Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will soon defy gravity.
Grande and Erivo will portray Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in Universal’s big-screen adaptation of the Tony-winning musical, directed by “In the Heights” director Jon M. Chu. He’s been attached to the project since February, and casting rumors for the film’s two leads have been swirling for months.
The stars announced their casting calls in respective Instagram posts on Thursday night.
“Dear Cynthia, honoree doesn’t even begin to cover it. I can’t wait to kiss you. See you in Oz,” Grande wrote in a message to Erivo, sent with a pink and green floral arrangement (the signature colors of Glinda and Elphaba).
The two stars are true multi-hyphenates, with the Grammy-winning pop star Grande making her Broadway debut in the musical ’13’ and starring in shows like ‘Victorious’ and the upcoming Adam McKay movie. “Don’t Look Up”. Erivo, on the other hand, is close to EGOT status – having received Tony, Grammy and Daytime Emmy awards for her role as Celie in the 2015-2017 revival of “The Color Purple”.
A prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked” tells the story of everything leading up to Dorothy’s arrival in Oz. In her original Broadway series, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth portrayed enemies Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch. With Broadway theaters reopening after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “Wicked” recently resumed live performances.
The “Wicked” film adaptation has been a long time coming and was recently stalled by the departure of Stephen Daldry as director last October due to scheduling conflicts. Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway show, is adapting the screenplay with Winnie Holzman. Marc Platt, who produced the Broadway musical, is also set to produce the film.
Enjoy this iconic performance of the song from the musical “The Wizard and I” performed by Grande in 2018.