressed as he appears during the "Dancing Through Life" sequence)

In addition, Mattel Creations online is selling a deluxe two-pack of Madame Morrible and Elphaba as they appear during tutoring sessions as seen in trailers, this is the only Elphaba doll to include the glasses she wears in the film.

With thirteen dolls, the Wicked line is already expansive, and there's a second movie coming next year, and potentially even more merchandise to keep the pegs warm until then.

Personally, I hope the Wicked line gives us a doll of Jeff Goldblum's Wizard, as the character hasn't gotten much love in fashion doll form for any Oz line, with the exception of Oz the Great and Powerful, though James Franco's Wizard might not be the preferred one to include with dolls from other lines.

The soundtrack is releasing November 22, the same day as the film's wide release so you can listen to the songs right after seeing the movie. The tracklist as announced does not include any new songs or tracks from the score, but no Act 1 songs from the musical have been dropped. It'll be available to be streamed from digital music platforms or purchased for your own library, and there are multiple vinyl and CD editions available for preorder.

It's a good time to be an Oz fan, even if you don't care for Wicked, because if the movie does as well as the current hype is suggesting, studios might be open to making more Oz films or television productions. The recent Broadway revival of The Wiz with its new Amber Ruffin-penned book has already had some rumblings about a film version, but as it would be under Universal and they're currently doing Wicked, they'd wait until this one is over and then produce it if they chose to. Maybe Warner Brothers could finally make an Oz film of their own instead of just exploiting the MGM film.

And speaking of the MGM film, Warner Brothers has barely done anything with the fact that it's the 85th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz, which they own the rights to. They will be reissuing the 4K disc and Blu-Ray in a steelbook edition with recycled cover art from the 2005 3-disc DVD collector's edition of the film, featuring the Wicked Witch of the West's silhouette over her crystal ball with Dorothy and her friends visible inside against a green background. It also includes some paper goods the 2005 set included: a reproduction ticket, invitation and program for the premiere of the film with reproduction lobby cards and reproductions of different 1939 posters on cards. Which would be fine if it was selling for about $40 or less, but the price on preorders ranges from $53 (DeepDiscount) to $80 (Amazon), which makes it unattractive for those of us who already own the film in 4K as we've had no indication that there'll be any new content on the discs.

If, say, Flicker Alley released a collection of the Oz silent films restored in high definition, I'd expect to get it for about $45, what they charge for one of their Laurel and Hardy collections, and I'd love to buy that as soon as possible if it was available. But I own MGM's The Wizard of Oz on four DVD sets, a 3D/standard Blu-Ray collection and the first 4K release, and a laserdisc set and a handful of VHS tapes I can't use, but the packaging is pretty. I'm not interested in paying a premium price for essentially no new content.

And this is the only major new thing coming from the MGM film's branding aside from more licensed merchandise. No new books on the making of the film, no exciting publications of production materials, Mattel isn't even reissuing their famous Barbie Oz dolls, trying to see if they can get an even better Judy Garland likeness.

With the closure of the Boomerang streaming service, the recent animated series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz is now only legally available for digital purchase with a nice bundle price exclusive to iTunes. And may I note, it bummed me out that the series began as a Boomerang exclusive but they never released all of the episodes on that service, keeping the last several for broadcast and purchase only. And no, it's not available to stream on Max. The series got 20 episodes released across two DVDs. There's no announcement of a Blu-Ray release yet.

Frankly, it's just frustrating to see Oz back in a big way in the public consciousness and Warner Brothers doing almost nothing to even exploit the MGM film or other Oz properties they own. Even Books of Wonder plans to begin reissuing the Thompson Oz books in hardcover now that more are in the public domain, and a Baum family member wrote a new Oz picture book. Gregory Maguire has turned out a book about young Elphaba that'll be available early next year titled Elphie, expanding his work for his take on Oz to eight novels and one short story collection.

... Sony/Disney? Can we get a Return to Oz 4K upgrade for next year? I'll preorder and tell my friends.