“Wicked” has found its Glinda and Elphaba.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been cast as the lead roles in the upcoming film adaptation of “Wicked,” the popular Broadway musical about the unlikely friendship between two witches from the Land of Oz. The two friends are Glinda (who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch), who will be played by Grande, and Elphaba (who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West), who will be played by Erivo.
The stars announced the news on their Instagrams on Thursday, as both of them uploaded screenshots of their excitement from their video call with Jon M. Chu, who signed on to direct the movie in February. Chu also directed “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights.”
“thank goodness 💘 @jonmchu @cynthiaerivo @wickedmovie,” Grande captioned her post.
“Pink goes good with Green 💚💚💚 @wickedmovie @jonmchu @arianagrande,” Erivo captioned hers.
Production for the movie is expected to begin in the U.K. in the summer of 2022.
“Wicked” premiered on Broadway in 2003 and was met with critical acclaim and commercial success. The original cast starred Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. The original production went on to win three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards, with its original cast album winning a Grammy.
Stephen Schwartz wrote the production’s music and lyrics, while Winnie Holzman wrote the book for the Broadway musical, which was adapted from Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Since its debut, “Wicked” has accrued over $1 billion in ticket sales, making it one of just three shows to do so, along with “The Lion King” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”
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Source: WWD