by: Alana Brown-Davis
On Thursday, ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night’ aired on NBC from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. Arriving a year after the release of ‘Wicked’, this special made fans of the film even more excited for its sequel ‘Wicked: For Good’ coming out November 21st.
Cast members Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, and Marissa Bode performed during the special. Jonathan Bailey performed in prerecorded snippets.
Jeff Goldblum and Cynthia Erivo bring jazz to ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night’
At ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night’, Grande and Erivo gave attendees a sneak peek at two new songs featured in ‘Wicked: For Good’ including Glinda’s ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ and Elphaba’s ‘There’s No Place Like Home’.
There were many highlights throughout the night. Erivo and Goldblum performed a jazzier version of ‘The Wizard and I’ featuring Goldblum on an emerald green piano.
The Hefty Audition Process
Jonathan Bailey explained his audition process with his castmates saying that he recorded himself singing ‘Dancing through Life’ in his dressing room. Later on, Jon M. Chu, the director of ‘Wicked’ showed audition tapes various celebrities recorded. In addition to Grande and Erivo of course were videos from Gayle King, Ken Jeong, Heidi Klum, Khloe Kardashian, Ludacris, Rob Gronkowski, and Shaquille O’Neal.
A New Elphaba Performs with Ariana Grande
Earlier this year, a video of 4 year old Remington went viral of him singing ‘Defying Gravity’ at a doctor’s appointment. Dressed in an Elphaba costume, Remington joined Grande on stage to sing ‘Popular’ adding quips of Elphaba’s lines from the song. Grande taught him how to do her character’s famous hair toss and gave him a replica of her wand from the movie.
A Very Wicked Reunion
Throughout the spell-bounding ride of ‘Wicked’, Erivo and Grande have been known for their very close relationship which translated to their chemistry on screen. That was in full effect as the pair performed ‘For Good’, a tune that celebrates their character’s friendship. The performance triggered tears for Erivo, which Grande lovingly wiped away. Original stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth joined Grande and Erivo to finish the song.
Cynthia Erivo Defies Gravity
To top off ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night’, Erivo performed the movie’s seminal tune ‘Defying Gravity… in the air.
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