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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo cast as leads in 'Wicked' movie adaptation

Published Nov 05 2021 at 2:10 AM GMT
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  • Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been confirmed as the leads in Jon M Chu's film adaptation of Wicked, the hit Broadway musical adapted from a novel retelling from the Witches' perspective the story of The Wizard of Oz, the 1939 film based on L Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
  • (And people say Hollywood has no new ideas any more.)Grande will play Galinda, aka Glinda the Good Witch, the role originated by Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway; Erivo will take on Elphaba, the green-skinned future Wicked Witch of the West, and thus also the musical's iconic Act One finale number, "Defying Gravity".The co-stars shared the news in matching Instagram posts, showing what looked to be a very sweet and teary FaceTime call with Chu.
  • Tweet may have been deleted Grande has long been favoured for a role in the film, with the musical's composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz telling Gay Times that she was in the running and he was a "massive fan".
  • Grande also joined the 15th anniversary celebrations, performing live in the anniversary special and adding her take on Elphaba's number "The Wizard and I" to the special edition cast album.
  • Idina Menzel, who played Elphaba in the original run, joked (we think?) to Variety in 2019 that she should be digitally de-aged to continue the role in the film: "I mean I love you, Ariana, but I still am relevant here.




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  • Published Nov 5, 2021 2:10 AM GMT