ON THE COVER: WICKED

The long-anticipated movie musical Wicked, co-starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as witches of Oz, has early viewers in rhapsodies and is expected to be a blockbuster that lights up the multiplexes like a Christmas tree. Vocal marvels Grande and Erivo are earning major props for their performances, and we fully expect the Verve/Republic soundtrack (dropping simultaneously with the film on 11/22) to catapult composer Stephen Schwartz’s beloved songs to the forefront of the zeitgeist. Even so, everyone involved devoutly hopes that someone will drop a house on us.