Wicked’s beautiful extended “Dancing Through Life” scene could only work on film
Yes, Bad: Part I is only the first act of the Broadway musical, and yes, clocking in at two hours and forty minutes, it is effectively the length of the entire show. But director Jon M. Chu mainly uses that extra time to flesh out the emotional beats of the plot and delve more meaningfully into the characters. No scene illustrates this better than the extended Ozdust Ballroom duet between the bubbly socialite Galinda/Glinda (Ariana Grande) and the outcast Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo).
The duet exists in the show, as the two women dance amid the show’s longest song, “Dancing Through Life.” In the movie the song is even longer, but the extended version is well worth the running time.
In the show, after Elphaba shows up at the Ozdust Ballroom party in the ugly pointy black hat Galinda made her wear, she decides to dance alone out of defiance. Everyone at the party stares at her, but she keeps her head high, risking further humiliation. Then Galinda extends a hand to her, and the two dance together. It’s a brief break in the hustle and bustle of the song, but because the original musical takes place on a stage, it’s all conveyed through a dance that the audience sees from a distance.
That makes sense in the context of the show. But a film can zoom in on the actors and magnify the most intimate moments. So in this version, Chu decides to linger on each individual emotion and convey what each specific beat in the exchange means for the two characters involved.
The camera keeps a close eye on Elphaba, capturing her loneliness, her resignation, and her feeling that she will always dance alone. Without saying a word, Erivo conveys a hint of vulnerability through that stone mask – as well as a determination not to let anyone shake her. Elphaba’s solo dance drags on to the point where it becomes almost painfully awkward. But that’s the point. She’s determined to pretend to the rest of the Shiz students that their mocking snickers don’t affect her – even though in reality they do.
When Galinda walks in and literally reaches out and runs her fingers down the side of Elphaba’s face, it’s not surprising to see the tears in Elphaba’s eyes. It’s a deeply emotional moment, probably the first time in Elphaba’s entire life that someone has invited her in or touched her in such a gentle way. In turn, she lets her own detached guard down, allowing Galinda to see her vulnerability. It is an exchange, a real duet for which both partners must be fully committed.
Chu’s extended versions of the original scenes don’t always work, especially in the film’s extended final scene, which breaks up the musical’s most iconic song, “Defying Gravity,” until it loses some of its impact. But when it comes to this tender moment between the two leads, the choice to slow down the action and zoom in on the emotions makes it hurt in the best way. It intensifies every part of the central duo’s relationship going forward, and makes the ultimate tragedy – which sees Glinda turning away from Elphaba’s metaphorical outstretched hand in “Defying Gravity” – even more heartbreaking.
Bad is ultimately a tragedy, but it is also a love story, regardless of whether you read Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship as romantic or Platonic. Either way, the duet dance “Dancing Through Life” is the moment when love is offered and reciprocated. Chu gives it the space it deserves, and Erivo and Grande do it with gripping finesse.
Bad is in theaters now.