[Disclaimer: This article is part of our April Fools’ Day issue.]
Broadway wunderkind, movie superstar and Vassar alumnus Ethan Slater ’14 will be on campus Saturday, April 5 to host a film screening for his latest box office smash hit, “Wicked Part 1,” a popular Broadway musical adapted for the screen last November. The screening, co-sponsored by the Film and Drama departments, will showcase “Wicked: Part 1” in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film’s Martel Theatre. Immediately following the event, attendees will enjoy a Q&A session with Slater.
In an exclusive interview with The Miscellany News, Slater dished on his process of preparing for the role of Boq, a Munchkin man from Munchkinland: “I actually spent some time at Vassar in order to prepare for my role. I lived in Jewett Tower for two weeks in the summer of ’22. It was the smallest ‘livable’ space I knew of. The rooms are actually the same dimensions as our set of Munchkinland. Living in such a cramped space was really essential to helping me get into my character’s mindset.”
Vassar On Tap will reportedly perform a “Wicked”-inspired tap dance before Vassar Home Brewed, Slater’s former a capella group, takes the stage. The group is set to open the event with a special eight-minute performance of “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Current president of Home Brewed Abigail Jean Wilson ’25 divulged that the prep work leading up to the event has been immense: “We’ve been rehearsing most hours of the day, many of which we spend on Zoom with Ethan. He’s been incredibly responsive—he’s really big on sending GIFs into our group chat.”
Slater’s partner Ariana Grande, also an actress, most known for her portrayal of Cat Valentine in Nickelodeon’s hit show “Sam & Cat,” starred alongside Slater in “Wicked.” Grande said in an interview with The Miscellany News, “I can’t imagine ‘Wicked’ ever being made without Ethan. He truly stole the show in his little sweater vest. I used to think God was a woman but then I met Ethan.” Grande was originally set to accompany Slater to the lecture but was unable to afford a ticket. The College opted to partner with Ticketmaster to sell tickets for the event, with each ticket costing several thousand dollars. The hefty fee was deemed a “necessary evil” in order to adjust for rampant inflation—an issue that uniquely affects institutions with endowments over a billion dollars. The price of admission will “continue to provide competitive salaries and benefits to the faculty and staff who deliver the educational programs, extracurricular activities, services and campus life that distinguish the Vassar experience and prepare students for careers and excellence in the world,” according to an email released by the administration.
Director of the Vassar Film Studies Program and Professor Greta Gerwick said of the intention for the event, “Our department really wanted to create a safe space for Vassar community members to process, evaluate and engage with the movie ‘Wicked.’ We’ve seen a lot of students, faculty and staff members hold space for the film so it is our intention with this event to do the same.” Drama Professor Emmanuel Miranda chimed in, “Not only to hold space for ‘Wicked,’ but for Ethan Slater in particular. He was Spongebob Squarepants, for Christ’s sake. That is a tremendous cultural and anthropological weight to carry.”
At the behest of the Media Studies Department, the film screening will be paused at five-minute intervals for students to reflect on the media they have just consumed, in an effort to diverge from the confines of traditional film screenings where a movie is played uninterrupted. The film’s runtime is expected to be around 495 minutes, a 200 percent increase in duration.
Economics major and benchwarmer for the men’s soccer team Mikey White ’28 shared with The Miscellany News, “I don’t really know anything about ‘Wicked,’ but from an economic point of view, it’s really something to marvel at. The film is literally the highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical, ever. Like, it beat ‘Mamma Mia!’ and that movie had Meryl Streep ’71. It’s safe to say that Ethan Slater is the new Meryl, at least in the eyes of Vassar students.” Streep did not respond to repeated requests for comment. White added, “I’m not an expert, but I don’t think there’s a person alive today that would disagree that ‘Wicked’ would have grossed a billion dollars if they had given Slater more screen time.”
To conserve the integrity of the work, the department has a strict “No-sing-along policy.” Any student that attempts to sing along to one of the 12 songs in “Wicked: Part 1” will be escorted off the Vogelstein premises. Gerwick asserted, “This is not the place to experiment with your vocal range. You can do that on your own time, not Ethan Slater’s. If I see someone so much as mouth the lyrics to ‘Defying Gravity,’ I will call the ResLife Director and ensure their Vassar College Residence portal will automatically place them with their freshman year roommate indefinitely.”
The policy has caused significant controversy among students. For some Vassar students, this rule was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Bailey Tracy ’27, a drama and music double major and member of Vassar College Choir, the Vassar Devils, Woodshed Theater Troupe, Future Waitstaff of America and Knitwits, expressed frustration with this event policy: “Normally, I would jump at the chance to see a Broadway legend give a once-in-a-lifetime talk at Vassar, but I have serious concerns about not being allowed to sing during the movie. I sang when I saw it in theaters. Why can’t I sing in the comfort of my own college viewing party? ‘Dancing Through Life’ is literally my alarm in the morning.” She added, “Not only is this cruel and unusual punishment, it could have potentially catastrophic consequences on the trajectory of my career; I could have been scouted by Ethan himself.”
Carina Cole ’26 [Disclaimer: Cole is a Senior Editor for The Miscellany News] announced she would boycott Vassar graduation if Slater was not selected as the commencement speaker for next year. “He’s the obvious choice. That divalicious sponge is the only man for the job.”