Erivo and Grande’s Magical Bond: Behind the Scenes of Wicked’s Glinda and Elphaba

Cynthia Erivo is thrilled to be sharing her Wicked journey with Ariana Grande, and in true Elphaba spirit, she couldn’t be happier with her Glinda co-star. In a recent joint interview with The New York Times, Erivo expressed how unsurprising it was that Ariana was cast in the iconic role. In fact, she was relieved to know she would be “defying gravity” alongside such a talented performer.

“Thank goodness,” Erivo said. “Because it was not the two ladies that I was auditioning with.”

Grande, in turn, shared her excitement upon learning that Erivo would be her co-star: “I said, ‘Thank God,'” she admitted. Both stars were clearly thrilled with their casting choices.

While Erivo didn’t name the actresses she auditioned with, some familiar names like Reneé Rapp, Dove Cameron, and Amanda Seyfried have spoken publicly about auditioning for the role of Glinda. Seyfried, in particular, discussed her intense audition process while preparing for her role as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. Cameron, meanwhile, expressed her joy at the casting of her close friend, Ariana Grande.

For Grande, landing the role of Glinda was a dream come true, offering her the opportunity to return to her musical theater roots. “As soon as I got murmurs that it could possibly turn into a film, all I wanted was a chance to audition,” Grande shared. “Some people on my team said, ‘You shouldn’t even have to audition,’ but I was like, ‘You don’t understand — of course I have to. This is something I have to earn.'”

Grande’s audition process was rigorous, involving singing for both lead characters, performing scenes from the Broadway script, and later meeting Elphaba contenders for chemistry reads. Despite auditioning with two “amazing” actresses, it was clear that Erivo was destined to be her Elphaba.

Erivo and Grande didn’t meet until after they were both cast in the Jon M. Chu-directed film. Once they knew they’d be working together, they made a concerted effort to build a friendship beyond their roles. “The first time we meet, she comes to my house, and we just talk,” Erivo recalled. “The second time we get together is at Jon’s house, and that’s when we first sing together. It was a huge moment for us because we realized we could really do this together, not just as actresses, but as singers too.”

The pair’s bond grew quickly, and Erivo added, “We needed to build a friendship outside of this, and that’s what we have now.”

The first part of Wicked, which tells the origin story of Glinda (Grande) and Elphaba (Erivo), will be released in theaters on Nov. 22. The film explores the unlikely friendship between the two witches during their time at Shiz University, long before they become the iconic Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Alongside Grande and Erivo, the star-studded cast includes Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, and Bowen Yang.