This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Quincy Brown: I was feeling my shiz fantasy in my official...

[0:07] Kevin Bianchi: Wow, I should have worn mine.

[0:09] Quincy Brown: You should have worn yours.

[0:10] Kevin Bianchi: It's a good crew neck.

[0:12] Quincy Brown: I don't know that I'll ever need another sweatshirt.

[0:15] Kevin Bianchi: I'm, like, nervous to put mine through the dryer.

[0:18] Quincy Brown: I am only hand-drying it.

[0:21] Kevin Bianchi: Cold wash, lay flat to dry.

[0:28] Quincy Brown: I'm Quincy.

[0:29] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.

[0:30] Quincy Brown: And this is Sentimental Men.

[0:33] Kevin Bianchi: We're here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:50] Quincy Brown: We were accepted to Shiz University.

[0:52] Kevin Bianchi: Can you believe?

[0:53] Quincy Brown: Officially.

[0:54] Kevin Bianchi: It is crazy to me how...

[0:55] Quincy Brown: It's a thing.

[0:56] Kevin Bianchi: People were posting their acceptance.

[0:57] Quincy Brown: It's brilliant.

[0:58] Kevin Bianchi: But it's so exciting, too.

[1:00] Quincy Brown: I mean, it came in, like, a little box.

[1:03] Kevin Bianchi: It looks like luggage.

[1:04] Quincy Brown: And you open it up and there's, like, a little letter that says, like, you know, welcome to Shiz.

[1:10] Kevin Bianchi: A whole, like, newsletter, student itinerary.

[1:14] Quincy Brown: The whole nine yards.

[1:16] Kevin Bianchi: Very spoiled by Shiz University.

[1:19] Quincy Brown: Little pins.

[1:21] Kevin Bianchi: Thank you to the admissions board.

[1:22] Quincy Brown: It is an honor.

[1:23] Kevin Bianchi: It's so cute.

[1:24] Quincy Brown: I'm gonna keep that box.

[1:25] Kevin Bianchi: I'm gonna put all my stuff from Wicked 20.

[1:30] Quincy Brown: Wicked 20th anniversary in there.

[1:32] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, that's really cute.

[1:33] Quincy Brown: So that all my Wicked keepsakes are in one box.

[1:37] Kevin Bianchi: I wore my crew neck the next day to work.

[1:40] Quincy Brown: It got a lot of attention.

[1:41] Kevin Bianchi: I was late to a meeting, but I was like, it doesn't even matter because I'm gonna walk in and they're all gonna see this Shiz sweatshirt and that'll be the topic of conversation.

[1:48] Quincy Brown: Then, on the Upper East Side, this woman stops me in the street and goes, oh my god, congratulations on your acceptance and just kept walking.

[1:55] Kevin Bianchi: Congratulations!

[1:57] Quincy Brown: Wait, that's fabulous.

[1:59] Kevin Bianchi: I was like, that's culture.

[2:01] Quincy Brown: What a community.

[2:02] Kevin Bianchi: I know.

[2:03] Quincy Brown: Yeah, super exciting.

[2:04] Kevin Bianchi: We saw the Wicked movie.

[2:05] Quincy Brown: We should just explain that we saw the Wicked movie, yes, but we saw it in a very cool situation.

[2:13] Kevin Bianchi: Super cool.

[2:14] Quincy Brown: Because we were invited by some nice people.

[2:18] Kevin Bianchi: The powers that be.

[2:20] Quincy Brown: Yeah, some of Oz's favorite tea.

[2:24] Kevin Bianchi: But we went to this private, lush screening room at Soho House.

[2:29] Quincy Brown: It was very fun and fancy.

[2:34] Kevin Bianchi: There was pink and green champagne and macaroons.

[2:38] Quincy Brown: The Glinda wand was there.

[2:40] Kevin Bianchi: I got to hold it.

[2:41] Quincy Brown: I got to hold the Glinda wand.

[2:43] Kevin Bianchi: So did Quincy.

[2:44] Quincy Brown: And the other people who were there were other Oz enthusiasts.

[2:49] Kevin Bianchi: Fanatics.

[2:51] Quincy Brown: Fanatics.

[2:52] Kevin Bianchi: It was really, really cool to be at.

[2:55] Quincy Brown: And I think it was, for me, the perfect first audience to watch the movie with.

[3:03] Kevin Bianchi: We had gotten invited to a screening a couple weeks prior that Kevin couldn't make it to, but I went.

[3:08] Quincy Brown: And there was three other people in the audience.

[3:11] Kevin Bianchi: And it was not of a setup.

[3:15] Quincy Brown: It was truly, hey, screening room's right there. Have fun.

[3:19] Kevin Bianchi: And then we sat in silence and the movie played and then we all left.

[3:22] Quincy Brown: This felt like there was a buzz and an energy and everyone was very excited to be partaking in this special moment, which was very fun.

[3:31] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah.

[3:33] Quincy Brown: Okay, so I don't even know how, do you want to go through this, Quincy?

[3:37] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, I'll go for you.

[3:38] Quincy Brown: Because I was excited to be with you at your first viewing of it.

[3:41] Kevin Bianchi: Because I had some moments that I thought you were going to react to.

[3:46] Quincy Brown: And then it was fun to see what moments you were reacting to.

[3:49] Kevin Bianchi: I'll ask you, overall, what was the most surprising thing about the film to you?

[3:54] Quincy Brown: And we're not going to really give spoilers, but we're going to talk about this broad strokes. Go see it. It comes out in theaters on November 22nd.

[4:02] Kevin Bianchi: I think the most surprising thing to me was how natural the new stuff felt.

[4:06] Quincy Brown: None of it felt obtrusive to the plot.

[4:15] Kevin Bianchi: It wasn't like, oh, here, we're adding a detail here just to add a detail. Everything, it was so, and maybe surprising isn't the right word for this, but maybe delighted, is that everything new felt like it needed to be there.

[4:29] Quincy Brown: There was nothing added that was extraneous.

[4:33] Kevin Bianchi: What was most surprising for me when I saw it was how faithful of an adaptation it was of the stage show.

[4:41] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I guess we're saying the same thing.

[4:43] Kevin Bianchi: It is act one of the stage show.

[4:46] Quincy Brown: As act one is on stage, except everything gets a little more time to breathe, and you kind of get to examine each scene a little more, which I think the stage show needs.

[4:58] Kevin Bianchi: And it was very cool to see the full color being painted throughout the story.

[5:04] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it made me think about when we spoke with Stephanie J. Block.

[5:10] Kevin Bianchi: All roads lead back to SJV.

[5:14] Quincy Brown: It always comes back, baby.

[5:17] Kevin Bianchi: When we spoke with her about those early versions of the stage show that were like four hours long, it felt like I was watching that version of Wicked.

[5:28] Quincy Brown: It was like this, it all felt like stuff that has, that was just there under the surface, wanting to come up for air, but there just isn't time.

[5:38] Kevin Bianchi: Something that's really beautiful about this movie is the relationship that it builds out between Nessa Rose and Elphaba.

[5:45] Quincy Brown: Even in the second viewing, it is so cool to see there's a real love there and a real sisterly connection in the film that I think isn't necessarily there in the stage show or doesn't necessarily have the time to build out in a way.

[6:02] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[6:03] Quincy Brown: But you really see that Nessa Rose loves Elphaba, which I think is helpful for the plot.

[6:08] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, because it adds, when you love somebody, then you can be disappointed in that person. You know what I'm saying? So it's like by seeing that love more, we're going to get to see more of the hurt in part two, I think.

[6:24] Quincy Brown: And I think you see the love between Elphaba and Glinda. Even when they're quote unquote hating each other, I feel like you can tell they're kind of having fun with each other doing it, and it's like that weird friendship thing where you kind of tease each other and mock each other before you're able to build something real.

[6:40] Kevin Bianchi: They really are playing it like a love story.

[6:43] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[6:44] Kevin Bianchi: Even if the love is platonic.

[6:47] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[6:48] Kevin Bianchi: They are playing a story about these two girlies meeting and being fascinated by and falling in love with each other.

[6:57] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[6:58] Kevin Bianchi: And then how tragic when it gets ripped away from them.

[7:01] Quincy Brown: Fascinated by is like a good word because even the way that like the students treat Elphaba, it's not like an overtly racist, mean thing. It's like a, oh, you're green, that's odd, what's going on here? Which I did appreciate.

[7:17] Kevin Bianchi: Something Ariana did with her Glinda is, again, the fascination and just the like, it's a very open-minded Glinda.

[7:26] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[7:27] Kevin Bianchi: But then also Cynthia's Elphaba, to me, wasn't defensive in a negative way. Like she was able to have fun with the fact that she knew other people were looking at her weird and it wasn't like a deep insecurity thing is how it read to me.

[7:43] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[7:44] Kevin Bianchi: Something that I love about Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba is that she has zero expectations of anyone around her. Like you really feel like this is a girl who has had to do everything herself her whole life. Like no reliable source for affection, nobody to carry her stuff for her. And she's not holding that against anyone either.

[8:14] Quincy Brown: And it's just the way that, right, there's no, it's all she's ever known, so she's not like begrudging of it. Then you add in all these layers that she plays about, like clearly Elphaba has had to learn to suppress herself and like to take that breath and calm herself down. And so it's just like there's a calmness to her Elphaba that is so striking.

[8:38] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe because we know what she's capable of and we know that what is brewing underneath that, but it's like, it's so captivating to watch, especially in contrast to the zany slapstick musical theater that we get from Ariana Grande, where she's like running around in the background of the shot or like, you know what I mean? Like she is so full out physical comedy in this that it's like that, that like stillness from Cynthia is like.

[9:10] Quincy Brown: It's full out physical comedy, but it's not, it's not white-claw Glinda.

[9:14] Kevin Bianchi: What kind of Glinda?

[9:15] Quincy Brown: Cause she's not a sauvblanc Glinda either.

[9:18] Kevin Bianchi: What would she be?

[9:19] Quincy Brown: What is the equivalent for like, it's like an old school, like putting on a show in a barn Glinda.

[9:26] Kevin Bianchi: She's a dirty Shirley Glinda.

[9:28] Quincy Brown: She's a dirty Shirley Glinda.

[9:31] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my God.

[9:32] Quincy Brown: You heard it here first.

[9:33] Kevin Bianchi: I wish we could make merch that said that.

[9:36] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[9:37] Kevin Bianchi: She's a dirty Shirley.

[9:38] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[9:39] Kevin Bianchi: She's here to have a good time.

[9:40] Quincy Brown: I'm so happy and so jealous because it's like, you're watching Ariana Grande in this movie and you're like, that's a choice that she's been making in her shower, singing along to the cast recording her whole life. It's so lived in. You're like, this is, she's, she's had 20 years of figuring out how she would play this role.

[10:03] Kevin Bianchi: It's so clear that she is coming to this role with the context of all the ladies who have come before and how this role has been played. But she is not, she's not making those exact choices, but she's like, I don't even know how to describe it. She it's like, there's such an awareness of those choices and like ascend up to those choices while still being her own unique thing. It's just like the personification of understanding the assignment.

[10:34] Quincy Brown: Like it is, it is like a well-researched, well-informed, learn everything that has come before you and then throw it away and do your own thing kind of performance.

[10:46] Kevin Bianchi: And I, on that same note, I think Cynthia is, it feels as if she is approaching this role with the context of what it came of, of what came before, but pushing all of that aside and creating her own character based on the text and the Oz history of it all, which I think is a really good balance to have in that duo.

[11:08] Quincy Brown: I agree. I think they're so well balanced in so many ways.

[11:13] Kevin Bianchi: And I think that's a really important one. I'd also argue that Elphaba as a character has more room to develop like a specific, unique take in character. Whereas Glinda on the page in the stage show is a little more built out.

[11:29] Quincy Brown: And it serves, it serves a little more of a bit of a function. You know what I mean?

[11:34] Kevin Bianchi: You said, understood the assignment earlier. And I feel like that is a good assessment of just the movie in general and everyone who created this movie. I feel like a common worry I've been hearing on the street is, Oh, it's so CGI. It's going to be so CGI. To which I say there were like, the movie actually feels very practical and real in a way that I was not even anticipating.

[12:05] Quincy Brown: This is a world that the characters are living in that feels fully built out. Yes, the flying monkeys and stuff, but like it does not feel like a CGI heavy movie.

[12:15] Kevin Bianchi: No, it feels, this feels like weird to say, but almost like old school in the fact that like the CGI feels like it's enhancing the practical elements, not replacing them.

[12:27] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[12:29] Kevin Bianchi: What was the number song that made you squeal the most with delight?

[12:35] Quincy Brown: Well, it was popular. Definitely.

[12:38] Kevin Bianchi: Because I was squealing with delight at the performance, but there's also so many Easter eggs within that number. It's also very quick paced.

[12:56] Quincy Brown: The, um, the editing of that number, visually it was just like so exciting to watch musically speaking, thrillifying. That's all I'll say.

[13:08] Kevin Bianchi: There's a moment in popular that I knew was going to gag Kevin. I also think that it's like so popular coming off of Dancing Through Life. Big, big task, big task.

[13:20] Quincy Brown: Because Dancing Through Life really did it for me.

[13:24] Kevin Bianchi: I was feeling...

[13:26] Quincy Brown: Jonathan Bailey really did it for me in this film. It comes off so effortless. The sensuality, yet dorkiness, yet cute, yet hot and swap. Like it's all, he really is a perfect, perfect Fiyero.

[13:41] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, I agree. I would love to have this whole cast on stage for one night, do a one night only BCFA thing or something.

[13:48] Quincy Brown: Or something, or just like sent men live thing. At the green room 42.

[13:53] Kevin Bianchi: Did it open the way you thought it was going to open?

[13:55] Quincy Brown: The physical opening?

[13:57] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, like the sequence of the start of the movie.

[14:00] Quincy Brown: When you envisioned it.

[14:01] Kevin Bianchi: Well, I suspected that like the first visual was going to be the first visual. I don't want to give it away. But then there's like a big swooping shot that comes after.

[14:15] Quincy Brown: The transition to shiz gagged me.

[14:18] Kevin Bianchi: Oh!

[14:20] Quincy Brown: That's not even what I was talking about. I was talking about, okay, so the very opening shot happens and then it's like whoosh and you see that.

[14:30] Kevin Bianchi: That shot really took my physical breath away, yeah.

[14:36] Quincy Brown: The shiz transition.

[14:38] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. I mean, talk about world building. Talk about world building. The water of it all. Like the moat of it. I'm currently listening to Barbra Streisand's memoir.

[14:53] Quincy Brown: And she's talking about filming Yentl and the importance of the openings.

[14:59] Kevin Bianchi: Wait, wait, wait. Go with me. Go with me.

[15:01] Quincy Brown: We are so gay.

[15:04] Kevin Bianchi: She's going on about the opening sequence when she's trying to cross all these bodies of water to fulfill her destiny. And first she's got to step over a puddle. And then she's got to walk over a bridge. And then she's got to take a boat ride. And then it's like one by one where the bodies of water get bigger but the destiny remains the same.

[15:23] Quincy Brown: And I have chills literally in my hands right now. I'm shaking, Quincy. That reveal of young Linda on the moat, it's just like there are so many breathtaking moments in this movie.

[15:38] Kevin Bianchi: You know what number I was surprised at how much I love, love, loved it?

[15:44] Quincy Brown: What is this feeling?

[15:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. I think it is so well done edit-wise and performance-wise and so exciting. And that number, I like it in the show.

[15:56] Quincy Brown: Me too.

[15:57] Kevin Bianchi: But it's like a top tier standout of the movie for me.

[15:59] Quincy Brown: I agree. There's so much new stuff to learn and look at in that number about Shiz, about the two of them. It kind of serves a dancing through life function. It is serving passage of time.

[16:14] Kevin Bianchi: I also think this thread makes sense, I think if you've seen the movie, but the way that Cynthia as Elphaba is never dressed badly. Like she's always kind of serving a look and giving glam, giving nails.

[16:26] Quincy Brown: Cynthia as a person is so physically different than the girly pops that she's surrounded by in this movie. I think we're great in establishing that Elphaba is beautiful. She's just different in how she looks compared to everyone else.

[16:43] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, totally. You must've said this to me off of the podcast, but you said it's almost like she's an alien. It's not that her skin is a different color. She just feels like a totally different species.

[17:03] Quincy Brown: And I think that that's exactly right because she's just like, she gives them no other reason to take issue with her appearance. She is dressed well. She is well-groomed. You know what I mean? Like she is serving.

[17:19] Kevin Bianchi: Serving more than those Munchkinlanders that she is.

[17:22] Quincy Brown: As ferociously as, yes.

[17:24] Kevin Bianchi: Although I do want one of those blue and orange sweaters.

[17:28] Quincy Brown: Oh, I would look horrific in that.

[17:30] Kevin Bianchi: I would look very cute in it.

[17:33] Quincy Brown: You could actually, you could be a Munchkinlander if you dyed your hair.

[17:37] Kevin Bianchi: Every Munchkinlander has orange hair in all this Munchkinland look.

[17:41] Quincy Brown: Okay, do you think they were specifically looking for a redheaded actor because they knew, or do you think they found Ethan Slater?

[17:50] Kevin Bianchi: I think they found Ethan Slater and then let that be the look.

[17:53] Quincy Brown: I like that narrative.

[17:54] Kevin Bianchi: Ariana Grande is unrecognizable as Ariana Grande in this film, which I think was her biggest bar to clear. And boy, did she.

[18:03] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I agree. I forget if it was in What Is This Feeling or in Dancing Through Life, but I noticed how well she was dancing. And I was like, oh, well duh. She goes on tours, of course. And then I was like, oh, right. She's Ariana Grande, the world famous recording artist, pop star, stadium arena extravaganza.

[18:22] Kevin Bianchi: But here I am an hour and 45 minutes into the Wicked movie. And to me, that's like nowhere.

[18:29] Quincy Brown: It is hard to imagine anyone else in either of those two roles after seeing the movie.

[18:35] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, they really did something special in their individual performances and together.

[18:39] Quincy Brown: Something that I think this movie does well is it lets us live in that era of Elphaba kind of being a popular girly at school. Not popular, but just liked at school in a way that really warms your heart and, again, just adds more color to this story that we all know and love.

[19:01] Kevin Bianchi: Overall, that is kind of like the section of the plot where we get the most breath, right? It's like between Dancing Through Life and One Short Day, we kind of get to see what life is like when everybody's getting along a little bit more.

[19:18] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it's like, let's walk around together. Let's sit together in class. This is great.

[19:28] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Maybe I am that girl. One Short Day made me tear up.

[19:33] Quincy Brown: It's a beautiful sequence. One Short Day is beautiful. And the arrangements, the vocal arrangements, the orchestrations are beautiful.

[19:39] Kevin Bianchi: Something I love about that number on stage is the, like, slow build-up to it from the very first, like, come with me, one short day. Like, it feels like such a good build. And that, I feel like, translates the build-up of that vocally, visually, musically.

[19:58] Quincy Brown: It was so exciting that then when you're finally, like, full-on thrust into the hoi polloi, it's so beautiful.

[20:06] Kevin Bianchi: I think Dillamond and his whole storyline hits so much better on film.

[20:13] Quincy Brown: Yeah. I think that this movie devotes a little more time early on to, like, this is a silly thing to say, but, like, humanizing the animals. That it's just, like, we don't have that time on stage. We gotta keep things moving.

[20:27] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[20:28] Quincy Brown: But there's a few details. But you feel that, like, oh, culture really, animals are really ingrained in this culture, so it is kind of crazy and nuts that this is happening and they're trying to be taken out of it.

[20:38] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[20:39] Quincy Brown: And I think it's like, we get a little bit of clarity, even just, like, visual clarity to, like, see an actual physical goat and not just, like, an actor in a goat mask. Or, like, an actual monkey or an actual midwife that is a bear or whatever. It makes a difference to how you, like, receive these... these characters.

[21:04] Kevin Bianchi: And, okay, so then that's interesting, too. Then you layer that onto what we were saying about Elphaba. It's, like, not so much that her skin is green. It's that she feels like a totally different species.

[21:17] Quincy Brown: Ooh. Mm.

[21:19] Kevin Bianchi: Interesting.

[21:22] Quincy Brown: Mm!

[21:24] Kevin Bianchi: Because then it's, like, that's interesting. She relates.

[21:28] Quincy Brown: But, yeah, I agree. I think the entire animal...

[21:32] Kevin Bianchi: Something bad is a bop?

[21:34] Quincy Brown: ...plot. Something bad is...

[21:36] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I loved that.

[21:37] Quincy Brown: I love the setting of that number.

[21:41] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[21:42] Quincy Brown: How it's executed.

[21:43] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it makes it feel like higher stakes.

[21:46] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[21:47] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[21:48] Quincy Brown: Nothing all that bad.

[21:52] Kevin Bianchi: What was a number that surprised you or, like, that was, like, presented in a way that you, like, didn't imagine or hadn't imagined or couldn't have imagined?

[22:03] Quincy Brown: I'm Not That Girl.

[22:04] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[22:05] Quincy Brown: I'm Not That Girl was different and beautiful and useful. Like, it felt like they used the song in a way that was fun for me and interesting. Because on stage, she's standing on stage having an introspective moment in the...

[22:23] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[22:24] Quincy Brown: ...forest. And in the movie, it serves... I mean, I guess that's just, like, the medium, but the movie allows them to paint the picture of the larger story that I'm Not That Girl is telling.

[22:36] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[22:37] Quincy Brown: And also, the arrangement is very fun and unique.

[22:43] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[22:44] Quincy Brown: I'm trying not to... I don't want to give things away.

[22:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[22:47] Quincy Brown: Miss Arrivo, she is singing.

[22:49] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[22:50] Quincy Brown: Well, okay, so on that note, I imagine this was intentional. Ariana and Cynthia are both girls who can sing capital S and riff capital R.

[22:59] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[23:00] Quincy Brown: Ariana is a, quote-unquote, pop vocalist. Like, that has been her bag. And Cynthia can riff. They both, though, are giving pretty true-to-form musical theater renditions of each of these songs.

[23:13] Kevin Bianchi: Oh yeah.

[23:15] Quincy Brown: There is flair every once in a while, and it's used intentionally and well, but I think it's brilliant of them to do that and kind of canonize these renditions of the songs in a musical theater way, because I think that's going to give these performances longevity in a way that it wouldn't necessarily have if it had been popalicious throughout the entire thing.

[23:36] Kevin Bianchi: Let me add to what you're saying about the musical theateriness of it, is I think both of these women are using their voice as storytelling tools, not just as a...

[23:52] Quincy Brown: Vocal pyrotechnic show-off.

[23:54] Kevin Bianchi: Right. And there's a moment later in part one where, like, just, like, something about Ariana Grande's voice, I was like, oh, oh, she's, like, shifting. I can hear her making vocal shifts as her character is progressing. And, like, Cynthia is and has always been one of the most expressive vocalists that the medium has to offer. And so it's, like, to hear her up close and, like, see her really, like, singing these songs and to see her restrain.

[24:31] Quincy Brown: Yes, it's just, like, yes, because that's the other thing is, it's, like, we know how Cynthia Erivo can sing and does sing and sings in this movie, but it's, like...

[24:42] Kevin Bianchi: Pick and choose when it happens.

[24:43] Quincy Brown: When she gives it to us and how long she makes us wait for the big moments. Something I would love to ask them is how many, how long it took to lock in the version of the song they were gonna do. Like, there are runs in certain songs and, like, how much deliberation and forethought went into, okay, this is what we're locking in and this is what's gonna be in the movie. And what other options were they doing prior, you know?

[25:09] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[25:10] Quincy Brown: Even something like the war cry. How many war cries does Cynthia have in her voice memo? That is, like, an option. What a job to be the editor of this movie and have to, like, sift through all of their delicious options.

[25:23] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[25:24] Quincy Brown: Over and over.

[25:25] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, that's my dream job.

[25:27] Quincy Brown: Speaking of, I think that Defying Gravity was...

[25:32] Kevin Bianchi: Brilliantly done.

[25:34] Quincy Brown: And that is a hard number to imagine in a movie.

[25:37] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, yes!

[25:38] Quincy Brown: Yes! And I think that's, like... A common thing is just, like, how do you put that number on screen in a way that doesn't look hokey?

[25:46] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[25:47] Quincy Brown: And it's, like, we the mortals of this sphere just, like, do not have the imagination capacity to figure it out.

[25:55] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[25:58] Quincy Brown: But John M. Chu figured it out. Like, it's so...

[26:03] Kevin Bianchi: It's definitely an extended sequence. I think that's fair to say. It's not just, like, the six-minute song that is on the cast recording. It just packs such a heavy punch, and it really, like... The thing that makes Defying Gravity work on stage so well and the thing that made it so revolutionary when it happened is that it is such, like, a balls-to-the-wall, like, no-holds-bar moment. Let's make it as big as we can, as flashy as we can, as exciting as we can, and I think the movie does that and then pulls it back to, like, the tiniest moments as well.

[26:44] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[26:45] Kevin Bianchi: There was a moment in Defying Gravity that the entire audience gasped.

[26:49] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Scream. Someone shrieks. Like, it's just, like...

[26:55] Kevin Bianchi: It's breathtaking.

[26:56] Quincy Brown: It's truly breathtaking.

[26:58] Kevin Bianchi: It's a genuinely good movie, I think.

[27:01] Quincy Brown: It's a terrific movie. I feel like we've all been holding our breaths, and I think we can say that you can let that...

[27:08] Kevin Bianchi: Exhale, guys.

[27:09] Quincy Brown: Oh, exhale. Like, Jennifer Garner in Love, Simon.

[27:13] Kevin Bianchi: Exhale.

[27:14] Quincy Brown: You get to breathe.

[27:16] Kevin Bianchi: The movie is out. It's safe.

[27:20] Quincy Brown: It's in good hands.

[27:21] Kevin Bianchi: It's a terrific movie.

[27:23] Quincy Brown: It's so good, top to bottom. It's good.

[27:26] Kevin Bianchi: There's exciting things throughout, and there's things I'm already excited... Well, A, there are things I'm already excited to watch a second time, and there's already things that I'm like, oh, I can't wait to see this play out in part two. And there were moments that I missed the first time that I clocked in the second time, that I was like, ooh, there's really fun cameos.

[27:46] Quincy Brown: I think this movie is... Something that's gonna get said about it a lot is that it's like, if this is your first ever exposure to wicked, the intellectual property, you're gonna love it.

[27:59] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, yeah.

[28:00] Quincy Brown: If you also love the stage show, you're gonna love it. If you also love the MGM movie, you're gonna love it. Like, at every... As invested as you can be, or as uninvested as you can be, in, like, wicked, the movie is a success.

[28:14] Kevin Bianchi: There's a moment in Defying Gravity of Ariana and Michelle Yeoh that just, like, makes me think of that.

[28:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Michelle Yeoh's terrifying in this movie. Like, she's so scary. That moment really does send shivers down your spine.

[28:39] Kevin Bianchi: Ugh, yeah. Shivers.

[28:40] Quincy Brown: Kayla Settle. We got Kayla Settle.

[28:43] Kevin Bianchi: We got her, and then that's it.

[28:45] Quincy Brown: Is that a wrap on Miss Cottle?

[28:47] Kevin Bianchi: It does. I hate to say it, but this does make me so excited for the second movie.

[28:52] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[28:53] Kevin Bianchi: Because act one works as a movie. There's, like, a full arc, and so you can do that in a movie. Act two is where there's, like, the room for development and growth, and so I am just curious to see. It feels like they can take a little bit more creative liberties with the second movie, and I am excited to see what that does and who is a part of that.

[29:13] Quincy Brown: Me too.

[29:14] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[29:15] Quincy Brown: Yeah, what's gonna happen to Miss Cottle?

[29:18] Kevin Bianchi: What's gonna happen to Fanny and Shenshen?

[29:20] Quincy Brown: I want to see it again.

[29:23] Kevin Bianchi: It's really great, guys.

[29:24] Quincy Brown: So bad.

[29:25] Kevin Bianchi: I'm, like, so happy.

[29:26] Quincy Brown: Can you believe how good it is?

[29:29] Kevin Bianchi: It just feels like we're very lucky. Musical adaptations are hit or miss, and it's lucky that this one is a hit.

[29:35] Quincy Brown: It's a big, gorgeous, lush, perfectly balanced, expensive...

[29:42] Kevin Bianchi: Expensive.

[29:43] Quincy Brown: Like, it feels... This is gonna sound stupid to say, but it's, like, I'm so glad that they took their time. Like, there's nothing about it that feels rushed. Like, none of the effects looked cheap or rushed or shoddy. Like, everything looks finished exactly the way it wanted to look finished.

[30:02] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm. Yeah, guys, go see it. As you see it, send us your thoughts. I want to do an episode where, like, everyone sends voice memos with thoughts and questions, and we can talk about it in that way, because I'm just, like, so curious to see what the reaction will be from everyone else.

[30:16] Quincy Brown: I think that's a great idea.

[30:18] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so email us a voice memo when you see it, and we'll do a fun reaction episode. That's sentmenpod at gmail dot com.

[30:28] Quincy Brown: And please email us a voice memo as an attachment. Don't send us a DM with a voice memo, because those are tough to, like, get into the episode.

[30:35] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm not doing it.

[30:36] Quincy Brown: Yeah. We're not doing it.

[30:38] Kevin Bianchi: You forfeit your involvement.

[30:41] Quincy Brown: Quincy, do you want to talk about Big Gay Jamboree real quick before we go?

[30:43] Kevin Bianchi: It was so much fun. It was... I can't tell if I like it more than Titanic.

[30:49] Quincy Brown: They're on equal footing in my head right now.

[30:51] Kevin Bianchi: They're different for me.

[30:52] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[30:53] Kevin Bianchi: They're... Well, they're equal in terms of I like them both, but in terms of...

[30:57] Quincy Brown: And enjoyment.

[30:58] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. They scratch different itches for me.

[31:01] Quincy Brown: Overall, I would say that the Big Gay Jamboree, it's funny, period. And then if you're gay, it's even funnier. And then if you're a musical theater gay, it's even funnier than that.

[31:13] Kevin Bianchi: It was way more musical theater funny than I was expecting.

[31:16] Quincy Brown: Same.

[31:17] Kevin Bianchi: I was expecting Big Gay, capital G humor, and it definitely is, but I would argue it's capital G Hell's Kitchen Musical Theater Gay Humor.

[31:25] Quincy Brown: Correct.

[31:26] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[31:27] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[31:29] Kevin Bianchi: I ain't got my yacht. Bravo to you, Paris Nix. You are incredible.

[31:33] Quincy Brown: Mm.

[31:34] Kevin Bianchi: Jennifer Lopez has a backup.

[31:38] Quincy Brown: Also obsessed with Natalie Walker.

[31:40] Kevin Bianchi: She does.

[31:41] Quincy Brown: Is that how she's billed?

[31:43] Kevin Bianchi: Right?

[31:44] Quincy Brown: Oh, I thought you said... You said it says with Natalie Walker?

[31:47] Kevin Bianchi: I said also obsessed with Natalie Walker.

[31:50] Quincy Brown: It's like you're clocking her billing for Big Gay Jeopardy.

[31:53] Kevin Bianchi: No, that is something I would clock, though.

[31:55] Quincy Brown: Well, did you clock that Ariana and Cynthia have the Idina Kristen billing?

[31:59] Kevin Bianchi: Of course I clocked that.

[32:02] Quincy Brown: Come on. Give me a hard one, Quincy.

[32:05] Kevin Bianchi: It's just like the story of the lore of how that decision was made with, I forget who's on left or right, but Idina being left down, but Kristen being right high. There's so much lore about the decision makers behind that, and to see that it carried on to the movie is kind of beautiful.

[32:21] Quincy Brown: It's the only way to do a two-hitter in this town, baby.

[32:24] Kevin Bianchi: While everybody's happy, I love it. Nothing makes me happier.

[32:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[32:31] Kevin Bianchi: But Big Gay Jeopardy.

[32:34] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[32:37] Kevin Bianchi: I'm so happy to be alive right now.

[32:39] Quincy Brown: I'm so happy to be gay right now.

[32:41] Kevin Bianchi: I'm so happy to be a Wicked fan right now.

[32:43] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I'm just feeling very hashtag blessed and grateful to be alive right now, and I love that the Wicked movie is good.

[32:49] Kevin Bianchi: I love that the Wicked movie is coming out. We should all go see it. Go buy your tickets. If you're listening to this, tickets are on sale. Let's make Barbie look like a little indie film. Okay?

[33:00] Quincy Brown: Bigger than Barbie.

[33:01] Kevin Bianchi: And then we're going to do it again next November.

[33:04] Quincy Brown: What's that called?

[33:05] Kevin Bianchi: Little Shop.

[33:06] Quincy Brown: Bigger than Hula Hoops.

[33:07] Kevin Bianchi: Oh.

[33:08] Quincy Brown: Bigger than Barbie.

[33:09] Kevin Bianchi: Shanghai.

[33:11] Quincy Brown: What?

[33:12] Kevin Bianchi: Wait, Quincy. Sherry Renee Scott in Little Shop of Horrors?

[33:16] Quincy Brown: You didn't tell me?

[33:18] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, we're so done.

[33:19] Quincy Brown: Oh, we're so done.

[33:21] Kevin Bianchi: We can go see her.

[33:22] Quincy Brown: All right. I approve of that.

[33:24] Kevin Bianchi: All right. Bye, guys.

[33:28] Quincy Brown: You've been listening to Sentimental Men. We'd like to say a big thank you to our editor, Anthony Abitangelo.

[33:34] Kevin Bianchi: And a special thanks to Michaela Reynolds and Julia DiMarzio, our photographer and logo designer.

[33:39] Quincy Brown: And of course, thanks to everyone at the Broadway Podcast Network.

[33:43] Kevin Bianchi: You can find Sentimental Men on Instagram, TikTok, and X at sentmenpod.

[33:48] Quincy Brown: Or you can email us at sentmenpod at gmail.com.

[33:53] Kevin Bianchi: Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[33:55] Quincy Brown: And I'm Kevin.

[33:57] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, I also wore my Shiz sweatshirt to the Big Gay Jamboree because it felt like it would get appreciated in that crowd.

[34:03] Quincy Brown: Did it?

[34:04] Kevin Bianchi: I mean, people were staring.