In Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 24th, was a one night concert special titled Wicked: One Wonderful Night. The event was hosted to promote Wicked: For Good, releasing in theaters November 21st. The performances were full of complex dances, amazing outfits, eccentric jokes, and was an overall wonderful experience. It included various performances from Wicked along with interviews of the cast. Ending with an unbelievable astonishment amongst the audience after every performance. Let us first take a look into what makes the Wicked cast so famous and iconic.
The Cast:
Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress who is known for her award winning performance as Celie in The Color Purple. Her co-star, Ariana Grande (Glinda) is also a famous American singer, songwriter, and actress known for her musical abilities and pop vocal hits.
Jonathan Bailey is most known for his work in Bridgerton. He plays Fieyero and although he could not make it to the live performance he still made various appearances in the prerecorded interviews. Ethan Slater, who plays Boq, is known for his Broadway Debut on SpongeBob Squarepants. Jeff Goldblum, an American actor and musician, plays The Wizard and is best known for his work in Jurassic Park and Independence Day.
On top of that, Marissa Bode (Nessa) is an American actress known for being the first disabled wheelchair performer to properly portray Nessarose. SNL star Bowen Yang, who is known for his comedy, screenwriting, and acting skills, plays Pfannee, one of Glinda’s castmates’ allies.
Likewise, Michelle Yeoh, playing Madame Morrible, is a widely known Malaysian actress, famous for her appearances in various movies. Stephen Schwartz is the composer and lyricist responsible for the writing of the music in Wicked‘s movie adaption and the original broadway production. Director Jon M. Chu is known for his famous directing in both Wicked and Wicked: For Good. He also directed additional award winning movies like Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights.
The Performance:
The concert opened with a stunning performance of “No One Mourns The Wicked” performed by Ariana Grande as Glinda. The audience is seen assisting the performers singing the intro of the song as the ensemble. Appearing in a bubble, Ariana floated across the stage in a beautiful beige dress completed with elaborate detailed shimmery beads. Parallel to the movie, the audience acted as the citizens of Munchkinland, holding up pink and yellow tulips up to Ariana. Dancers led the audience, wearing beautifully designed pastel rainbow skirts or pants, topped with white corsets or suits.
While the actors and actresses are preparing for the next recital a pre-recorded interaction amongst the cast is shown. The cast talked about the various items they “stole” from the movie set. Emphasizing that Jeff Goldblum took a supposedly ten foot statue of his face used in the movie production of “The Wizard And I.” Following this Cynthia marvelously sang “The Wizard And I” accompanied by backup dancers featuring Jeff Goldblum on the piano. Cynthia confidently wore a powerfully designed fitted emerald green suited vest, capturing both Cynthia and Elphaba’s unique personalities and empowerment. An additional interview was played back where the cast talked about the complexity and stress of casting such an influencing, empowering, and critically-acclaimed show. Cynthia mentioned her three hour long audition in which she finished with a 103° fever. Jonathan Bailey also talked about his auditioning experiences where he sent in a karaoke-like audition tape five minutes before call time for a different West End performance.
Subsequently, Ariana, Cynthia, and various ensemble members sang a breathtaking mashup of What Is This Feeling with Dear Old Shiz. Both Ariana’s and Cynthia’s outfits were gorgeously worn and parallel both the actresses’ roles along with their personal identity and distinctive styles. Afterwards, a series of videos was rolled of their fans doing dances, singing and appreciating every aspect of the film. Demonstrating the significant influence Wicked has had has impacted people from different places, ages, and backgrounds.
Ariana then executed a stunning performance of Popular featuring a four-year old boy from the audience named Remington, or Remy, to act as Elphaba. The crowd was awed by his appearance and his lovable personality. Ariana showed him how to toss his hair previously seen in the movie and gifted him Glinda’s training wand. Closing her performance with a stunning riff.
A spectacular performance of For Good was then sung in Gershwin Theater, the original home of the production, in New York City. Ariana and Cynthia sang beautifully beside Stephen Schwartz on the piano. They were soon joined by the original Broadway Elphaba and Glinda. Idina Menzel, as Elphaba, known for voicing Elsa in Disney’s Frozen, and Kristen Chenoweth, as Glinda. The original Broadway stars sang the lyric “the torch gets passed. You will keep it blazing brightly on.” Symbolizing that the original stars are trusting that Ariana and Cynthia will take care of the role of Elphaba and Glinda.
Both casts emotionally delivered the song with pure admiration of each other and the show. Following their performance, the cast expressed their gratitude for the acceptance the fans have given them for the casting choices. They also discussed how they are able to truly transform into these amazingly developed characters while on set. Ethan describes that Jeff openly defended his role throughout the movies and explained that the actors must truly love their character in order to properly perform their parts. Michelle Yeoh also notes that she is able to see each and every cast member’s character in them, which truly helped her exchange the vulnerability of the characters. Even a blooper was run about Ariana truly being scared of Michelle during a scene where one of her contacts came out of her eye. Bowen talks about the lessons he’s learned on the dangers of cruelty through his performance of a mean character such as Pfannee. Ariana expresses her appreciation towards her experience with the cast and filming the movie.
A breathtaking performance of “I’m Not That Girl” was sung exquisitely by Cynthia Erivo. She was surrounded by a small orchestra of three musicals including a violinist, cellist, and an acoustic guitar player. Cynthia truly put emotion and association into the song with clear appreciation for the audience and her part in the show.
Jon M. Chu then talked briefly about his experience directing such a powerful and arduous show. A video was then rolled of multiple comedical clips of different famous celebrities “auditioning” for the role.
A complex but outstanding performance of Dancing Through Life was sung expressively by Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, and Marissa Bobe all dressed in Fiyero costumes. Ethan and Bowen are seen dancing on tables and various furniture items alongside the dancers, dressed in school uniforms, very similar to the scene in the film.
Afterwards, Ariana Grande wore a stunning pink butterfly dress and exclusively sang “Thank Goodness.” Alongside the orchestra, Ariana delivered the song with gracefulness and utter elegance. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande then introduced short clips of two brand new songs from Wicked: For Good. “No Place Like Home” was sung exquisitely by Cynthia Erivo about Elphaba’s dedication to protecting Oz despite numerous rejections she’s faced. “A Girl in the Bubble,” was also introduced and sung by Ariana about Glinda truly submerging into her role of being The Good Witch.
After the sneak-peaks a breathtaking performance of “Defying Gravity” was sung by Cynthia Erivo. She wore an elegant black dress with feathers and half-way through her performance, she was gracefully lifted into the air by a series of wires to fly above the audience to perform her final lyrics. Cynthia ended the song with a powerful deliverance of the “Defying Gravity” riff while being held up several feet in the air.
The actors and actresses then did a series of “who would be the most likely to…” segment amongst each other. The cast also expressed the gratitude they had to spend time with one another and experiences they’ve gained with each other. The night was ended by a breathtaking performance of “Get Happy/ Happy Days are Here Again” dueted by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in dedication to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. Ultimately, Wicked: One Wonderful Night was truly an astonishing production executed to perfection by the talented, stunning and magnificent performers that made Wicked the phenomenon it is.