A New Spin on “Wicked”: Choreographer Christopher Scott on his Whirlwind Creations

Wicked has danced its way through theaters, earning rave reviews and the adoration of fans all over the globe. The kinetic, kaleidoscopic movement accompanying the iconic songs was largely thanks to choreographer Christopher Scott, who crafted all-new, original numbers for the show-stopping music, ranging from intimate to epic. 

The adaptation of the stage musical, based on Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” follows Elphaba (Cynthia Ervo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) to Shiz University in the land of Oz, where their lives are forever intertwined. The two students clash in style and substance, but a beautiful friendship takes root, taking them all the way to Emerald City to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

Scott previously worked with director Jon M. Chu on In the Heights, another rousing musical adapted from stage to screen. Recently, the choreographer spoke with The Credits about creating a world of dance for Wicked.

The wordless school dance between Glenda and Elphaba is beautiful. Where did your work start with what those moves needed to communicate?

From the beginning, we knew that this was a really important moment. I’m a big fan of the show, so I’ve seen it a lot and think it’s very different. This is a very different moment, so we really tapped into what the film version was going to be. There are things that work so well on stage that I think are harder to accomplish on film because you have the opportunity to be intimate. So we really took advantage of that opportunity.

How so?

Cynthia’s a very specific Elphaba, and it all really started with the conversation I had with her where I wanted her just to break down how she’s playing Elphaba. I never want to assume that anybody plays the character I already know from Broadway. They’re all going to have their take on it. She’s like, it’s not that she can’t dance or that she’s a bad dancer. I don’t think that’s why we’re already laughing at her physical appearance. We’re laughing at this hat that she wears. And so, the dance doesn’t have to be about that. We should make it more about her being different. It’s just another thing about her that’s different than everybody else, and that’s what dance is. That’s the beauty of dance. Dance has many languages all over the world, and everybody speaks the same language.

What dance language did you want for her?

For me, it was all about creating a language that connected and felt like it was from Elphaba in how Cynthia developed her character. So, I worked really closely with an associate choreographer, Comfort Fedoke, on building the movement language. Then we took it to Cynthia, and at first, there were moments where she was like, “I don’t know if the movement is it.” It’s like a new dialogue for her.

How’d it go when she tried it?

I remember she was just like, “Let me try it. Let me try it.” So she took in the choreography, and I saw her internalize it and put it into her body, and it just took this beautiful shape. I’m really proud of the process because that’s how we treated it. It wasn’t like a piece of choreography that everybody would learn. It was an experimental process. It just so happened the choreography lived through it because we designed it in that way, which was informed by conversations.

What about the iconic hat’s role in the dance?

I mean, this hat carries on in her journey. We know this. She doesn’t throw it out. She’s not like, “I hate this hat.” We have to make this a moment about her and the hat as well. So that’s why we decided to set it down on the ground. As she walks away, you’re almost like, is she leaving? Is she going to? And it’s like, no, it’s all about her and this hat now. She’s like, “You know what? They can all laugh at us. They’ll laugh at us, and we’re the same.” So I’m dancing for you. I’m dancing for this hat, and everybody else can essentially kiss my ass.

Since Oz is a big world, how did you want different cultures or styles of dance to influence the numbers in the film?

I love this question so much because it’s really what I feel like, as a choreographer, dance does. Dance comes from places that have culture. It has a history, and it is our job, as people putting it out in the commercial world, to take care of it. For Oz, there are no rules, but I still want it to feel like it makes sense. They have their own dance world. So, I created different languages for each place in Oz. For example, in Munchkinland, they’re the craftspeople. There’s a rich culture there, a rich history, and that’s why they’re grabbing the dresses and pants. It’s about the fabric. They’re grabbing them, shaking them. That was on purpose to show this connection to fabrics and colors. It’s also grounded and rooted in rituals. That’s why the whole thing with the effigy is coming in; it will be burned, and the whole thing is set. Early on, there was a conversation about how they don’t dance in the opening number because it’s not a dance number.

How’d that conversation go?

My perspective was always, “Well, I kind of disagree,” because to me, it’s a war ending. When wars end, people go out in the street, and they dance. So, I pulled from a lot of inspirations of moments—literally when war criminals were arrested, and people were out in the streets dancing.

How’d you approach dances at Shiz University?

It’s very intricate and stiff and upright, with these little angles and things, because I wanted them to feel like what the youth feels like to me in Shiz, where they’re like – especially because Fiyero comes in from Winkie Country, and he’s going to break it all up. That’s a military-based culture. That’s where the military is birthed out of Oz. So, for me, that’s why it’s all about the boots. There’s something soldier-esque about the boots and the rhythms and stepping – something that almost feels like marching. It was a lot of footwork, a lot of those things. But also, you have to give Fiyero his way of interpreting the Winkie Country culture because he’s the one who unbuttons the shirt and gets a little loose and wild with it. 

Lastly, when you get to Emerald City, how do you want to define the metropolitan look and feel?

Now you pull all different styles and languages from all over the world. We have Afro dance, we have flexing, we have some breaking moments in there, we have popping moments, and Vogue-inspired choreography. It’s all inspired by those worlds to get a feel for all different walks of life. So then when Elphaba’s walking through this place with Glinda, it’s like, well, yeah, now she’s in a place where, “Oh, we’re all different, but our differences are celebrated, together.” And she’s like, “I don’t feel weird anymore. I don’t feel out of place.”

Wicked is in theaters now.