After bagging the role of Glinda in Wicked, Ariana Grande reached out to Kristin Chenoweth, the original Broadway Glinda. An adaptation of the popular Broadway musical of the same name, Wicked was released in 2024. It was a massive box office success and high praise from both critics and audiences alike.
Here’s what Chenoweth had to say about her relationship with Ariana Grande.
Kristin Chenoweth says she and Ariana Grande lost their minds after the latter’s Wicked audition
Known for her powerful singing voice around the world, Ariana Grande is not new to acting gigs. But after being cast as Glinda in Wicked, she couldn’t stop herself from calling Kristin Chenoweth, who played the role of Glinda on Broadway in the original cast.
When Grande told Chenoweth about the role, both couldn’t contain their happiness. “I won’t reveal too much, but we were so emotional,” the Broadway singer recalled during an interview with Parade. She also revealed that she has known Grande since she was 10 years old, which makes Grande’s casting even more meaningful for her.
Chenoweth continued, “We both talk like we’re dolphins, like we’ve lost our minds,” she explains, laughing. “I have other people I know who auditioned that I love very much, but when it’s her… I went through, ‘I got the audition,’ ‘I got the callback,’ ‘I’m going back again.’ When it was the ‘Yes,’ we lost our minds, and that was during COVID. I was just so happy, and I had to keep it a secret. I didn’t tell a soul, not a soul.”
While talking about her cameo in the movie, she recalled her experience with being on set with her former Broadway co-star, Idina Menzel, who played Elphaba in the original Broadway cast. “We’re looking at the girls doing the film, and I looked at Idina, and I said, ‘This is so surreal, right?’ She was thinking the same thing,” Chenoweth explains. “We just grabbed each other’s hands, watched them do their thing, and it was hard to explain, but it was a beautiful moment. It was our turn to pass the proverbial wand and broom on, and they were both ready. But to watch them giggling and just living in the parts, it was very moving.”
Currently, the film’s sequel, Wicked: For Good, is in post-production. The upcoming movie is currently set to release in theaters on November 21, 2025.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on ComingSoon.
