Ariana Grande’s Wicked Update Leaves Her Fans Dying to See It
I want it, I got it.
Summary:
- The stage musical Wicked is getting adapted for the Jon M. Chu’s movie, starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.
- The director revealed the actresses performed live vocals while shooting the musical’s songs instead of pre-recorded voices.
- The first chapter of the movie is going to see the light of day on November, 27.
Based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the stage musical Wicked has become not only one of the most grossing Broadway shows of all time, but also the fourth longest-running ones, inscribing its title in the history of musicals. The movie adaptation of the literal prequel to The Wizard of Oz’s events was much-awaited since it was first announced in 2012.
After numerous delays and changes, 3 years ago, the film finally was handed over to Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights), whose casting choice made fans incredibly happy.
The point is in the cinematic version of the musical, following a story of two witches of the Land of Oz, who became friends despite their opposite personalities, will star the singer Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland, the future Glinda the Good, and the Tony-winner Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West.
The adapted Broadway show was so hyped among all due to its memorable song performances, including this century’s most favorite musical theater songs titled Defying Gravity and Popular. Given the fact that the two leading actresses are Grammy-winning singers, it came as no surprise they recorded the OST themselves.
However, they went further in this respect. In a recent Vanity Fair interview Chu admitted that instead of usual lip-syncing to the already recorded songs, both Grande and Erivo insisted on performing them live on set.
“When we were shooting it, those girls were like, ‘F*ck the pre-records. We’re going live,’” recalls the director.
Despite the initial skepticism, the results exceeded all expectations, as, according to Chu, the actresses “didn’t miss a beat”. Moreover, they recall the process of shooting the songs with great warmth. “I’m literally never going to forget you jumping on a chandelier over my head whilst singing,” says Erivo about Grande’s performance on set.
The beloved singer’s admirers went literally wild about this anticipated movie’s update. “The talk about live vocals omg Ari and Cynthia are gonna eat,” voiced fans’ common hope Redditor @WisdomOtter, and we can’t agree more, waiting for Wicked’s release.
The musical’s movie adaptation has been divided into two parts, with Part One scheduled to be released this Thanksgiving, on November 27.
Sources: Universal Pictures, Vanity Fair