Ariana Grande has shared her emotional reaction to being cast as Glinda in the upcoming film adaptation of ‘Wicked.’ Grande has become one of the biggest pop artists working today thanks to her incredible voice, which has earned her over 90 billion streams, sold over 85 million units, and caused all of her studio albums to go platinum. The singer is known for her impressive four-octave vocal range and long list of pop hits.
In 2019, ‘Wicked’ became Broadway's fifth-longest running show with 16 (now 18) years under its belt. The musical is based on Gregory Maguire's novel ‘Wicked: The Life’ and ‘Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’, which is itself a reinterpretation of the story of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ told from the titular witch's perspective. The book and musical chronicle the Westerly witch's descent into wickedness, beginning in her youth. The story also centers around Elphaba's frenemy relationship with Galinda, the Good Witch (who later drops the "a" as part of her celebrity transformation, becoming Glinda). Movie adaptations of Wicked have been discussed since as early as 2004, with a serious project beginning at Universal in 2012. After a few years in development hell, the ‘Wicked’ movie production was delayed due to scheduling and the Covid-19 pandemic. Jon M. Chu replaced Stephen Daldry as director earlier this year.
Grande shared her touching reaction to receiving the news of her ‘Wicked’ casting as Glinda in an Instagram post. On Thursday, Chu announced that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have been cast as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. Grande's post caption reads "thank goodness" in reference to one of Glinda's Act II musical numbers. Chu also boosted the post on Twitter, adding that it captures the moment he told her the good news.
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