New Wicked film is about race with witch Elphabas green skin showing how modern society can vilify people, its costume designer claims

Wickeds costume designer has said that the musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo tells a story about race - with character Elphabas green skin reflecting how society can vilify people.

American-born Paul Tazewall said that filmmaker Jon Chus adaptation of the beloved Broadway production, which tells the story of Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, and of Glinda, the good witch - shows how people of a different race can become vilified in society. 

The Tony Award winning designer explained in an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph, that the character of Elphaba, who has green skin, reflects how people who feel different can be made to feel.

He added that the theme of the film is hugely pro-women and that it will resonate in a very strong way for women throughout. 

It comes as actress Erivo said earlier this year that it was no coincidence that she was chosen for the role. 

Elphabas story is the cautionary tale of what it can sometimes mean to have to stand in your individuality, your otherness, even when systems of oppression are set against you, she said in a speech at the Los Angeles LGBT Centers Annual Gala earlier this year. 

After a frenzied press  tour and weeks of anticipation, the film will be released in cinemas around the world today. 

Wickeds costume designer Paul Tazewell has said that the musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo is a story about race and women

ynthia Erivo attends the Wicked: Part One UK Premiere at The Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London

Cynthia Erivo (left) as Elphaba and Ariana Grande (right) as Glinda in Jon M. Chus adaptation of WICKED

It comes as Grande was accused of queerbaiting while reflecting in her Wicked characters sexuality in a recent interview when she revealed that she thought Glinda might be a little in the closet. 

The comments were made when the actress and singer sat down with UK outlet Gay Times and was asked about fans who ship Glinda and Elphaba as a romantic duo. 

Grande also said Oz is a celebration of uniqueness adding, everyone is just so beautifully queer and that  oots all the way back to the L. Frank Baum books, where, like, literally the most commonly used word in the books is queer.

The star went on to say that everyday in the Emerald City [the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz] is a Pride parade... even like the chickens, those chickens are gay. 

Following the interview fans quickly took online, with one writing: the queerbaiting is getting too out of hand.

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique in which creators hint at same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation, without actually depicting it.

Another asked: Why cant they just be platonic?

OH???? another one simply said.

After weeks of anticipation, the film will be released in cinemas around the world today

The Wicked stage adaptation debuted on Broadway in 2003 and is based on Gregory Maguires 1995 novel - set before Dorothy Gales arrival in Oz as told in The Wizard of Oz

Another fan added: ariana reposting gelphie memes onto her story, liking a post abt the flower fields being lesbian colored, saying the boy is mine is about elphaba, and then saying glinda is in the closet…

The Wicked stage adaptation debuted on Broadway in 2003 and is based on Gregory Maguires 1995 novel - set before Dorothy Gales arrival in Oz as told in The Wizard of Oz - and the 1939 film classic. 

The musical production is still going strong 21 years later, currently the fourth longest-running Broadway production in history.