Step into the enchanted world of Oz as we unveil the most magical behind-the-scenes stories from the making of "Wicked"! From improvised moments to live musical performances, these tales will make you fall in love with the movie all over again. Discover how the cast and crew brought this beloved musical to life on the big screen.
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00:00Those lines, are those written or improv?"
00:02Those were mostly improvised.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:05And today, we're counting down our picks for the most heartwarming tales
00:09from the set of Wicked that give us all the more reason
00:11to be obsessed with this iconic movie musical.
00:14It was an immediate no-brainer for Cynthia and I.
00:17We both were like, well, of course we're singing live.
00:22Number 10.
00:23Anything for the piercings.
00:25Historically, you might be used to prosthetic noses
00:28or chins on witches in film and TV.
00:30While Wicked resorts to no such stereotypes,
00:33prosthetics were a huge part of actress Cynthia Erivo's makeup for Elphaba,
00:37specifically for her ears.
00:40My ears, well, see, because my ears are covered in piercings, right?
00:45Instead of taking out all the piercings,
00:47we put prosthetic over it so that it covers up my ears.
00:50You may have noticed the star donning a number of stunning earrings
00:53during the press tour for the film.
00:54It was for those piercings that the Wicked team created a shell
00:58to save our heroine the trouble of having to take her jewelry off every time.
01:11If you have even just a few piercings,
01:13you'll know how brilliant an idea this was.
01:28What this person represents and what I want to say with her.
01:33Number 9.
01:34An old friend.
01:36Unless you're an eagle-eyed equine specialist,
01:39you probably didn't notice that Jonathan Bailey
01:41rides the same horse in both Bridgerton and Wicked.
01:44You know, Fieri has a horse, he has a steed,
01:46and I knew there was only one man for the job,
01:47and that was Jack, the horse that I worked with in Bridgerton.
01:50What you might have picked up on, however,
01:52is how perfectly in sync he was with his furry friend.
01:55Their obvious bond is exactly why Bailey was so particular
01:59about bringing his former castmate, named Jack, along for the musical ride.
02:03In fact, Bailey recommended the steed the very first day he met director Jon M. Chu.
02:08He was, he's a sentient being, and he's, um,
02:10he's very present and calm when you need him to be.
02:13Yeah, and I mean, obviously, um, I mean, hopefully, hopefully, you know.
02:18As if we needed any more reasons to fall head over heels in love with this man.
02:23Is this how you go through life?
02:24Just running amok and trampling anyone in your path?
02:28No.
02:30No.
02:30Sometimes I'm asleep.
02:32Number 8.
02:32Don't forget the souvenirs.
02:34Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo spent the past few years of their lives
02:38dedicating themselves to Wicked.
02:40Along the way, they picked up some souvenirs.
02:43They're stealing stuff on set, but they don't think I know.
02:47Does somebody take any postcards here?
02:51I stole one.
02:52I stole one.
02:52Please don't.
02:53Oh.
02:55This included Glinda's wand and Elphaba's broom,
02:58the latter of which now graces Erivo's wall.
03:00Well, the thing is, I got really used to, like,
03:03how to hold it and how to catch it if I needed to.
03:05But she can catch a broom, it can be anywhere.
03:08But I think I just got really attached to it.
03:10So I understood it.
03:12They also snuck away more commonplace items like books,
03:15cardigans, and a ton of snow globes from the sound of it.
03:18Most surprisingly, the Thank U, Next singer took home a pair of Erivo's prosthetic ears
03:23a piece of Johnny Bailey,
03:25which she couldn't say more about without spoiling part two.
03:28We can't blame the stars for one moment.
03:30If we were in their shoes, we'd be pilfering all kinds too.
03:34Look what I found.
03:35Yeah, my pile of things that I'm stealing.
03:37Let's see.
03:38I'm excited to attempt to get through airport security with this.
03:41I will take what I can.
03:43I don't think I'll be stopped.
03:45Number seven, Songbirds Unite.
03:48Director Jon M. Chu left no stone unturned in bringing the Wicked set to life
03:52as realistically as possible.
03:54The enchanted forest was created with real flora and attracted actual fauna too.
03:58We have an enchanted forest built, so it was real.
04:02But there's real biochemistry in there.
04:04So it's like plants that are real and it's wonderful.
04:07So birds made homes in our set.
04:10So when I would sing, they would start singing.
04:14In an interview, Erivo shared that by the time they were filming in the forest,
04:17there were birds living in nooks and crannies.
04:20It seems the only reason anyone found out is because when she'd sing,
04:24the birds would join in.
04:25I thought it was like a sound.
04:27I thought Simon had like played something.
04:30I thought someone was playing a track.
04:33So I thought it was like not real.
04:35And then I would stop and they would stop.
04:36It's a pity their background vocals didn't make the final cut,
04:39but they sure created magic on set.
04:42Mother Nature must be a Cynthia stan.
04:44Every time she would start singing, they would sing again.
04:47That was amazing.
04:48It was like they understood the magic that was happening in the space.
04:56Gravity wasn't the only thing Ariana Grande was defying for Wicked.
04:59She destroyed preconceived notions about her pop star status
05:02and the doubts that came with it through the sheer passion she had for the project.
05:06If this is really happening and if they are going to start seeing people for it,
05:10I just want to be so prepared.
05:11I want to take all of the acting lessons, all of the singing lessons.
05:15I want to train my voice to become coloratura soprano.
05:18Like legit opera.
05:20I have to honor this the way that it requires.
05:23Everyone had to audition for this movie, including Grande.
05:26You know, she had maybe a higher bar than everyone else
05:29because she has such a public persona.
05:31And I really didn't want it to overshadow this role of Glinda.
05:33I wanted to find Glinda.
05:35As someone who's long since been outspoken about wanting to portray Glinda,
05:39Grande put her heart and soul into all five of her auditions,
05:43even going in barefaced upon request.
05:46Even the director, who initially wanted to cast lesser known actors in the leading roles,
05:50had no choice but to recognize her talent.
05:53Hey, what if you came back and just didn't have any of your makeup?
05:57I did not know how that would go over.
06:00Not even a question.
06:01She came in and did that.
06:02And I saw her in a totally new light that I'd never seen her in.
06:09Jonathan Bailey is arguably one of the busiest men in Hollywood right now.
06:13You're the bane of my existence.
06:16And the object of all my desires.
06:23That's great news for us, but it must be unbelievably hectic for him.
06:28While making Wicked, he was simultaneously filming for Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers,
06:33so when he wasn't swooning over Kate Sharma,
06:35he was dancing through life and into Hawk Fuller's arms.
06:38It's a testament to his massive talent,
06:41especially with how strikingly different the three roles are from one another.
06:44Similarly, Bowen Yang, who plays Fanny,
06:47also divided his time between London and New York to do Wicked and SNL at the same time.
06:52Huge props to both actors.
06:54Lauren was like, you can't miss shows.
06:56I was like, totally, King.
06:57I understand.
06:58I won't do it.
06:59And so I let the dream go.
07:00I was like, oh, I was almost in Wicked.
07:02That would have been so fun.
07:03And then Ari picked up the phone and called him.
07:06And then he was like, OK, sure.
07:07He's an Arianator, apparently.
07:10Number four, Glinda's suite.
07:12The dream space that was Glinda's suite,
07:14which she shares with Elphaba in Wicked,
07:16may have been larger than life,
07:18but in reality was quite cramped.
07:20Oh, I saved you some space, by the way.
07:22Do you really think this is fair?
07:24I do not.
07:25I was promised a private suite.
07:27But thanks for asking.
07:28Despite being crafted with incredible attention to detail and the utmost care,
07:33it proved rather challenging to film in.
07:35For some scenes that called for top-down shots,
07:38the roof of the room had to be completely removed.
07:40We did a couple of times remove things,
07:42like the roof of the set, so we could do bed shots.
07:45And we poked our crane through a couple of times
07:47through the front door and the balcony door.
07:49Not even the director had a spot to monitor the scenes.
07:52So he did what any committed professional would do,
07:54supervise from under the bed.
07:56We find the spaces.
07:57We find the nooks and crannies that we work into our choreography,
08:03our blocking, our camera work.
08:05Unfortunately, Chew wasn't the most inconspicuous in his hiding spot,
08:09which we can only imagine broke the cast a few too many times.
08:13Number 3.
08:14Honoring the OGs
08:16Grande has described the movie as a love letter to not only the original musical,
08:20but also its cast,
08:22which we think sums it up perfectly.
08:24And with an assist from me,
08:26to be who you'll be,
08:27instead of dreary,
08:28who you were,
08:29well, are.
08:30There's nothing that can stop you from becoming popular.
08:34LAR.
08:35The singer's biggest goal, perhaps,
08:36was making her Broadway counterpart Kristen Chenoweth proud.
08:39She came backstage into my dressing room and said,
08:42I want to play Glinda in her same voice she has now.
08:47And I said in my same voice, and you will.
08:49Chenoweth, for her part,
08:50advised Grande to put her own spin on the character,
08:53later saying in an interview that Grande did just that.
08:56Cynthia Erivo also reached out to the original Elphaba,
09:00Idina Menzel, as soon as she was cast.
09:02After using the phone, that voicemail, I still play it sometimes.
09:06Oh, you saved mine, too.
09:07I saved the voicemail because I play them a lot.
09:10I meant it.
09:10I know, I think it meant a lot.
09:12In response, she was told to, quote,
09:14be everything she needed to be and enjoy the experience.
09:17The pair were so touched by their forerunners,
09:20they insisted on involving them in the new movie,
09:23giving us a cameo for the ages.
09:25You know, the family from 20 years ago, like,
09:30I'm the one.
09:31We were the originals.
09:33Don't forget about us.
09:35It was us first.
09:36Number two, all the improvised moments.
09:39Successfully improvising in a musical so beloved
09:42and of such caliber can be no easy feat.
09:45We would do a take that was very, what's written on the page,
09:48and then he would just say, you know, play and see whatever,
09:51whatever we would do, just do it.
09:54And that was really fun.
09:55Yet Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo pull it off with ease,
09:59and in the best moments of the film, no less.
10:02From Galinda's sky-high kick in Popular
10:04to Elphaba's comforting wink in Defying Gravity,
10:07there's no shortage of improv moments adorning this movie.
10:10On every, on every camera take, like, John M. Chu,
10:13the director, our wonderful director was like,
10:15now do one just for fun, now do one just to you.
10:17Like, there's something that you would say,
10:19like, off the cuff and ad-lib.
10:20And I was like, okay, if you want.
10:21And then this man pulled a fast one on me.
10:23He used every single ad-lib.
10:26Apparently, the scene where Galinda has her fairy godmother moment,
10:29flicking her wand to give Elphaba a new outfit took five hours to shoot,
10:33because Grande kept making it funnier each time.
10:37It is my heart's desire to become a sorceress.
10:39Seriously?
10:40I need to lie down.
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10:58Number 1. Live Musical Chops
11:01This one will elevate your respect for our leading ladies up by about a thousand notches.
11:06Both stars sang completely live for the entirety of the film.
11:09Yes, that includes when Erivo is levitating for Defying Gravity, held up by harnesses.
11:14Down to the western sky, has someone told me that everyone deserves a chance to fly.
11:27And also when Grande spun from the chandelier with nothing but core strength supporting her.
11:31Even Jonathan Bailey, who did his own stunts, sang his parts.
11:44Regardless of how demanding their scenes got, it was deeply important to Grande and
11:53Erivo that they connected with the live aspect of musical theater.
11:56The atmosphere on set was so emotionally charged from their vocals that it often
12:01left the crew in tears.
12:02Well, at least now we don't feel so bad for crying in the theater.
12:06The wizard that there is or was is ever gonna bring me.
12:15What was your favorite song and dance number in Wicked?
12:18Sound off in the comments.
12:23Do you agree with our picks?
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