The museum's Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume, which has costumes from Enchanted and Hocus Pocus, runs until March.
Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba to Grande’s Glinda, is based on the 2003 musical, with music by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The movie, also starring Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater and directed by Jon M.Chu, reportedly cost $150 million and is a two-part production. Wicked: For Good, the sequel, is scheduled for release in November 2025.
Visitors to the AMA will see a combination of props and six costumes worn by the real stars of Wicked, such as the sweetheart bubble dress with which Grande’s Glinda addresses the people of Munchkinland (it's pink, and thus more faithful to the Glinda of the 1939 classic Wizard of Oz than to the 2003 musical’s blue rendition), and Elphaba’s “Defying Gravity” outfit (dress, hat and broom) that closes Part 1 of Wicked the movie.
As the famous Hamlet pondered: "Are you a good witch or a bad witch? That is the question." Something like that.
Lara Cornell/Universal Pictures
“Costuming and filmmaking is an exciting form of visual art and storytelling. The AMA is always excited to showcase the work of these artists,” said Kendall Quirk, AMA director of exhibitions, in a statement.
The artist behind these creations is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Paul Tazewell.
This is not the first adventure into the Ozanian world for Tazewell, who's been a film, television and Broadway costume designer for over 30 years. He has a lifelong relationship with Oz that includes designing costumes for multiple theater productions of The Wiz and for NBC’s television special The Wiz Live!
Tazewell's multiple nominations and awards include a Tony for Best Costume Design for Hamilton. The museum hopes aspiring artists can visit and see Tazewell’s work up close.
“We hope to see emerging designers, filmmakers, and other visual artists come to enjoy these costumes from such a universal story,” said Quirk.
Wicked Threads was curated by the Arlington Museum of Art in partnership with the NBCUniversal Archives & Collections. While the “headliner” "Bubble" and "Defying Gravity" dresses have been displayed previously in locations such as Los Angeles, at the movie’s premiere and at the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia, this is their first time in Texas and the debut of the exhibition in its current curatorial version.
For this exhibition, the AMA is taking advantage of its Community Gallery—a free-admission space that was revamped and reopened in early 2024.
Wicked Threads: The Artistry of Costume in Oz is free to the public and open through April 27, at the Arlington Museum of Art's community art space, 1200 Ballpark Way, Arlington.
