“I always joke that if I wrote the story of my life, it would be like a fairy tale, or almost.” The phrase was uttered by the British Cynthia Erivo, 37, and it might seem like it was the day before yesterday, but it is more of an oracle. The actress, singer and writer said it in 2018 to the media specialized in cinema The Hollywood Reporter. At that time, she was nothing more than an aspirant for success. Yes, I was on track thanks to being the Celie of The color purple on Broadway, but he had not set foot on a set and had just signed his first two films. Six years later, her face and name plaster the world’s cinemas after becoming Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West as opposed to the pink and bubbly Glinda, played by Ariana Grande. They are the protagonists of the film adaptation of Wickedone of the most famous and highest-grossing musicals of the century, with 65 million viewers and $6 billion grossed worldwide, which hit theaters this Friday. Her fairy tale, or witch story, is beginning to be written, but the ink had been prepared for years.
There were clues. Erivo was always clear that her place was on a stage, long before in front of a camera. In fact, he decided to abandon his Psychology degree at the University of East London and try at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts: today it is his vice president. Before graduating in 2010, she looked for classrooms and hideaways with classmates to sing and rehearse; remembers and learned the script by heart Wicked without ever having seen her. Fascinated, she decided that it would be her birthday gift to herself when she turned 25: she went to see it alone and connected powerfully with the work. But many things happened until she became Elphaba: small roles, musicals, plays and, above all, that role of Celie, first in London’s Off West End, later in New York. He won the Tony, and then a Grammy, and then an Emmy. And from there, a good first base for that global fame that is coming now.
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It may seem that Wicked It has taken a while to complete—and it is the first part; the second will arrive on November 21, 2025—: it has been a three-year journey since its announcement casting end. And Hollywood had been behind the project for more than a decade, looking for directors (JJ Abrams, Ryan Murphy, Ron Marshall sounded), a good script and, above all, protagonists. Ariana Grande went to see the show as a child, and Kristin Chenoweth, Broadway’s original Glinda, is one of her mentors. The singer was and fit into the (many) bets. Erivo not so much. She had already played the singer Aretha Franklin, the activist and abolitionist Harriet Tubman (with two Oscar nominations including best leading actress and best song) and the Blue Fairy of Pinocchiobut this was something else. There were many competitors, including Grande herself, who prepared to be and sing like Elphaba.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, in ‘Wicked’
The choice of a black, bisexual woman with a shaved head to become a young witch marginalized for her abilities and her green skin was very conscious on the part of director Jon M. Chu, as he himself has said. He also brought a consciousness to the film, an intention to break with a musical perhaps considered corny. Erivo herself has frequently spoken about it during the long and intense promotion of the film. He already did it in May at an LGTBI gala in Los Angeles, where he collected an award for his work. “Now that I am here before you, black, bald, full of piercings y queer, “I can say one or two things about feeling different,” he said. “Elphaba’s story is about how a colorful, powerful and magical woman, despite being belittled, demonized and discriminated against, becomes a heroine. Wicked it is a vindication and a reimagining of the labels used against her. It is the proclamation of its right to exist with all its power. If that sounds familiar to the colorful, magical people in this room, that’s as it should be.” He spoke of the power of beauty and the mixture of voices, of the community’s need to see itself reflected, that there are no limits, of the importance of being an example: “The path is not easy, but it is deeply satisfying.”
The path, indeed, has not been easy. As he said in a long interview with Los Angeles Timeshe rehearsed for months, also vocally and physically. The actresses sing live on set, and she wanted to do all her scenes, without doubles, which involves singing with makeup, wig, corset and harness, sometimes flying on a broomstick. She decided to paint her face and hands green every day in sessions of between two and a half and four hours of makeup each morning, wear contact lenses to film 12 hours a day and not use special effects. And rehearse for months and months with Ariana Grande, but also do something else together: create, out of nothing, a friendship.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at a premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, USA, on November 9, 2024. Mario Anzuoni (REUTERS)
Grande, a star who has grown up on stage, Nickelodeon sets and musical stages, winner of two Grammys, six and a half years younger than her co-star, also decided to go for it. has counted in Vanity Fair that when he saw her perform at the Oscars in 2020became his “favorite voice” and he wanted to sing with it. When they were chosen for their roles, they met at the British woman’s house and sat on the floor talking for hours and hours, getting to know each other. Then one day, they started singing together. “It is something very intimate and vulnerable to sing with another person,” Erivo stated in the Los Angeles newspaper. “And I think since that time our relationship has grown and grown and we have fostered and enabled a really honest and loving relationship. We talked every day, from the time we were making the film until today. And I think that has allowed us to take care of each other on this wonderful, crazy journey, and connect in the film.”
Their chemistry is absolute, not only on screen, but off it. Their promotion, which has been going on for months now—they posed together at the Met Gala last May; attended the opening of the Paris Olympic Games in July—, has intensified these weeks before the expected premiere and they have been seen from passing the lie detector to eating spicy chicken wings, but above all whispering, hand in hand, crying together, in their complementary outfits and in the role of their lives, on and off screen. During filming, Grande separated from her husband while she began dating one of her co-stars, who was also married. At the beginning of the promotion, Erivo became angry because fans replicated the original poster of the musical for the film, covering her eyes and part of her face, which she described as “deeply painful,” “the most offensive” and “degrading.” that I had seen. In each episode, not without large doses of drama, the one supported the other.
Specialized critics say that Erivo is the soul of the film. That her voice, but also her fine interpretation, expressive in her gaze and full of details, predict a bright future for her, but also a complete awards season. The pools predict nominations – although not victories – in the main awards, including the Oscars. She would be only the second black woman, after Viola Davis, to receive two nominations for best leading actress; also the second nominee for a performance by a black woman in a musical and first in seven decades, after Dorothy Dandridge for Carmen Jones in 1954. And with the second part of Wicked ready for next year, it could break even more records. The fairy tale is expected to be long.
How does Erivo’s casting as Elphaba contribute to evolving representations of race and power dynamics in popular musical theater adaptations for the big screen?
## Open-Ended Questions about Cynthia Erivo’s Role in “Wicked”:
**Section 1: Erivo’s Journey to Elphaba**
* **How does Cynthia Erivo’s background in theater inform her portrayal of Elphaba?**
* **What significance does Erivo attach to playing a marginalized character like Elphaba? How does this resonate with her personal experience?**
* **Erivo decided to abandon her Psychology studies to pursue acting. What does this decision reveal about her dedication to her craft?**
**Section 2: The Significance of Casting and Representation**
* **What message does the casting of a black, bisexual woman as Elphaba send to audiences?**
* **How does the film challenge traditional interpretations of “Wicked” and contribute to greater representation in musicals?**
* **What impact might Erivo’s portrayal have on young people who identify with her character and background?**
**Section 3: The Collaboration Between Erivo and Ariana Grande**
* **How did Erivo’s friendship with Ariana Grande develop during filming?**
* What does their strong on-screen and off-screen chemistry reveal about their collaborative process?
* **How does their bond contribute to the depiction of the complex relationship between Glinda and Elphaba?**
**Section 4: Erivo’s Dedication to the Role**
* **What are some specific challenges Erivo faced in portraying Elphaba, and how did she overcome them?**
* **What does Erivo’s insistence on singing live on set and engaging in extensive makeup and costume preparations suggest about her commitment to her role?**
**Section 5: Erivo’s Potential for Future Success**
* **How does Erivo’s performance in “Wicked” position her for future success in Hollywood?**
* **What awards nominations and recognition do you think Erivo is likely to receive for her role as Elphaba?**
* **What are some future roles that you think would be a good fit for Erivo’s talents?**
These are just a few starting points for discussion. Encourage exploration of diverse perspectives and interpretations of the article.
