Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo star in “Wicked: Part I.”

As the younger sister to a theater fanatic who worked as a stage manager for years, I have always loved musicals. The magical realism in so many of them, how the stage works and the incredible live singing just fascinates me.

My sister brought me to see a touring production of “Wicked” when I was a teenager, and I loved it. The storyline of staying true to yourself but also supporting your friend going in a different direction is one that I admired. In my senior year of high school, my best friend and I even performed a rendition of “For Good” from the musical during our Broadway-themed choir concert.

All that to say, “Wicked” holds a special place in my heart, and while I love live performances, I must say that I also love a good movie musical and was stoked for the new movie. I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo did, in my opinion, a beautiful job honoring the stage production while also bringing new energy, complexity and hilarity to their roles. I also loved these little motifs in the music that foreshadow some of the coming songs in the second part (which will be released in about a year).

For a movie that lasts about two hours and 40 minutes, I swear I barely noticed any time passing at all. I saw it twice in one weekend and left both times feeling like I could grab a snack and sit down to watch it again immediately.

There are some hilarious one-liners and fun, upbeat dance numbers sprinkled in a movie showcasing love, loss, acceptance and rejection of norms.

If you haven’t yet hopped on the train to the Emerald City, I hope you check it out.