I Rewatched Wicked: For Good, And I’ve Got To Defend Michelle Yeoh

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Turning a Broadway musical into a successful movie is challenging, but several have actually won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Jon M. Chu recently made two excellent contributions to this genre with the Wicked films, and the second installment, For Good, has broken box office records. The Wicked cast is incredibly talented, though some have criticized Michelle Yeoh‘s singing. However, after watching the second movie again, I believe she deserves defense.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are incredibly talented singers, and their performances in the Wicked films created high expectations. This may be why the singing of the actress playing the iconic Bond girl has received a lot of criticism in both movies. However, I believe that criticism is far too harsh.

Madame Morrible Is Not A Role About Singing

Forget the idea of Wicked being a quirky, niche show – it’s a hugely popular musical that many young performers grew up with. This is a major reason why Michelle Yeoh has faced criticism for her singing in recent films. While she wasn’t necessarily showcasing powerful vocals, the question is whether that was even the intention for her character, Madame Morrible. And the answer is no.

Both the stage and film versions of Wicked give Morrible very little opportunity to sing. She only has a few lines at the start of “The Wizard and I” and “Thank Goodness.” The movie version of For Good reduced her part in “Thank Goodness” even further, emphasizing that this isn’t a singing role for her. Instead, the film focuses on her dialogue and how she cleverly manipulates Glinda, Elphaba, and everyone in Oz.

I recently saw an early screening of Wicked: For Good, and I have to admit, there was a bit of a reaction from the crowd when Michelle Yeoh sang in “Thank Goodness.” Now, she’s not a trained vocalist, but I actually thought she did a perfectly fine job with her little solos. Honestly, we’ve seen way worse in movie musicals! I immediately thought of Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! and Russell Crowe in Les Miserables – they were given much bigger singing parts, and it didn’t always land. So, I think the criticism of Yeoh was a little unfair.

It feels unfair to focus so much on Michelle Yeoh’s singing when she delivered such a compelling performance in both Wicked films. Her portrayal of Madame Morrible is truly manipulative and unsettling, particularly in how she interacts with Glinda. And the scene where she uses tai chi to create the tornado in “For Good” was visually stunning and alone worth the price of a ticket.

Jon M. Chu easily could have chosen a singer like Cheryl Lee Ralph to play Madame Morrible. However, focusing too much on Michelle Yeoh’s singing ability feels like a misstep. Her overall performance was excellent and truly captured the essence of the character.

You can now buy Wicked: For Good online, and the first film is available to stream with an Amazon Prime membership.

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2026-01-09 14:08