Cards on the table, people: Evil, which hits theaters today might be the musical film that leans most towards Easter Eggs. Director Jon M. Chu saw what Lin-Manuel Miranda was doing tick, tick…boom! and decided to take things to a higher level.

While we asked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo what they think we should pay attention to, here’s what we noticed.

Light Spoilers for Evil (on stage and screen). By the way, we’re doing this in chronological order.

Nobody mourns the wicked

• The film begins, like the stage musical, at the end: with the defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West. The first shot we see is a slow tracking shot that lands on Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) fallen hat. Two things about the hat: in the reflection of the puddle it looks like a tornado (like the tornado that flies Dorothy to Oz!) and secondly – the big close up of the hat is (and we confirmed this with Jon M Chu). ) – a profound reference to the Original Wicked Staging as the ensemble emerged from a giant hat at the beginning of “No One Mourns The Wicked.” The giant hat has since been cut up, but his memory lives on in the film.
• As the camera flies away from Elphaba’s tower towards Oz, we spot not only a cloaked, cloaked figure (ooo), but also a rainbow (another pretty little one). Wizard of Oz reference) and Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow hobbling along the Yellow Brick Road with the Witch’s broom in tow. A few more Wizard of Oz References.
• Listen as we reach Munchkinland – you may hear a little musical nod to “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead”! There are also Gulch and “Over the Rainbow” motifs hidden in the music throughout the film.
• One of the ensemble members in Munckinland is Vicki Noon – a former Elphaba!
• After Glinda (Ariana Grande) arrives and remembers her friendship with Elphaba, a few notes of “For Good” play in the score. This happens a lot throughout the film – it seems that the first few bars represent the duo’s “love” in musical form. It’s a great musical foreshadowing for the second part, so kudos to composers Stephen Schwartz (who wrote lyrics and melodies) and John Powell, as well as executive music producer Stephen Oremus.

To Shiz!

• The font for the title of the film that we use when we arrive in Shiz is an exact replica of The Wizard of Oz.
• Pay attention, but you’ll hear a little name-checking for “Mrs Gulch” in the early scenes of Shiz University. Gulch was the name of Dorothy’s tyrannical neighbor in Kansas (and modeled after the Wicked Witch). This isn’t the last Gulch reference!
• Glinda’s mother is played by Alice Fearn – a former Elphaba.
• When Elphaba experiences a magical outburst, the resulting damage shatters a mural of the wizard, revealing one of a group of animal professors who is now no longer visible. The foreshadowing and extinction of talking animals is clear.
• During “The Wizard and I”, another rainbow appears – as does a group of blue birds (a reference to the lyrics of “Over the Rainbow”).
• The Dragon of the Clock of Time appears during a recording of Shiz – a nice nod to the stage design where the dragon sits above the stage.
• Nessarose’s intricate and ornate slippers feature a rainbow and a tornado – another intriguing piece of foreshadowing. Not only are her slippers a subtle hint, Nessarose also wears striped socks – the same ones the Wicked Witch of the East wears when she has an unfortunate encounter with a house.
• During “What Is This Feeling?” we see Elphaba and Glinda fighting with training sticks – the choreography is a clear reference to their broom vs. wand fight in the second act of the stage show.
• Silhouettes and shadows are often used as foreshadowing – moments where Elphaba works her magic and a clawed hand is seen casting a shadow are clear references to Margaret Hamilton’s iconic moment The Wizard of Oz.
• Jonathan Bailey’s horse in the film is the same horse as his character’s horse in the film Bridgerton!
• The librarian Fiyero is familiar with during “Dancing Through Life” is stage and ballet legend Cherida Strallen – part of the colossal Strallen/Langford stage dynasty.
• As Fiyero dances through the spiraling bookshelves during “Dancing Through Life,” corn badges can be seen on the wooden panels. A little taste of Fiyero’s future… No wonder he sings “Life’s more Painless/For the Brainless.”

Ozdust and beyond

• The tune “Ozdust Duet” released on Evil The soundtrack, which plays at a pivotal moment in the film, mixes the melodies of “Dancing Through Life” and “For Good” – thus mixing the present with the future – and arguably the “beginning” and “end” of Elphaba and Glinda friendship. My goodness, it hurts!
• When Madame Morrible arrives at the Ozdust Ballroom to give Glinda her wand, her outfit looks exactly like Elsa’s Frozen – another witch with the ability to control the weather!
• During “Popular”, Glinda picks up a pair of red ruby ​​slippers before tossing them aside (after tossing them together three times!) – an obvious reference to this The Wizard of Oz.
• Also at the end of “Popular,” Glinda reaches for the mirror and holds it up – a classic Evil Stage show production image pose.

• During the dramatic classic room scene, a lion cub is presented in the cage – and Elphaba exclaims, “He’s shaking.” Of course – the lion cub grows into the cowardly lion The Wizard of Oz.

• In contrast to the stage show, Elphaba allows the boy to escape by enchanting a group of poppies to put the classroom to sleep – a reference to the poppy field The Wizard of Oz.
• But here’s the twist! Fiyero remains unaffected by the poppies and helps Elphaba – much like the scarecrow remains unfazed by the poppies and saves the day The Wizard of Oz. Probably not a coincidence…

• Miss Gulch reference part two! As Elphaba cycles away with the boy in the basket of her bike, you nod to Miss Gulch and Toto The Wizard of Oz.

“A short day”

• Okay – this is probably the sequence with the most Easter eggs in the entire film – so apologies if we miss any here.
• As Paul Tazewell reveals, this is the first time a character has started wearing green in the film!
• The Wizomania sequence in “One Short Day” features familiar moments of blocking, performance and lighting. It’s essentially a meta-theatrical “greatest hits” version of the stage show – with two well-known Wizomania actors striking poses made famous by the show Evil Production footage as a familiar riff from “Defying Gravity” appears.
• There are so many cameo appearances throughout One Short Day – book and screenwriter Winnie Holzman makes an appearance, as does composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. We don’t want to reveal two more here.
• Michael McCorry Rose, a Evil alum and longtime partner of Stephen Schwartz, appears during Wizomania – and appears to be dressed as L Frank Baum, the original creator of Oz.

“A sentimental man”

• “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” is a famous line The Wizard of Oz, It’s even funnier when the magician jumps behind a curtain to play a shadow game. This behind-the-curtain section also references the climax of the stage show, when a similar scene takes place in silhouette.
• The wizard also takes a random wooden hut and throws it into the air to rise into the night sky – why would a flying house even be relevant? The Wizard of Oz?
• Be patient with us. As revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Goldblum has a piece of string that he has been known to use for magic tricks. Goldblum tried to include this string in the film, but it was apparently edited out – except for a shot where Elphaba appears to be holding the string. We have to go back and find it.

“Defy Gravity”

• At the beginning of “Defying Gravity”, as Elphaba and Glinda head north, we see a bunch of wizarding paraphernalia, including a potions cart (assuming a potion got everyone into this mess) and a poster for Oscar Diggs, the wizard’s true name our country.
• This goes back to the stage production, but Glinda’s melody singing “Can’t I Make You Understand” is the same as “Follow The Yellow Brick Road.” Cool, right?
• Elphaba and Glinda also take a ride in the Wizard’s balloon – ready to go whenever it suits him.
• We see Elphaba rising into the sunset at the end of the film, which makes sense since she would be flying into the western sky (and the sun sets in the west, even in Oz).
• During the credits, a number of former Evil Stars will be featured as singers – so sit back and wait for them to appear!