Ariana Grande Breaks Down in Tears and Reveals What Kristin Chenoweth Told Her Before ‘Wicked’

From one Glinda to another: Ariana Grande still gets emotional when she thinks about Kristin Chenoweth passing the wand to her for the Bad film adaptation.

Grande, who plays Glinda in Universal’s highly anticipated film, recently broke down in tears as she recalled the reaction and advice of Chenoweth, who famously played the role in the Broadway musical of the same name, when she told her she was auditioning did for the role.

“We had talked about it for years and years and years, but when I finally confessed to her that I wanted to go for Glinda, it was something completely different,” Grande said during an episode of the Broadway Podcast Network series Bad podcast, Sentimental men (posting Friday at 10 a.m. ET), when asked if Chenoweth had any guidance for her in the role.

“But finally I confessed to her: I said, ‘Hey, I think they’re doing this now, and I think I want to go for Glinda,’ and she went into the bathroom, closed the door and started crying,” said them. said.

“It was the sweetest thing in the world. Oh my god, it makes me emotional,” Grande recalled, before taking a break to sort through her own emotions. “It was so cute,” Grande continued, teary-eyed and shaking her head at the memory. “She was like, ‘I was hoping this would happen. I love you, and I trust you with it, little girl.” She said, ‘Just do your thing. You’re so funny and you have great instincts and no one knows that.’ And I just thought, ‘Okay.'”

Badwhich also starred Idina Menzel, premiered on Broadway in 2003. Based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire and with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Wizard of Oz prequel musical follows the paths of the two witches, from students at Shiz University to Elphaba becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. The show earned ten Tony Award nominations in 2004, including one for Best Musical.

Since the film’s casting, Chenoweth has been outspoken about her support for Grande.

“She was very nervous,” Chenoweth told Kelly Clarkson as she performed The Kelly Clarkson Show in April 2023. “She said, ‘I want to pay tribute to you, but I’m scared. I want to make you proud.’ I say, ‘Well, you already made me proud, so it doesn’t matter. account – done that. ”

“What I want to encourage you, Ariana, is make Glinda your Glinda,” she continued. “‘Sure, you can tip your hat to me if you want. But really, I just want you to do it.'”

In that interview, Chenoweth also got choked up discussing the casting and her long-term relationship with Grande. “I’ve known her since she was 10,” she said. “And now I’ve seen it come full circle. She called me and said, ‘I get it.’ We sounded like two dolphins talking. I can’t wait to see her do it.”

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Bad The film also stars Cynthia Erivo as Glinda’s enemy Elphaba. The adaptation also stars Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang and Marissa Bode.

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The film adaptation will be split into two parts, with the first half scheduled for a theatrical release on November 22.

The full one Sentimental men podcast episode with Grande streams on Fridays starting at 10 a.m. ET.