The large distinction between Half I and Half II? Within the second film, Dorothy will present up extra meaningfully than she did in Half I. And the query of casting for what may very properly be an offscreen position would possibly carry followers by way of the subsequent yr of anticipation.
The choice to separate Depraved into two films at its pure act break was polarizing, however for a lot of (together with the theater child scripting this), finally satisfying. It left each beat of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s unique present intact, with room to play for choreography-brained Within the Heights director Jon M. Chu. Nonetheless, there’s a query of how Depraved 2 — with fewer songs and a darker edge — would possibly really feel as satisfying as its first half.
Schwartz has mentioned through the years that he would write new songs for Depraved 2, which finds Elphaba proudly owning her title because the Depraved Witch of the West and finally having her fate-filled assembly with Dorothy Gale. Dorothy doesn’t really play a job within the Broadway present (she solely seems in shadow) however she may within the movie, if Chu doesn’t thoughts drawing inevitable comparisons to Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.
Sure, there are different methods to develop Depraved’s unique Act II that keep away from echoing the 1939 movie, particularly if Chu and Schwartz need extra for his or her powerhouse stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, to sing by way of. However a current look by younger actor Alisha Weir on the Depraved premiere’s inexperienced carpet has totally turned Broadway nuts into Marvel post-credit-savoring followers. Is Weir, who broke out in Netflix’s Matilda the Musical, however could be higher often known as the terrifying vampire child on this yr’s Abigail, Depraved: Half II’s Dorothy Gale? This single picture is the one proof:
Dorothy does really seem in Depraved: Half I for a sizzling second at the start: A CG model of the character is seen from the again, skipping down the yellow brick street alongside the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. However within the Broadway present, all of the recognized characters are in Dorothy’s orbit as she drops into Oz to embark on her journey, and within the movie, it’s straightforward to think about her taking corporeal kind. Weir could be an incredible and logical alternative: Matilda the Musical is an underrated adaptation wherein she really rocks, and she or he’s a recognized entity for Common Footage, which launched Abigail. Possibly she attended the Depraved premiere as a fan of the present. However should you’re within the casting vary for Dorothy and displaying up in silver footwear (the unique colour of Dorothy’s ruby slippers in L. Frank Baum’s e book), you’re both hiding a secret or out to activate web mind worms. Or each?
At present, Common and Chu haven’t introduced any casting for Dorothy in Depraved: Half II. The sequel was shot back-to-back with Half I, so if Weir is in Half II, she managed to flee all of the paparazzi who spent weeks photographing Grande on the set in costume. Is the Dorothy casting the best-kept secret in Hollywood, or simply the form of rampant hypothesis a mega-blockbuster provokes? We’ll discover out subsequent yr.
