BWW Blog: The Prom is Proof That Ryan Murphy Should Direct the Wicked Film Adaptation

In another article, I talked about possible directors for the "Wicked" film adaptation. In that article I had mentioned that Ryan Murphy was an alright choice. But after watching "The Prom" on Netflix I am sure that Ryan Murphy should direct the forever delayed "Wicked" movie and here's a few reasons why...

All of Ryan Murphy's recent work has interesting use of color and lighting, and The Prom is no exception. The romantic simplicity of "Dance with you" was elevated by the cherry blossoms and pink lighting that followed Emma and Alyssa through the scene. I think this use of color is especially important in a story like Wicked. Scenes like "One Short Day" and "Dancing Through Life" have very specific aesthetics that any good director will elevate but Ryan Murphy will find other moments to incorporate color symbolism.

"The Prom" has a run time of 2 hours and 12 minutes. Yet Murphy was able to keep us engaged the entire time and it didn't feel like you had to hit pause for an intermission. There was a few cuts from the musical that in my opinion improved the pace. "Wicked" is a show with a lot of subplots but I believe Ryan Murphy would be able to manage it.

Lastly Ryan Murphy is really good at taking an essence of a stage musical and putting it on film. Murphy was able to capture the joy and freshness of the original musical while having the deep and personal moments that make films great. They kept a lot of Casey Nicholaw's original choreography which is just full of fun energy and modern musical theater goodness. The sets were reminiscent of the musical sets and the camera work added the sense of dancing along with them. I believe Ryan Murphy can take a beloved musical like "Wicked" and make a film for both musical theater fans and film fans alike.

I believe someday soon we will have more news about the "Wicked" adaptation and I hope that news involves Ryan Murphy. Murphy has proven himself a great movie-musical director with his amazing visuals and respect for the source material. But until we get any news, I'll be rewatching "The Prom"...again.

To post a comment, you must register and login.