Wicked seems to have cast a spell of attraction on audiences, from the 1995 bestselling novel to the Tony-nominated Broadway musical to the wildly popular movie adaptation, which opened its first installment as one of last year's biggest blockbusters.
The second part, Wicked: For Good is widely expected to work similar magic when it opens this weekend.
But what do actual self-identified witches think of Wicked? It's a tale that gives a sympathetic spin to the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West, a character who terrified generations of children, in The Wizard of Oz.
"Oh my God, I love Wicked!" announced Tiffany Walker, who owns a metaphysical boutique called Moonlit Mystic in Wayne, Mich., where she also organizes an annual occult-themed block party called Witches Be Witchin'. "I would consider myself an eclectic witch," she said, explaining that people today who call themselves witches draw from a number of folk traditions and ancient beliefs.
"I would also consider myself an eclectic witch," added her friend, who calls herself Mama Rainbow. She instructs followers in the art of performing limpias, a Mexican spiritual cleansing ritual, on her YouTube channel.
"I love how they humanized Elphaba and Galinda to show that witches are just regular people," Mama Rainbow said. She was wearing a white dress and bright rainbow-colored jewelry. "I think we've been taught that a witch is not normal, but I think we all are."
Walker added that she appreciates how Wicked gives the main character a name — Elphaba — and some dignity. "She's no longer scary or something to fear," Walker said. "She's really this misunderstood hero."
A hoodoo practitioner and initiated Oshun priestess who calls herself Juju Bae is also a fan. "This witch loves Wicked," she said on a Zoom call from Brooklyn. " I am obsessed with Wicked I love it. I cannot wait until the second half comes out!"
Still, Bae worries a little about how Wicked has helped move the secret and spiritual art of witchcraft into the mainstream. That's been happening for years, at least since the rise of 1990s movies like The Craft, Practical Magic and Hocus Pocus, according to the 2021 book Lights, Camera, Witchcraft: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television.
Witchcraft has become a little gentrified since then, says Bae. You can buy Tarot cards at Walmart and spells on Etsy, as per a Wall Street Journal article and podcast last month called The Witch Economy is Booming. Bae says she hates to think that the success of Wicked, which started with Gregory Maguire's popular novel in the 1990s, has contributed to what she calls overcommercialization and overconsumption of witchcraft.
But it is impossible for most witches not to cheer for Elphaba, says Heather Greene, a self-identified "modern witch" and author of Lights, Camera, Witchcraft.
"Elphaba redeems the figure of the wicked witch in a way that is very satisfying to practicing witches," she said. "And she's just an icon of the witch, so generally speaking, the witchcraft community adores her."
So expect lots of singing — and cackling — along during Wicked: For Good, which opens this weekend.
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