Judy Garland’s Daughter Lorna Luft Reacts to Wicked Success

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Judy Garland’s family is delighted that new generations are discovering and enjoying the magic of Oz.

Lorna Luft, daughter of the late Wizard of Oz star and film producer Sidney Luft, is thrilled with the success of Wicked. The new film is set in the same world as her mother’s famous movie, and she’s happy for everyone involved.

She told TopMob News at the Red Diamond 95th Anniversary Gala in New York City on November 20th that she was thrilled for everyone involved with Wicked. She praised director Jon Chu, and emphasized that Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and the entire cast are unique and have created their own special take on the story and the world of Oz.

Lorna, 73, added that she believes Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and all those involved with filming in Australia and becoming part of the production were truly exceptional.

Okay, so she loves the people in the movies, which is amazing, but honestly, she kept coming back to L. Frank Baum! I mean, the person who created the worlds of both Wicked and The Wizard of Oz? That’s who she really gushed about, and it made my heart soar! It’s like she gets that it all started with him and his incredible stories.

She stated, “I believe we should all be grateful to L. Frank Baum for creating the stories.”

As for whether she plans on seeing Wicked: For Good, Lorna gave a resolute, “Absolutely, yes!”

Lorna remembered watching her mother play Dorothy in the classic 1939 film as a child, and how magical it was when the movie switched from black and white to color.

She recalled being very young when she first saw it. Because it wasn’t on a color television, some of it didn’t quite make sense, but she definitely understood the monkeys, and she started crying uncontrollably.

Lorna recalled her mom calling from New York after she’d gotten a frantic call from her child. The child had exclaimed, ‘The monkeys took you to New York?!’ Lorna laughed, adding that her mom immediately decided she would never again let the kids watch that movie without her present.

Keep reading for more about how the Wicked movies differ from the musical. (Spoilers ahead)

The movie Wicked: For Good starts right after the first film ended, with Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo) flying away to use her powers and help the talking animals of Oz. The story opens with Elphaba actively working to prevent the construction of the Yellow Brick Road and rescuing captive animals.

The film also includes a new song, “Every Day More Wicked,” which is a longer version of the song heard at the beginning of the musical. It features the main cast – including Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) – explaining how their characters have been handling the Wicked Witch of the West.

Oh my gosh, the way they showed Glinda becoming the ‘Good Witch’ in the movie was everything! It was just like the musical, establishing her as the Wizard’s official voice. And they actually showed her getting her iconic bubble and wand! Seriously, a whole flashback to when she was little, getting a wand for her birthday and trying out magic! It was so clever because it mirrored young Elphaba’s flashback from the first movie. But the difference! Everyone was thrilled for Glinda, celebrating her powers, while poor Elphaba was feared for simply having them. It just perfectly highlights how unfairly things were stacked against her from the beginning, and I was completely obsessed with that parallel!

The song “Thank Goodness,” which starts the second act of the stage show, doesn’t appear until later in the movie. Instead, it’s used to mark the finishing of the Yellow Brick Road and to celebrate the engagement of Fiyero (played by Jonathan Bailey, who is Captain of the Gale Force in the film) and Glinda. In a change from the musical, Elphaba interrupts this celebration, trying to warn the people of Oz about the Wizard’s wickedness. She uses her broom to write a message in the sky, similar to how the Wicked Witch does in the original 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.

Elphaba has a heartwarming reunion with Dulcibear (Sharon D. Clarke) while trying to prevent the talking animals from fleeing Oz. During this scene, she performs a new song from the movie, “There’s No Place Like Home,” where she tries to inspire the animals by reminding them of Oz’s potential if everyone showed kindness and cooperated.

The Cowardly Lion, played by Colman Domingo, has a bigger part in the movie than he did in the stage show – though only his tail appeared on stage. The film reveals he was the lion cub Elphaba and Fiyero saved from Shiz, and now, as an adult, he confronts Elphaba, blaming her for turning him into a coward by uprooting his former life.

Similar to the stage production, Nessarose (played by Marissa Bode) becomes the governor of Munchkinland after their father, Andy Nyman, passes away. While the movie shows Elphaba already knowing this, in the musical, she learns it from her sister.

Because she’s still in love with Boq (Ethan Slater), she’s forced him to work as her servant, hoping he’ll eventually reciprocate her feelings. In the film, she tells Boq he’s free to go after Glinda, whom he still loves, but he soon discovers a new rule: Munchkins now require travel permits, preventing his departure.

He goes back to Nessarose just before Elphaba arrives, seeking her sister’s assistance. Through new lyrics in the song “The Wicked Witch of the East,” Nessarose remembers their time at Shiz and blames Elphaba for how her life turned out. In the stage show, Elphaba magically alters Nessarose’s silver shoes, allowing her to walk out of her wheelchair. The movie version changes this; Elphaba enchants the shoes to make Nessarose float, but she ultimately returns to using her wheelchair.

The movie differs from the musical by showing Glinda and Fiyero’s wedding. Right before the wedding, Elphaba arrives in the Emerald City and meets the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He and Glinda try to get her to join them, singing a new version of the song “Wonderful” – a song that’s only performed by the Wizard in the stage production and now includes extra verses.

Let me tell you, things take a dramatic turn when the Wizard finally agrees to release the flying monkeys. Turns out, he’s been secretly holding talking animals captive underground – including poor Doctor Dillamond, a character you really grow to care about. Well, that was the last straw for Elphaba! She just lost it and freed them all, and honestly, chaos ensued. The animals stormed the wedding right before Glinda and Fiyero could even exchange vows – talk about a wedding crasher situation! It’s a pivotal moment, showing just how far Elphaba will go to fight for what she believes in.

The film shows the exact moment Madame Morrible creates the cyclone that heads towards Oz, and we witness its destructive path across the land. Ultimately, the cyclone drops a house on Nessarose while she’s searching for Boq.

Similar to the stage show, Elphaba transforms Fiyero into the Scarecrow to save him from the guards. This time, however, viewers actually see the change happen, watching straw gradually cover his body.

Dorothy, played by Bethany Weaver, and her dog Toto have arrived! While they aren’t directly shown in the original stage production, the movie briefly features them. We don’t see Dorothy’s face clearly, but we do catch a glimpse of her and her companions – Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion – as they travel to the Emerald City. The Wizard gives them a mission: bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. Near the film’s end, we also hear Dorothy’s voice as she rushes towards the Wizard, asking him to wait so she can go home.

Elphaba isn’t the only one expressing herself through song; Glinda sings about her disappointments in life with “The Girl in the Bubble.” This song makes her realize she needs a change, so she leaves the Emerald City to find Elphaba and warn her about the Wizard’s plans.

Similar to the musical, Elphaba and Fiyero stage a plan for everyone to believe Elphaba has died, so they can run away together. The movie expands on what happens afterward, showing Doctor Dillamond returning to Shiz University, Glinda learning to use the Grimmerie, and Elphaba and Fiyero leaving for a new life beyond Oz. The film’s final scene cleverly references the musical, recreating the famous image from the show’s poster with Glinda and Elphaba in a flashback.

The Clock of the Time Dragon, a puppet show featured in the novel Wicked, appears at the beginning of the Broadway musical, but is only briefly referenced in the film adaptation. In the movie, Glinda simply mentions it while telling the people of Oz that Elphaba has died.

The stage musical only briefly mentions Elphaba’s birth, but the movie shows her childhood, including early signs of her magical powers. The film also introduces Dulcibear, a talking bear who helps raise Elphaba after her father is shocked by her green skin. Dulcibear’s presence explains Elphaba’s strong connection to animals and her fight against their mistreatment – a key theme in both the movie and the musical.

In the musical version of the story, Elphaba is already a student at Shiz University to support her sister, Nessarose. However, in the movie, she originally just accompanies Nessarose when she starts school. Madame Morrible notices Elphaba’s magical abilities and convinces her to enroll as well. After that, the plot follows a similar path: Glinda ends up as Elphaba’s roommate, and the musical explains this happened because of an administrative oversight.

Both the stage and film versions of the story feature Doctor Dillamond, a talking goat who teaches history at Shiz University and warns his students about a growing threat to animals in Oz. The movie expands on this by showing other talking animals involved in a resistance, but these characters aren’t in the musical. The song “Something Bad” happens in Doctor Dillamond’s classroom in the stage version, whereas in the film, he sings it with Elphaba in his home.

Both the stage musical and the film feature a love triangle involving Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero. However, the way Fiyero is introduced and how he first meets Elphaba isn’t the same in both versions. In the musical, he nearly runs her over with his carriage upon arriving in Shiz, assisted by his servant. In the movie, he almost tramples her while horseback riding in the woods near the university, and he jokes that she was hard to see because she blended in with the plants.

When Doctor Dillamond is fired from Shiz University, a new professor arrives and demonstrates new animal cages using a distressed lion cub. This enrages Elphaba, and in the stage version, she causes chaos, helping herself and Fiyero rescue the cub. The movie adaptation shows Elphaba instead using poppies to put everyone to sleep – a nod to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy and her companions fall asleep in a poppy field.

A minor difference appears when Elphaba travels to see the Wizard in the movie version: her father shows up at the train station, where Nessarose introduces him to Boq. This moment doesn’t happen in the stage musical, where her father doesn’t come to see her off.

The film expands on the lore of the Grimmerie, an old spellbook written in a language no one in present-day Oz understands. Though it doesn’t include any completely new songs, a new segment has been added to the song “One Short Day.” The extended cut of the movie deepens the Wizard’s backstory, suggesting he’s the only one who can decipher the Grimmerie and fulfill a long-awaited Ozian prophecy. However, we later discover this isn’t true – he can’t read it, but Elphaba can.

“One Short Day” underwent the biggest changes between the stage and film versions, and it includes a special surprise. The movie features a new performance by original Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, credited as Wiz-O-Mania Super Stars. They play characters not found in the stage show, offering musical fans a heartwarming moment as they join Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the Emerald City.

In both the book and movie versions of Wicked, the Wizard initially impresses Elphaba and Glinda. In the film, he does this by showing them a large model of Oz and announcing plans for a road to the Emerald City. He even asks Elphaba and Glinda to choose the road’s color, which ultimately results in the creation of the iconic Yellow Brick Road.

The main events of the act one climax and the film’s ending remain largely the same, but Elphaba’s big song is longer in the movie. During the song, she has a vision of her younger self, which motivates her to fly away, abandon the Wizard and Glinda, and start a new life. This flashback doesn’t appear in the stage version.

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2025-11-22 06:48