Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo React to Casting News in New ‘Wicked’ Promo
With less than two weeks away from the Wicked premiere, a promo video reveals the moment Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo learned they’d star as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in the 2024 adaptation of the classic Broadway production. The song “Defying Gravity” plays in the background as the powerhouse vocalists transform into their Wicked roles.
The 90-second video, released by Xfinity Tuesday, features Erivo wiping tears from her face as director Jon M. Chu shares the casting news over a video call: “The world needs to see more of you, and we would love for you to be our Elphaba.” In a following video call clip, an emotional Grande expresses her gratitude as Chu says, “We want you to be our Glinda the good.”
The Eternal Sunshine singer has long wished to star as the bubble-riding “good witch” in the Wizard of Oz prequel. After watching a Wicked Broadway performance at age 10, Grande met Kristin Chenoweth, the original Glinda, backstage. And after watching the Broadway production again in 2011, Grande posted her dreams about starring in the role on social media.
“Love seeing Wicked again…amazing production!” the 2011 tweet read, which Grande recreates in the promo video. “Made me realize again how badly I want to play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole”
During the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked Saturday, Grande, alongside Erivo, united with Chenoweth and the Broadway Elphaba Idina Menzel.
As for Erivo, she had early exposure to Wicked in drama school, playing the musical’s librettos with a college friend. Five years later, she took herself on a solo date to see the Broadway production and resonated with Elphaba’s outsider qualities. Fast-forward a decade, and Erivo expressed her pre-premiere jitters for the green-skinned role in a Rolling Stone interview with Renee Rapp, recalling that she watched the Wicked film for the first time earlier that year.
“I’ve been speaking to Jon Chu, our director, and he is finishing the last shot of the film, putting it all together,” Erivo said, as part of Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians segment. “I’m just really excited. We’ve worked through the soundtrack — me and [Ariana Grande] have been working hard. We’re just excited for it to all come together, for people to see it. I’m very excited.”
