As a huge fan of both Ariana Grande and the Wicked musical, I can’t help but feel a mix of admiration and amusement at the story behind her casting as Glinda. It’s fascinating to see how even a simple misunderstanding could have potentially derailed this iconic performance, but luckily for us, it all worked out in the end.
Auditioning for movies can be stressful, and there’s nothing quite as nerve-wracking as showing up and reading or performing for the wrong role. For Ariana Grande, who is set to star in the upcoming two-part “Wicked” movie as Glinda, this very scenario turned into a nightmare. Before she ultimately secured her coveted role as the beloved good witch, it was revealed that during her initial audition, the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, had her sing for Elphaba instead.
The movie version of “Wicked” is based on the 2003 Tony Award-winning musical that tells the story of Glinda and Elphaba, witches from Shiz University who are depicted in this prequel as they transform from students into Elphaba becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. The production combines the novel by Gregory Maguire from 1995 and the musical genius of Stephen Schwartz. The timeless tale is now making its way to the big screen, with Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba, alongside Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, and Bowen Yang. As the film’s premiere approaches, it appears that none of the other cast members have encountered any problems during their auditions. However, it seems that Ariana Grande was mistakenly preparing for a different role in the movie.
A Telephone Game of Miscommunication
On August 13, 2021, Ariana Grande auditioned for the musical ‘Wicked’ and was requested to prepare for both the roles of Elphaba and Glinda. In this audition, she performed two songs as Glinda – “No One Mourns, the Wicked” and “Popular”. Additionally, she sang “Defying Gravity”, a challenging song for Elphaba. However, according to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Jon M. Chu was perplexed by Grande singing for Elphaba as he had only ever considered her for the role of Glinda.
It seems there was some confusion between Grande’s team and the casting directors as they received conflicting signals from each other. Although Grande has expressed a wish to play Glinda, she only publicly performed Elphaba’s “The Wizard and I” on NBC’s special celebration for the musical’s 15th anniversary during a 2018 Halloween special. This led casting to mistakenly believe that Grande was interested in playing Elphaba and asked her to audition for both leading roles in Wicked.
Grande recently expressed her thoughts on the topic in a chat on the “Sentimental Men” podcast. She joked about the initial audition, saying, “It’s funny because before this, I had only sung opposite songs with Erivo publicly.” Despite the irony, Grande felt she was meant to play Glinda. When it came time for the audition and she was asked to prepare for both roles, she humorously assumed that the casting directors might not be familiar with her voice, wanting to see which character she fit best.
Even though there was some misunderstanding, Chu ultimately let Grande perform the songs she had prepared. As Chu put it, “She was being kind to me and I was being kind to her. We just let her go ahead with it, but in my head I’m thinking, ‘Why is she singing Elphaba now?'” Both Chu and Grande had always envisioned Grande as Glinda, but neither felt comfortable enough to clarify the misunderstanding directly. However, on her first audition, Grande arrived dressed entirely in pink and sipping from a pink water bottle, which is the signature color of the beloved good witch character, Elphaba. Fortunately, they managed to resolve the confusion before it led to an unfortunate casting blunder.
Kristin Chenoweth’s Pre-Audition Message to Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has expressed a deep desire to play Glinda for quite some time now. This fondness led her to establish a lasting friendship with Kristin Chenoweth, who initially portrayed the character on Broadway. Their bond stems from Grande’s admiration and affection towards Glinda. On the show “Sentimental Men,” Grande got emotional just contemplating Chenoweth’s positive response to her audition. After many years of discussing the possibility of Grande taking on the role in a movie adaptation, when the opportunity finally arrived, it was still an emotionally charged moment for both parties. Chenoweth even left to cry in joy in the bathroom during that time.
As per Grande’s account, Chenoweth was nothing but supportive and joyful towards her: “It was the most wonderful thing in the world…she essentially said, ‘I had hoped this would happen. I adore you, and I entrust this to you, dear girl.'” Consequently, there’s no tension or rivalry amongst the witches over the wand; both friends share equal enthusiasm about Grande assuming the famous role.
In an interview on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” a year ago, Chenoweth shared advice for Grande moving forward. She expressed that Grande had already made her proud and encouraged her to “be your own Glinda.” While Grande aims to honor Chenoweth’s iconic Wicked character, audiences can expect a unique portrayal of Glinda that honors its past while offering something fresh and exciting. At present, the first half of Wicked is playing in theaters.
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2024-11-24 18:05