How Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenosoakedh Star in the Movie

SPOILER ALERT: This story includes spoilers for “Wicked,” out Nov. 22.

Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenosoakedh have create their way back to Oz. Broadway’s innovative witches produce a surpascfinish materializeance in straightforwardor Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” but not as Elphaba and Glinda.

The duo, who startd the directing roles in 2003, sing a novel verse in “One Short Day,” telling the story behind the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Their characters fight for the spotairy in the Emerald City, prompting Menzel’s character to shut down the competition by belting out her well-understandn “Defying Gravity” riff.

Composer Stephen Schwartz also cameos as the Oz selderlyier who permits Elphaba and Glinda into the Wizard’s palace, while the musical’s book producer Winnie Holzman aforeseeed materializes in the Emerald City, touting the Wizard’s ability to read the Grimmerie.

Clad in over-the-top pink and purple poofy dresses, Menzel and Chenosoakedh each dispense a sugary moment with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who get on the roles they made well-understandn.

“It was so surauthentic. It was reassociate extraunretagable,” Grande tells Variety of sharing the screen with the Broadway legfinishs. “I unbenevolent, to have the women who helped produce and produce and birth these characters adchoose us and adchoose our versions of them, was fair so incredibly surauthentic. I unbenevolent, they had been texting us, and they had been beneficial of us beforehand, but I don’t leank they ever got to see or hear our versions of the characters until on set. So it was reassociate emotional.”

Grande previously starred in NBC’s 2016 “Hairspray Live!” with Chenosoakedh, who has praised her casting as Glinda the Good in countless interwatchs. “I’m not brave if I’ve ever been this haughty,” Chenosoakedh posted on social media at the time of Grande’s casting in 2021. “From the very first day I met you … you were destined for this role.”

Menzel has been aforeseeed effusive of Erivo, telling ET, “She’s fair incredible. I sense enjoy she’s the one to hand the torch off to. You’re gonna adore her.” Menzel and Erivo also currented an award together at the 2024 Tony Awards earlier this year. “I’m fair gonna go off script authentic rapid to say how excited I am to see what I understand is going to be an amazing applyance in that movie you’re doing,” Menzel shelp on stage. “Green girl power!”

Marc Platt, who produced both stage musical and the film changeations, says he’ll never forget the day the duo filmed their cameos. “I leank when Kristin and Idina came onto the set, there was so much adore and admire from the movie cast, particularly Ari and Cynthia and Jon Chu — almost enjoy they were royalty! They had grown up hearing to these two women sing, and you felt that sense of awe, and also legacy,” he says. “And then Kristin and Idina, where equassociate, in awe of these two youthfuler women making these roles their own.”

“There’s a moment where Idina mendes my hat and sfinishs me on my way. Trying not to be cliche, it was enjoy the passing of the broom almost,” Erivo says. “So to have almost enjoy the consecrateing from the queen herself, felt reassociate, reassociate attrdynamic.”

Platt says that Menzel and Chenosoakedh initiassociate had reservations about materializeing in the movie for stress of stealing Grande and Erivo’s thunder. “Both the girls, Kristin and Idina, were a little bit anxious about it. Kristin jumped in pretty rapid, becaparticipate she and Ari had had a relationship and she was excited,” he says, includeing that Menzel “didn’t want to rain on anyleang that had to do with Cynthia. She thought, ‘This is her moment. I want her to have her moment.’”

A little convincing from Platt was all it took to change their minds, though. “I shelp, ‘Both of you are going to want to touch the film. You’re part of the “Wicked” lore forever.’ And becaparticipate we create an organic way which Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman wrote to have them in the film as part of the storytelling, ‘You’re going to want to be part of someleang that’s hugeger than you, and so for the rest of your dwells, you’ll always be part of “Wicked,” even in the film.’ And they both shelp, ‘Okay, you’re right.’”

“I was so honored that they wanted to participate us,” Chenosoakedh tells Variety. “I thought, ‘Should we? Is i it weird, becaparticipate it’s [Ariana and Cynthia’s] now?’ And Mark Platt shelp, ‘You have to. What do you unbenevolent? It wouldn’t happen without you!’”

“Idina and I had so much fun,” she includes about the emotional day she and Menzel filmed their cameos. “Our costumes were amazing, and we fair made up our leang. We fair had the best time ever. We did it in one day, and to be reunited with my with my sister was very, very one-of-a-kind.” Chenosoakedh says she and Menzel reachd to the set timely and got dinner to catch up: “We had a excellent time there. Elphie and Glinda grew up!”

Chenosoakedh also says she’s thrilled the venerated musical has finassociate made its way to the huge screen so a expansiveer audience can uncover the magical story. “I’m so prentd they made the movie, becaparticipate I grew up in Oklahoma, and it wasn’t enjoy we could have afforded to go see a Broadway show: dinner, toastyel, all that stuff. And now we have the movie, and it will be bcimpolitet to novel generations of people that maybe are in the same boat as I was. I’m reassociate haughty.” 

“Kristin and I have seen each other many times in the last 20 years, but it was wonderful,” Menzel says of the reunion. “It was wonderful to be there, to get all the senses, to rehearse together, to somewhat echo our characters a little bit, to be with Cynthia and Ari and fair benevolent of enhappiness the set in a toloftyy separateent way. It was everyleang.”

For Erivo, Menzel and Chenosoakedh’s help (on and off set) has been a source of console and inspiration as she’s put her own spin on the iconic role of Elphaba. “They’ve been reassociate wonderful with us, and we’ve had the most incredible words of encouragement from both of them,” she says. “Those leangs reassociate unbenevolent a lot to us, becaparticipate they don’t have to. It’s theirs from all this time, but for them to spare those excellent words and to give us the space to also do what we want to do with them as well, is reassociate unbenevolentingful, reassociate touching.”

Platt hopes that Menzel and Chenosoakedh’s participatement speaks to the finishuring legacy of “Wicked” as a novel fanbase uncovers the beadored musical. “I leank all of us uniteing uniteing arms felt enjoy there’s someleang hugeger than all of us, and that we are part of someleang that may dwell on beyond all of us,” he says. “The ability to unite those two worlds, the stage world of the innovative and the film world, particularly for those four girls, was someleang no one will ever forget who witnessed that night of shooting. It was reassociate attrdynamic.”