Grammy and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and pop star Ariana Grande will star in a feature film adaptation of the billion-dollar Broadway smash hit “Wicked,” directed by Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Universal Pictures announced Thursday.
One of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time, “Wicked” has continuously been in production since debuting in 2003. The 11th longest-running Broadway show of all time, successful productions have existed in major cities all over the world and it surpassed more than $1 billion in revenues in 2016. It’s one of only three Broadway plays to achieve that milestone.
The musical is itself based on the acclaimed 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire. Retelling the story of Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West, whose real name is Elphaba
Erivo will play Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, while Grande will play Glinda, who will eventually grow up to become the Good Witch of the North.
More to come…