The splashy new screen version of Broadway鈥檚 Wicked (releasing in movie theatres November 22) offers something that few movie musicals ever bother to do these days鈥攖hat, in fact, few stage musicals even give us these days. And no, we鈥檙e not talking CGI animals and drastically extended running times.
The Wicked movie features the stage musical鈥檚 full overture. Even for veteran film orchestrator Jeff Atmajian, who penned the orchestrations for all of the film鈥檚 songs (and the overture), it was a rare opportunity. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get to do overtures as much these days,鈥� Atmajian tells 半岛体育. The last time he got to score one was before Wicked even existed on stage, for 1999's South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut.
His long resume includes several movie musicals鈥攊ncluding the 2023 live-action The Little Mermaid, 2018鈥檚 Mary Poppins Returns, and 2007鈥檚 Hairspray鈥攁nd countless non-musical film scores (his IMDb lists 291 credits currently, and his Wicked credit isn鈥檛 even there yet). But, he says, Wicked was different. Atmajian says he鈥檚 never worked on a film project with quite this many songs.
But even with a stage score with more songs than your typical movie musical, this Wicked film is bigger in lots of ways compared to its Broadway counterpart. In fact, the musical has made its long-awaited journey to the screen as a two-parter (another installment releases next year), with director Jon M. Chu (along with screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox) dramatically expanding the script. The first part only covers the stage show鈥檚 first act, closing with the iconic, high-flying anthem 鈥淒efying Gravity.鈥� And yet what runs a little over an hour on stage has become nearly three hours on screen.
More importantly to Atmajian, what is a 23-member ensemble in the orchestra pit at Broadway鈥檚 Gershwin Theatre has become a nearly-80-member group for the movie. Atmajian is no stranger to stage musicals鈥� smaller orchestras, sharing that in his youth he served as a one-man orchestra for a production of A Little Night Music at the piano, and then an entire string section on a keyboard for a staging of Company.
But even though he鈥檚 spent the majority of his career scoring for the screen, Atmajian鈥檚 not knocking those more modest stage orchestrations. 鈥淭he stage is smaller,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more personal. You actually have live people in the room, so in some ways you get away with [smaller orchestras].鈥� On screen, Atmajian says, things feel bigger, and the orchestra size has to help match that. But that doesn鈥檛 just mean placing additional instruments on top of the original orchestration.
鈥淲illiam Brohn [Wicked鈥檚 late original orchestrator] did a beautiful job,鈥� Atmajian says, 鈥渂ut he had to conceive things a certain way for it to work with the smaller group. [Director] Jon [M. Chu] told me he wanted it cinematic, so I knew it needed to be full and glorious.鈥� Atmajian鈥檚 larger ensemble includes a full string section and three players on each wind instrument, whereas the Broadway orchestration uses a small group of live strings augmented by keyboard string patches, and wind doublers that may have as many as four or five instruments available while only ever being able to play one at a time. Having more instruments means Atmajian has more proverbial crayons in his box.
Wicked on screen shows this off early with the aforementioned overture. Once it gets to Elphaba鈥檚 tinkly 鈥淯nlimited鈥� theme, fans used to the Broadway cast album might just be gobsmacked at the dimension and space Atmajian鈥檚 orchestration brings to the table, deftly matching Chu鈥檚 sweeping aerial journey over a very colorful vision of Oz, the work of production designer Nathan Crowley. 鈥淚 love that kind of thing,鈥� he says of having the larger group. 鈥淚t gives me space to add extra counter lines, textures鈥攁ll these things that are so wonderful to do.鈥�
Atmajian had seen the stage show before the film project came across his desk, albeit two decades earlier. That allowed him to start from scratch this time around, which he says was a secret weapon. It was also a specific request from Chu and what Atmajian calls 鈥渢he Stephens,鈥� meaning composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Oremus, the stage show鈥檚 arranger and music director who鈥檚 serving as executive music producer on the screen version. 鈥淛on and the Stephens wanted me to bring my reaction to it, my take,鈥� Atmajian says.
He got the purest version of that working on the music that is new for the screen version. Atmajian says he auditioned for the project with Elphaba鈥檚 first big number, 鈥淭he Wizard and I,鈥� which moviegoers will hear in this year鈥檚 release. But he made his biggest impression with a new song written for Glinda, played on screen by Ariana Grande. 鈥淚 really responded to it musically鈥攁nd Ariana鈥檚 voice,鈥� he shares of the new song we鈥檙e not allowed to know much about yet (the song will debut with Wicked: Part Two next year). 鈥淚 literally just had her singing. I thought I would start with that, because nobody had any expectation or association with it. Nothing had ever been done with it, so that was my way in鈥攁nd it seemed to go pretty well!鈥�
Big orchestras and sweeping, cinematic film scores are definitely Atmajian鈥檚 bread and butter, but the range of musical styles in Wicked鈥檚 score meant he couldn鈥檛 rely solely on that particular wheelhouse. In fact, he says the bouncy and comedy-heavy 鈥淧opular鈥� might just be the work he鈥檚 most proud of in the finished film. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if the Stephens were maybe slightly wondering if I could bring a bit of vaudeville, in the right way, to that,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 hate sounding self-serving, but I rather liked at the recording sessions that I got the endorsement from both. They loved all the little colorful touches.鈥�
Grande鈥檚 performance of the song, a comedic highlight for the character, is perhaps even more physical than original stage star Kristin Chenoweth鈥檚 staging. Grande really flexes her physical comedy muscles high kicking through the Shiz dormitory, dangling from a chandelier, and more. Atmajian says the biggest note Schwartz and Oremus had on his first draft of the song was several spots where the orchestra could accentuate what Grande is doing on screen鈥攂ut Atmajian says he prides himself on making that happen seamlessly. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like when you just throw things in,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚 want anything that鈥檚 done to match the picture to sound like it should have been there anyway, rather than tacked on. It鈥檚 classier, more elegant.鈥�
Ultimately, Atmajian says that what guided him most through the project was the strength of Schwartz鈥檚 score, which he holds in very high regard. 鈥淚t might sound like a trite thing to say, but the music gave me the answers,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how [Schwartz] came up with the music and the words. They鈥檙e all so interesting and inspiring, and his harmonies鈥攖hey really speak to me.鈥� But, he says, that also made him feel like the bar was raised on what he had to deliver.
鈥淚t asked for the best I could do,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nything I might have done before, even if it was really great, I had to somehow find something just that little bit more magical.鈥�
