Ahead of the ‘Wicked’ follow up’s theatrical release on Nov. 21, 2025, Schwartz takes us through the procedure of composing ‘No Place Like Home’ for Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ for Ariana Grande’s Glinda
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in ‘Wicked: For Good,’ directed by Jon M. Chu. Image: Universal Pictures
When the long-running and precious musical Wicked was adjusted into a movie and launched in 2015, it was no doubt admired for its tunes, sung by lead stars Cynthia Erivo (who plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West) and Ariana Grande (as Glinda the Good).
A year later on, the follow up Wicked: For Good — in theaters worldwide on Nov. 21, 2025– adjusts the 2nd act of the musical by theater author and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who’s likewise composed 2 brand-new initial tunes for the screen. In addition to improving tunes from the initial 2024 movie soundtrack, Wicked: For Good has “No Place Like Home” composed for Elphaba (with Erivo likewise getting composing credits) and “The Girl in the Bubble” composed for Glinda.
Describing Glinda’s tune, Schwartz specifically informs Wanderer India“In this movie, Glinda reaches a point of crisis where she simply can not continue to live the method she has actually been. She has actually been insulated from what is actually going on, cutting off her own morality and sense of decency in order to have the features of what she believes she desires. There is a minute where she should challenge this, and it felt vital that we take the time to have a tune in which to do that.”
For Elphaba’s tune,” No Place Like Home, “Schwartz states it was very important to demonstrate how much the Wicked Witch of the West really likes Oz. Schwartz states, “Although it has actually not been great to her, it is her home, and all of her body and soul wishes to remain there, defend it, and make it a much better location. When you are born someplace, that location enters into you, and you can not actually describe why. That is a universal sensation, and I attempted to catch that in this tune.” It resulted in entering a various thematic instructions compared to Glinda’s tune, and likewise makes a recommendation to the well-known line “there’s no location like home” from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz
Buzzing with enjoyment about the brand-new music he got to compose and make up for Wicked: For GoodSchwartz likewise discussed remodeling the previous tunes for a 12-track OST that will be launched together with the movie on Nov. 21, 2025. He states, “There are the 2 brand-new tunes, however numerous of the other tunes are not simply reinterpreted in regards to efficiency however in fact thoroughly reworded, too. That, naturally, is constantly tough, however I am an author, which is the obstacle that keeps me thrilled and keeps me returning to the piano.”
Schwartz has actually long been a powerhouse in making up music for phase musicals and movies, with credits varying from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to CaptivatedIn 2005, he was likewise part of the musical phase production Thiruvasakam in Symphony led by famous South Indian author Ilaiyaraaja, transcribing Tamil poetry by saint-poet Manikkavasagar. In 2020, he signed up with forces with A.R. Rahman to compose lyrics for “Hands Around the World,” which raised awareness about environment modification.