Cynthia Erivo Explains How Those Wicked Cameos Came Together

Spoilers ahead.

After eagle-eyed fans wondered if they spotted the original Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, in behind-the-scenes Wicked footage earlier in the year, rumors began swirling on whether she and Idina Menzel, Broadway’s first Elphaba, might make an appearance in the blockbuster. Well, theater fans, rejoice, because the two OGs do have a moment in Oz, making cameos in “One Short Day,” toward the end of the film.

Cynthia Erivo, who stars as Elphaba in the film alongside Ariana Grande’s Glinda, commented on the surprise appearances during her Women in Hollywood cover interview with ELLE. However, due to the secrecy of their appearances, the details of how it all came together couldn’t be revealed until now.

One of the first things Erivo did when she was cast as Elphaba was reach out to Menzel, as Erivo understood the importance of the role. “When I got the film, I contacted her, because I believe that if you take on a role that is originated by someone, and it was theirs, it’s baby,” Erivo said. “It’s a big deal to have to watch someone else also take it and make it their own. I wouldn’t have felt right going into it without going back to the source. So, I was like, ‘I need to speak to Idina. I would like to touch base with her first, please.’” Menzel told her to “just go and enjoy it. Be everything you need to be,” Erivo recalled.

She and Grande are likely to thank for the cameos, as the co-stars insisted on involving their predecessors in the film. “Me and Ari were like, ‘So, how are they going to be in this movie?’” Erivo said. “We were terrible. We just kept asking. Have you asked? Have they said yes? Is it coming? Are they coming? When are they coming? When is it happening? Okay, they’re doing that. When are we shooting that? When are we doing it?”

When Chenoweth and Menzel finally did make their grand appearance on set, “it was just so lovely,” Erivo continued. “To have them on set dressed as those two characters was such a huge deal.”

Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel on the opening night of Wicked in 2003.

She even remembered a special moment between her and Menzel while filming: “It was [Menzel’s] idea to adjust my hat. I’m feeling choked up talking about it, because that’s the iconography, the hat,” Erivo said. “For Idina to be like, ‘I’m going to fix this hat. I’m going to send you away,’ was one of the most wonderful moments ever, because it really is a nod. It’s yours, go ahead, do it.”

Menzel and Erivo present at the 2024 Tonys Awards together.

Menzel and Erivo then presented the Tony Award for Best Musical together this June—which was Menzel’s idea, Erivo said. It was also her idea to say something about Erivo and the Wicked movie during the live broadcast. At the mic, Menzel turned to her and said, “I’m just going to go off-script real quick to say how excited I am to see you in what I know is going to be an amazing performance in that movie that you’re doing. I just want to say: green girl power.”

That was all a surprise to Erivo. “I did not know she was going to say that until we were presenting on stage. I turned into a 5-year-old. I literally was like, ‘I love you,’” she said. “I won’t forget the moment, like the passing of the broom.”