Whin-Chung
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- Dec 7, 2024
Wicked director Jon M. Chu has revealed one of the first ideas for Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth's cameos in the movie.
In the movie adaptation of the musical, the actresses, who originated the characters of Elphaba and Glinda on the Broadway stage, made a cameo appearance during the One Short Day musical sequence.
The Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker explained on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast that the team originally considered casting them as Glinda's parents but it felt like a waste of their musical talents.
"It was a tightrope that we all had to talk about a lot, with Stephen (Schwartz) and Winnie (Holzman) as well, where's the best place (for them to appear)?" he shared. "And we had them as cameo roles at some point, like, 'Maybe they're Glinda's parents' or 'Maybe they're this or that.' And those were all fine and good, but every time we thought about it more, it didn't feel (right).
"They're at the top of their game right now. They're not like some people who don't do it anymore. (If) they are there, you want them to do their thing, and I always felt like as a fan myself, if I see them in this movie, I'm going to want them to do their thing."
Chu explained that Elphaba and Glinda - played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande - were originally supposed to go on an It's A Small World-style attraction in the Emerald City to learn the history of Oz. The team eventually changed this sequence so the information would be revealed in a stage show called Wizomania, starring Menzel and Chenoweth.
"During those conversations that (composer and lyricist) Stephen and I were talking, and I suggested, 'We have this section anyway, that's sort of outside of the narrative that we need to give. Maybe that's where you do it, so you can add a little sugar to the information,'" he continued. "And he was like, 'Give me one night.' And he rewrote the whole thing as a performance for these girls. It was so fun, that's where it felt like, 'OK, this is a great moment of sort of a send-off.'"
Wicked continues with Wicked: For Good in November 2025.
In the movie adaptation of the musical, the actresses, who originated the characters of Elphaba and Glinda on the Broadway stage, made a cameo appearance during the One Short Day musical sequence.
The Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker explained on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast that the team originally considered casting them as Glinda's parents but it felt like a waste of their musical talents.
"It was a tightrope that we all had to talk about a lot, with Stephen (Schwartz) and Winnie (Holzman) as well, where's the best place (for them to appear)?" he shared. "And we had them as cameo roles at some point, like, 'Maybe they're Glinda's parents' or 'Maybe they're this or that.' And those were all fine and good, but every time we thought about it more, it didn't feel (right).
"They're at the top of their game right now. They're not like some people who don't do it anymore. (If) they are there, you want them to do their thing, and I always felt like as a fan myself, if I see them in this movie, I'm going to want them to do their thing."
Chu explained that Elphaba and Glinda - played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande - were originally supposed to go on an It's A Small World-style attraction in the Emerald City to learn the history of Oz. The team eventually changed this sequence so the information would be revealed in a stage show called Wizomania, starring Menzel and Chenoweth.
"During those conversations that (composer and lyricist) Stephen and I were talking, and I suggested, 'We have this section anyway, that's sort of outside of the narrative that we need to give. Maybe that's where you do it, so you can add a little sugar to the information,'" he continued. "And he was like, 'Give me one night.' And he rewrote the whole thing as a performance for these girls. It was so fun, that's where it felt like, 'OK, this is a great moment of sort of a send-off.'"
Wicked continues with Wicked: For Good in November 2025.