Together, they are unlimited!
Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who created the villainous roles of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, on Broadway, joined Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who play the roles in the film adaptation, during the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Saturday, November 9. .
The group posed for photos at the Dorothy Chandler Suite, where they were joined by other movie stars, including Jeff Goldblum, Marisa Pudi, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater and Bronwyn James.
Notably absent was the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, who had to miss the event to be by his wife’s side as she prepared to welcome their fifth child together.
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Idina Menzel, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Kristin Chenoweth at the Los Angeles premiere of “Wicked” on November 9.
Rob Latour/Shutterstock
Based on the 2003 Broadway musical of the same name, Wicked tells the sentimental origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West, the villain from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the popular 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
But before she became the Wicked Witch feared throughout the Land of Oz, she was simply Elphaba Throop, a reserved and misunderstood young woman who happened to be born with green skin and special powers.
At Shiz University, she meets fellow student Glinda, an aspiring — and yes, famous — witch (and future good witch).
Elphaba and Glinda become roommates, then unlikely friends – until outside forces come between them and test their bond.
Newcomer Bode, who plays Nessarose, Elphaba’s younger sister, remembers acts of kindness from both Erivo and Grande.
As she told PEOPLE magazine’s Wicked, Erivo brought home-baked cookies to make, and made vegan and gluten-free varieties “just in case” someone had dietary needs. “[It] “She was so sweet that she was so thoughtful,” Boddy told PEOPLE.
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The film’s heroes certainly didn’t just show up and say their lines. Production designer Nathan Crowley picked Erivo and Grande’s ideas for Elphaba and Glinda, which helped him make his decisions on the set.
“There were many, many conversations with the actresses to find out how they see their characters and how the props relate to that character,” he told PEOPLE.
Wicked will be released in two parts, with the first part arriving in theaters on November 22.
