I didn’t enjoy the movie. *gasp* I know! Honestly, it’s not Jon M. Chu’s (or the Wicked: For Good’s cast) fault. It has to do with my experience at the “Wicked: For Good” NYC premiere. Yup THEE premiere.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am beyond grateful that I was invited, and I do NOT regret attending! (If you’re reading this and you work with Universal baby, please understand I would do this ALL again. Especially with my friends!) I just didn’t expect things to be so god damn frustrating!
And as someone who’s a perfectionist … I can admit, when things don’t go my way, or how I envisioned them, I can get a bit … *ahem* … emotional. So instead of laughing and watching the movie with my friends, I spent two hours being upset and having to silently manage my emotions … alone.
Which didn’t leave much room for enjoyment.
However, the entire night wasn’t a bust! I just like telling folks the full story! Because escapes aren’t always happy-go-lucky right? And that’s just life!
Not everything of every moment is going to be perfect. And that’s okay! Things can go wrong, and we can STILL have a great time. Both things can be true at once. At least that’s what I’ve been told. Let’s swing back to this later, and see if we agree towards the end, shall we?
However … since I shared all the glitz and glam on Instagram … it’s time to be honest about the good, the bad … and the wicked. So here’s the truth, along with …
My Full “Wicked: For Good” NYC Premiere Experience
Finding a dress for the Wicked: For Good NYC premiere wasn’t easy …
But nothing about getting ready for the Wicked: For Good premiere felt simple.
And as a writer who tends to shy away from the spotlight, BIG movie premieres still feel a little awkward and anxiety-inducing. So I started off super excited, because I mean, getting invited to something this thrillifying felt unreal. But then that excitement quickly turned into “why is the one dress I ordered (because who has money for multiple new outfits on a whim) not zipping?!”
Having THEE perfect dress, that was just a bit too small for my body?
Immediately sent me into frantic mode!
What if the next size also doesn’t fit?
Or it fits weird?!
What if I get a backup dress, and that one also … does not fit.
Will everything arrive in time?
How will I afford all these new things?
As a plus-size writer + creator (with a very limited budget), shopping for clothes isn’t my favorite thing, despite it being necessary for the events I attend.
If stores weren’t so weird with sizing, or I didn’t have champagne taste, with a water-only budget … maybe finding outfits wouldn’t cause me SO much stress?
I spent $70 on a dress and $15 on my shoes, JUST to find out that the dress didn’t fit. So I had to spend another $50 grabbing a backup dress and the original dress in a bigger size. Then I spent the next few days worrying for nothing, because both dresses ended up being super cute! Thankfully.
So cute, I couldn’t decide which to wear.
But after asking everyone which dress I should wear on TikTok and Instagram, I ended up deciding that the green dress would be better for a dinner date. As if anyone ever asks me to go anywhere.
And the Black dress (my original dress) would be better for the Wicked: For Good NYC premiere!
In case I got to walk on the carpet!
Then came the makeup drama, and tears …
But first, quick shout-out to my plus one — Tasha, who offered to do my makeup for me as a thank you for inviting her to the premiere. I appreciate you, girl!
Believe it or not, this was my first real full-face of makeup, complete with lashes and all!
Normally, I throw on a little foundation, mascara, some eyeshadow, and a lipstick and pray it looks cute. I know almost nothing about makeup.
So when she asked if I wanted lashes, I figured I might as well try those for the low, low price of free 99 … since this was the first time someone was doing my makeup for me. But BOY did I not expect to HATE them. I truly have no idea how women put those things on for fun … daily.
All I wanted to do was close my eyes and take a nap.
But I guess, if you wear them enough, you get used to them?
And I’m sure there are lighter ones out there that won’t feel so heavy? So fine … I guess I won’t give up on them just yet because I do LOVE how they looked on me! But god damn!
And after I sat there and got all beautified, I took one step outside into the cold air, and my eyes immediately started crying!? They would NOT stop leaking! Maybe it was payback for making them suffer in the lashes? Jk. I found out while doing my makeup that I have extremely sensitive eyes, so any wind close to my face literally makes me tear up. But it was SO bad, and so windy outside, I almost cried in frustration because I was so scared I’d mess my new face up before I even got home!
So I spent another $40 on an Uber home, so I didn’t walk on the carpet with streak marks on my face.
It was worth it, though! Just look at me.
Yet nothing beats standing in the cold for hours just to find out you can never leave …
After doing my makeup and carefully stuffing my face with a spicy beef patty and Coco Bread from Golden Krust, so I wouldn’t get crumbs all over and have to wipe the makeup right off my face.
I hopped in another Uber, like the rich bxch that I am apparently, and made my way over to Lincoln Center to meet up with Tasha. And after standing in the cold for who knows how long … we checked in, grabbed a glinda wand, AND an Elphaba hat, and got escorted over to the Wicked: For Good NYC premiere fan pit so we could watch the stars arrive.
Little did I know the chaos that would ensue afterwards, because apparently the person who checked us in … had no idea what they were doing, and didn’t give us our tickets!
Not to mention, we couldn’t LEAVE the fan pit!
At one point, I looked back and noticed that the rows behind me were practically empty, and I thought, “Oh, good, we’re going in now”. Only to find out that WE couldn’t LEAVE. Probably because we were the front line and they were recording live for television, and not all the stars had arrived yet. But none of this was explained, and nobody outside knew anything!
So after three plus hours in 30-degree weather, we had to wait even longer for tickets to see the film.
And because of the ticket issue, we ended up entering the building via a different entrance, so we missed the entire red carpet setup, literally steps away from where I originally was. So no cocktails, no Lexus karaoke, nada. Everyone else got to enjoy it, while we just stood there, waiting.
I did get to meet Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater, and Bowen Yang, though! See proof below.
Plus, I got to see Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Colman Domingo, and a few other cast members arrive! If you click on their names, you’ll see live video of them walking the carpet. And yes, those moments made it feel like standing in the cold for hours was WORTH IT.
But this ticket fiasco trumps being trapped in the cold …
After standing outside for hours, and watching all the stars walk the carpet. I could feel the cold kick in! The adrenaline had worn off, but we still had no tickets.
So while we waited, we decided to make the most of our time and grab photos on the carpet.
We threw our jackets on the ground, and quickly huddled together for a group photo because … after all the trouble we had gone through, to attend the premiere TOGETHER, we were finally ALL together!
And shortly after … out someone came, with freshly printed tickets.
But after we finally got our tickets and hurried inside so we wouldn’t miss the show, we realized they had just given us whatever they had left, as if we were some strangers off the street, waiting for scraps.
I still get super annoyed thinking about it. About how much work I put in to attend, only to be thrown in a random theater, 3 floors up, without the cast, to have to watch them on a screen like we weren’t in the same damn country! Which, of course, is why I was angry for two hours!
Not to mention, I’m afraid of heights! (Not so much the height, as I am afraid of “falling”.) So I sat anxiously, at an edge, that I had to look over, 3 floors up, in a balcony seat, trying not to cry.
While listening to everyone below us, laughing and enjoying themselves, munching on popcorn, we never got because we entered so late.
And to top it all off, because of our seats, the kind of theater we were in, and how far up we were … the sound was TRASH! And as someone who went to school for music, and picks her movie theater seats to ensure she gets a good sound mix … this might have been the thing that pissed me off the most.
I can watch a movie from afar, but I can NOT watch a movie with terrible sound!
It throws me completely out of the story, and all I can focus on is what needs to be fixed.
It’s the curse of wanting to be a recording engineer.
However, I’m still super disappointed that I spent hours, no DAYS, getting ready for the Wicked: For Good NYC premiere, just to have a crappy viewing experience. As if I’m not a film critic / movie reviewer, who literally went to the premiere to REVIEW the movie! It’s not like I’m a fashion influencer and just needed to show up cute. Reviewing the movie was supposed to be part of the gig. And it SUCKS that I didn’t get to do that, because there’s no way I could review the movie under those conditions.
*sigh*
But at least I was cute? Here’s a close-up of my hair, makeup, and nails …
And you can totally still read my review of the first Wicked movie until I get this review up.
But like I said, I had a good time with my friends …
This is the second BIG premiere I’ve gotten to attend with my ACTUAL friends. Usually, I’m solo or with another writer, so the vibe isn’t always the same, which is why I was SO excited for us to all attend.
Experiencing a movie on the big screen is SO much better when I can share that experience with a friend! And since I literally wasn’t sitting next to my friends at all. Some were closer to the screen, and the others were all sitting in front of me, like little ducks in a row. The viewing experience of this premiere made the day extremely frustrating. And I left super disappointed.
I did manage to capture all of my carpet content using my new Google Pixel 10 Pro, though!
As I promised Google. You can see my red carpet coverage on instagram.com/asplashofstardust.
Here’s a quick unboxing of my new Pixel, that I’ll be testing over the next few weeks and reviewing soon. I’ve been told the Google Pixel phone cameras are superb for content creators, so I wanted to check it out and see if I should get a second phone — for just content creating. But more on that later!
And back to this movie fiasco …
After the movie ended, my friends and I finally left the theater and decided to grab tacos before heading home. And despite the frustrations, I am genuinely grateful to have had this experience, to be surrounded by friends who support me, and to keep doing what I love — sharing magical (sometimes messy), but always memorable escapes with you.
Was it perfect? Absolutely not.
Was it Wicked? 100%.
Even through the tears (literal and emotional), the freezing cold, and the “worst seats in movie history,” I’m still the most gratituous for being invited.
Because this night reminded me that no matter how chaotic the journey, every experience is part of the story. And honestly? I got to spend a night with some of the most incredible people I know, the very friends … who changed me for good.
So tell me — what would YOU have done, if this were you?
Would you have stayed at the Wicked: For Good NYC premiere and finished the night with your friends? Or would you leave, and climb into bed disappointed, but grateful to be warm?
Leave a comment below and let me know.
Have any thoughts?
Share your reaction or leave a quick response — we’d love to hear what you think!
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2 comments
Let me start off by saying CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to being invited to the premiere. That’s a huge accomplishment. I feel you on the weird sizing when it comes to clothes. I’m on Levi’s website now trying to find a pair of jeans and I’m over it. In terms of the lashes, I tried those things once in 2010 and it was an immediate “hell no” for me. The Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara for 5 bucks is good enough for me. I haven’t traveled to NY yet but being the Florida girl that I am I would have been crying standing out in the cold for that long but I would have thugged it out for the sake of business. I appreciate you sharing behind the scenes of everything. I’ve only been to a few local influencer events and it’s never as glamourous as it seems online.
Oh yeah babes! My first time seeing a red carpet in person was a SHOCKER! But they’re still as fun as they look … when things go according to planned! (And yeah, I’m going to try the lashes again but if not … mascara will have to do! I do not have the patience!)