Ariana Grande drew on personal loss for Wicked character

Ariana Grande informed the BBC that she drew upon her personal experiences of loss during the production of Wicked. She stated, “Losing someone you love is something we’ve all unfortunately had to experience – and sometimes we have the privilege to say goodbye and sometimes we don’t.” Grande, aged 31, portrays Galinda Upland in the movie, an adaptation of the highly successful stage musical that delves into the Wizard of Oz universe through the viewpoint of two witches. The two-time Grammy award recipient has experienced personal tragedies in recent years, following the 2017 Manchester bombing at her concert and the passing of her former partner Mac Miller one year subsequent. She described her participation in Wicked, which was among the initial Broadway productions she witnessed as a child, as feeling “like a homecoming.” She added, “This music has always brought such comfort and now being able to spend time with it and be trusted with it is the privilege of a lifetime.” The strong bond between Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo has garnered attention in the weeks preceding the film’s debut. Grande recounted, “From the moment we were cast, Cynthia invited me over and we hung out for five hours and we laughed and we cried and got to know each other.” She further stated, “We had a real conversation right off the bat about creating a safe space for each other and being honest with each other.” The characters portrayed by Grande and Erivo commence their journey in the Oz universe as university students, subsequently evolving into adversaries as Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West. Erivo, aged 37, characterized her part as “a real honour” and acknowledged the groundwork laid by the initial stage performers Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, whom she referred to as “the architects.” She further commented, “We’ve been handed something really special and it’s a dream come true and truly big shoes to fill.” To date, critics have offered varied assessments of the movie. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian commended the “sugar-rush fantasy” and granted four stars, characterizing Wicked as a “blast of entertainment power.” An additional four-star review came from Helen O’Hara of Empire, who remarked that director Jon M Chu “uses every bell and whistle possible to turn the stage show into a movie epic.” Conversely, in a two-star critique, Robbie Collin of the Telegraph labeled Wicked as “utterly exhausting and hopelessly miscast,” further stating that “no conceivable artistic argument” justified dividing the Broadway production into two movies. Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent assigned three stars and raised concerns about the cinematography, noting that characters were frequently “aggressively backlit.” She also remarked, “Jon M Chu treats his Oz as if it were as mundane as a city block.” Nevertheless, Fionnuala Halligan of Screen Daily concluded: “It’s so doggedly faithful to the show, so emphatically orchestrated and so powered by Cynthia Erivo’s exceptional performance, that resistance to its 169 minutes of theme park magic becomes futile.” Erivo, who earned a best actress nomination at the Oscars for her depiction of Harriet Tubman in the 2019 biopic Harriet, is also an acclaimed stage artist who was awarded a Tony Award in 2016 for the Broadway version of The Color Purple. She mentioned that she utilized her personal struggles with acceptance for the character of Elphaba, who faces ostracism due to her green appearance. She stated, “Whether you feel ‘other’, or you feel different from everyone else, I think both of us have experience in those spaces that we have used to infuse our characters.” Wicked, which premiered on Broadway in 2003, has become the third-highest grossing theatrical production globally, surpassed only by The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera. Numerous observers attribute its sustained popularity with viewers to the relatable nature of its themes, ranging from Elphaba’s quest for self-identity to Glinda’s challenges in ethical decision-making. The cinematic adaptation also features Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones providing the voice for Doctor Dillamond, an animated goat. Oscar nominee Jeff Goldblum takes on the role of the Wizard of Oz, and British actor Jonathan Bailey, who has gained global acclaim recently for his part in the Netflix success Bridgerton, portrays Fiyero. Goldblum indicated that the movie’s core themes, such as embracing diversity, held significance for the cast, enabling them to “come together to work and appreciate each other with empathy, compassion and love.” Bailey further mentioned that everyone he collaborated with possessed their own “Elphaba story,” noting, “we have at points in our lives felt different.” He asserted, “In this film particularly, it’s the superpower of individuality which becomes a power to harness.” He concluded, “I think it’s really important right now as well, this theme that there’s more that unites us than divides us.” The musical has been a fixture on West End and Broadway for over two decades, yet Chu contends that the narrative’s core themes possess heightened relevance today. He quoted Elphaba, saying, “something has changed within me, something’s not the same – and that’s the line that really got me into this movie, I felt like we all feel uneasy.” Chu, who also helmed Crazy Rich Asians in 2018, stated that he obtained the film’s script during the pandemic, prompting him to consider how the movie might mirror his personal experience of seeking truth amidst a period of confusion. He noted that the cast members rendered themselves “emotionally available” throughout filming, enabling them to personally embody their characters. He further elaborated, “Ariana, Cynthia and Jeff were talking about the real-world stakes of what we were putting into these characters.” He continued, “It wasn’t just about global politics, it was more personal than that. “We were all going through stuff in our own lives and I think they were generous to offer that up within the roles of Glinda, Elphaba and the Wizard.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. 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