The Original Wicked Was Noted For Tension Between The Two Leads Offstage. How ‘F—ing Champions’ Ariana Grande And Cynthia Erivo Avoided The Same Narrative
As the Wicked release date draws closer, we can’t wait to see the story of how Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, became who they are. Despite the storyline behind one of the most highly-anticipated 2024 movies being about a rivalry between two women, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who play Glinda and Elphaba respectively, were committed to not let that bleed into their relationship on set. This was especially relevant because the original actors behind their roles reportedly dealt with tensions backstage on the Broadway production.
How Ariana Grande And Cynthia Erivo Avoided Feud Narratives
If you’ve seen these two together, it’s clear that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have bonded a lot and become close friends throughout the making of Wicked. Grande recently spoke about how they dodged getting on each other’s nerves. Here’s what she said:
We communicated like the fucking champions of communication of the world. I’m so grateful for it because we kind of looked at this and we said, ‘Oh, that’s not an option. That’s not going to happen to us.’
During a cover story for Vanity Fair, Cynthia Erivo jumped in on the topic as well. In her words:
We needed real connection, and we needed to lead this with love—even in the moments that are supposed to be fraught with tension within the piece.
The two leads of the Wicked cast also shared that they vowed to take care of each other when they signed up to adapt the Broadway musical and novel it’s based on. The actresses filmed the movies (which yes, will split the story into two parts) in London over a few years. Grande shared that shooting the film happened at a time when she “went through a lot of life changes” which as we know included a divorce. Thankfully, these two stayed solid and seem to be the best of friends to this day.
The Rumored Tension Between Kristin Chenoweth And Idina Menzel
So, what happened between the original Wicked stars? Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth debuted the beloved roles of Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway back in 2003. It was rumored at the time that the pair dealt with tensions off stage, including during the time when they both were nominated for the same Tony. Menzel ultimately won the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical over Chenoweth.
Last year, when the musical turned 20, both of them spoke about their tension with Vulture. Here’s what Chenoweth said:
I’d like to speak on this. After a certain amount of time after we opened, my mom was dealing with cancer. I was emotional and I was thinking about some other things. To me, there was no way that I would win a Tony. Yes, it’s the two girls as leads. But it’s Elphaba’s story. I needed to deal with that part of me. I was very emotional. I tried to push it out, I mean, if only people knew.
Performing a show eight times a week while one is going through the emotions of having a sick parent could not have been easy. Chenoweth got honest with herself about that time in her life, also saying this:
It becomes a family. I’m sure, as a sister, I got on her nerves sometimes. I’m positive I did. I get on my own nerves most of the time. But you also know what the other one’s going through. Nobody else can know that but us.
Despite the narrative that permeated between the Broadway stars, Menzel said it was ultimately “outlandish” and they were “extremely supportive” of each other despite being “tired” from over three years as the characters. “For Good” at the end of every show was “very healing” for both of them as well. As the Frozen actress continued:
Whatever was going on in our own lives, it was nice to always be able to come to that at the end of a show. We would always look at each other and say, ‘I got you. You got me. We’re making this thing together. We love each other.’ People were saying stuff out there, and we were good at trying to bring it back to the two of us, because that’s all that matters.
So, all seems to be good between the original witches, and Grande and Erivo are a wonderful pair as well.
Going into Wicked, the only feud we hope to see is the one it will have at the box office with Gladiator 2 when both movies arrive in theaters on the same day, November 22!
