Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have said that they both burst into tears of joy when they were first told they would be playing the lead roles in the new big screen adaptation of the hugely popular stage show.
Click on the video above to watch the full interview.
Directed by Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights director John M Chu, the movie tells the origin stories of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, from movie classic The Wizard of Oz.
Pop superstar Grande plays Glinda, with fast-rising London-born actress and singer Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba, who begins her life meaning well but turns to the dark side after she is scorned by her own father and the people of Oz.
"It was such a special moment to receive the news after all that hard work and to receive that call from John, it was one in the morning for Cynthia, we were both just a mess!"
Asked if they rang each other as soon as they heard the good news, Erivo said, "We didn't know each other at that point. Did we get each other’s numbers from other people . . . ?"
"Yes, we did," said Grande. "We sent each other flowers first and then we got each other’s numbers."
Just like the original Wizard of Oz movie, Wicked has more than its fair share of darkness. As well as telling the story of the two main characters, who start out as friends when they first meet at Oz’s Shiz University, it also touches on themes of fascism and totalitarianism.
Elphaba is a racial minority of one in Wicked and the film’s storyline about racism was hugely important to Erivo, who has won huge acclaim for her previous roles in Harriet and The Color Purple.
"It’s important to everybody," the actress said. "I think it’s an issue we should all look at ourselves and take a look inside our hearts and hopefully be more accepting to anyone who is a little bit different to the rest of us."
Elphaba's journey is all about challenging the status quo after she is treated as an outcast by her fellow students at Shiz just because of the colour of her skin.
As Kermit the Frog once sang, it ain’t easy being green and Erivo went full emerald every day on the set of Wicked.
"That’s all make-up," she said. "There was a question about whether we’d use CGI in post-production but I opted for the practical approach because I wanted to see the transformation and I wanted other people to see what the transformation would look like too.
"So, all make-up and the contact lens are in and the nails are on . . . the whole thing is a real transformation."
"It’s something the writer of the original book, Gregory Maguire, has not shied away from at all. This movie is largely about bullying and propaganda and dictatorship and what that can do to people and how far that can go if you’re complicit.
"Wicked does not shy away from those themes and I think that’s important right now and I hope this movie invites that conversation."
Director John M Chu doesn’t hold back on the world-building in Wicked. Oz comes to vivid life like a steam punk art deco fever dream and Granda says she was blown away as soon as she arrived on the set.
"I think for the two of us, as soon as we got to those outdoors sets, it became more apparent," she said.
"Although that was something we never had in the room with us mentally because John created such an intimate and soft and warm space. Everything felt so small but sometimes you’d look up and you realised you were actually in Munchkinland,
"Or you’d walk into a Munchkin house and there’s a Munchkin napping! The scale of the production became really real. John did a wonderful job."
Erivo is remaining tight-lipped about Wicked 2, which will be released this time next year.
"I can say, we hope you enjoy it," she said. "And that we worked very hard on it and that it’s in the can already and waiting for you!"
Wicked is in cinemas on Friday.
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