Self-proclaimed Ozians couldn’t be happier as the two female leads for the movie adaptation of Wicked the musical is now confirmed to be played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
The two stars broke the news on their respective Instagram posts, both shared their mutual excitement about the show and with each other.
Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, The Color Purple) wrote Ari, “‘Pink Goes Good With Green’. Congratulations, Miss A, The part was made for you, I look forward to sharing this musical journey with you.” She will be playing the role of Elphaba.
Ariana Grande, Grammy winner with Broadway chops from “13” the musical will play Glinda. She too also sent a note to Cynthia saying, “honored doesn’t even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz.”
Both artists performed songs from the musical by Stephen Schwartz. In 2018, Grande sang “The Wizard and I” in the musical’s 15th anniversary concert on NBC while Erivo sang “Thank Goodness” on PBS’ Wicked in Concert special earlier this year. Fans are excited to see how the role reversal will sound in their respective powerful voices.
As announced in February 2021, Wicked will be directed for the big screen by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) who was also in that recent video call posted by Cynthia and Ariana. No finality yet on the Universal film’s release date but according to The Hollywood Reporter, production was pushed to begin in the United Kingdom in June of 2022.
Wicked is based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. The Broadway production premiered at the Gershwin Theatre in June 2003 and re-opened this September after going dark for 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here for more stories like “’Wicked’ Movie Musical to star Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande”. Make sure to follow and subscribe to our social media accounts: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Kumu.
