Tony Award winner and star of the original Wicked Broadway production, Kristin Chenoweth, has now offered her reaction to this year’s big screen adaptation. Taking to social media, the actress and singer, revealed that she has now seen the highly anticipated musical, which stars Ariana Grande in Chenoweth’s role of Glinda the Good Witch, and declared that she will “never be the same.”
Sharing a clip of her post-screening reaction on Instagram, Chenoweth wrote the caption “Y’ALL WON’T EVEN BELIEVE HOW GOOD IT IS. I’ll never be the same!!!” and heaped praise on lead stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
“Oh my gosh I just saw the movie and I’m dying. I’m deceased, I’m actually dead, I’m not here. People are not going to be well when they see this film. It is so good, it is so special.
The story is so wonderful, and Cynthia and Ariana are amazing. The whole cast is amazing. Jon Chu nailed it. I was so moved, emotional, happy, filled with joy. Please everybody go see Wicked, you’ll be blessed.”
Wicked Flies Into Theaters on November 22
Chenoweth first starred in Wicked alongside Idina Menzel as Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West when the show opened back in 2003. Based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel and L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” books, Chenoweth was nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical, with her co-star Menzel winning the award.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, Wicked will be split into two movies, with this year’s first part all set to star Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande alongside Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage.
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Chenoweth hugely promising reaction chimes with what we’ve heard about the movie musical so far. The first early reactions have now emerged, with Variety’s Clayton Davis also heaping praise on the two leads, saying, “Galinda is the role Ariana Grande was born to play. Perfectly suited and genuinely a hilarious, scene-stealing performance. Cynthia Erivo’s heavenly vocals allow her to make Elphaba her own.” Critic Simon Thomspon, meanwhile, declares the adaptation an “Oz-some spectacle that pops and enchants on the big screen. An absolutely stunning vision. Leads Erivo and Grande knock it out of the park. While this perhaps won’t convert many anti-musical folks, genre fans and die-hard Ozians (Wickhards?) will feast on this.”
Wicked promises to tell the untold story of the witches of Oz, Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Cast
- Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Bowen Yang , Bronwyn James , Keala Settle , Peter Dinklage , Aaron Teoh , Grecia De la Paz , Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James , Andy Nyman , Courtney Mae-Briggs , Sharon D. Clarke , Jenna Boyd
- Runtime
- 160 Minutes
- Writers
- Gregory Maguire , Winnie Holzman , Dana Fox , L. Frank Baum
- Studio
- Studio(s)
- Marc Platt Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Character(s)
- Elphaba Thropp , Glinda Upland , Madame Morrible , The Wizard , Fiyero Tigelaar , Boq , Nessarose Thropp , Pfannee , ShenShen , Miss Coddle , Doctor Dillamond (voice) , Avaric Tenmeadows , Gilligan , Professor Nikidik , Glinda’s Father , Governor Frexspar Thropp , Melena Thropp , The Midwife