Incredible casting.
The highly anticipated film adaption of the Broadway musical Wicked has finally found its lead witches.
Singer Ariana Grande has been cast to play Glinda, while English actress Cynthia Erivo will take on the role of Elphaba.
The two stars took to Instagram to share the news.
Ariana posted a series of photos on her grid, including a bouquet of flowers she received from her future co-star.
The message on the card reads: “‘Pink Goes Good With Green’
“Congratulations Miss A. The Part Was Made For You. I Look Forward To Sharing This Musical Journey With You.
“Love, Cynthia.”
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In her caption, Ariana wrote “thank goodness”, a reference to one of Glinda’s songs from the show.
Cynthia similarly shared a photo of her reaction to the casting, and a card from Ariana which read: “Dear Cynthia, honoured doesn’t even begin to cover it i cannot wait to hug you.
“See you in Oz. All my love, ari.”
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The film’s director, Jon Chu also took to Instagram sharing a photo of the stars the moment they realised they had been cast.
In his caption, he wrote: “These two witches!! The emotional moment I got to tell @cynthiaerivo and @arianagrande that they were our Elphaba and Glinda in the @WickedMovie for @unistudios.
“Wait until you see what they bring!! It is other worldly. Ahhhhh!”
With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, the smash-hit musical Wicked enjoyed its Broadway debut in 2003, and has been running ever since, with the exception of the pandemic.
The show acts as a prequel to the Wizard of Oz and tells the story of Wicked Witch of the West, and how she came to be so wicked.
Ariana Grande makes no secret of her love for the show. In fact, she performed one of Elphaba’s songs, The Wizard And I, at the show’s 15th Anniversary Special.
