SOMETHING WICKED

Director Jon M. Chu originally thought unknowns would play Glinda and Elphaba in his adaptation of Wicked, but he had to settle for superstars: ARIANA GRANDE and CYNTHIA ERIVO. VF goes on set for an exclusive peek at the beloved musical's big-screen debut

- CHRIS MURPHY

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE power of divas working in tandem. When Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande sign on to a joint Zoom call, they deliver an elongated hiii so joyous it overpowers my laptop’s speakers and knocks the sound out temporarily. “It could have been that we were both screaming at the same time,” says Erivo. “Sorry, we came in hot,” Grande adds sweetly. “We were excited.”

Like theater geeks worldwide, they’ve waited more than 20 years for the Wicked musical to be adapted for the screen. Directors as varied as J.J. Abrams, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall were all reported to have circled the movie at some point; rumor has it actors like Lea Michele and Amy Adams did too. For years, Stephen Daldry was attached to direct, but that version fell apart. Why did it all take so long? “Having done something well in one sandbox, there’s pressure if you’re going to do it in the other sandbox,” says producer Marc Platt, the engine behind both the Broadway production and the film. “Maybe subconsciously, I was like, ‘I’m not quite ready for that, emotionally.’ ”

A prequel to The Wizard of Oz based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and good witch Glinda before Dorothy, her house, and her little dog too landed in Oz. The Broadway show was staggering in scale and included two of this century’s most beloved musical theater songs, “Popular” and “Defying Gravity.” So the movie’s director would need a worthy vision. Enter Jon M. Chu, the man behind Crazy Rich Asians and