The Wicked phenomenon continues to touch hearts in extraordinary ways, even after the film garnered an abundance of critical and audience acclaim. During a Q&A session at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in Wicked, shared a deeply thoughtful response to what it feels like to be part of a cultural phenomenon. She also revealed the touching ways original Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel have shown their support. When asked about the enduring resonance of Wicked, Erivo reflected on the musical’s timeless themes.
“I think there are several things that happen with this piece. I think one of these draws on what it is to embrace humanity and what we do within those compounds, how we treat each other, what we see with each other, what we assume people have or do not have, what people can and cannot do that’s always going to stand the test of time.”
Elaborating on the story’s message, Erivo added, “That’s always going to be a conversation that we have that we need to have, because there is always the vacillation of the way we accept others as they are, or the way we reject others. And so there’s always a lesson to be learned about how we can make space for one another when we’re different, and how we can decide to change our minds, or how we don’t decide to change our mind, and what the effects are when we do that.”
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Erivo also shared a heartwarming anecdote about the support she’s received from Wicked’s original stars, Chenoweth and Menzel. “But I was thinking today I got so occasionally we get lovely messages from Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel,” she said. Chenoweth, in particular, has taken to sending Erivo videos of young fans who are finding magic in Elphaba’s story. Erivo recounted one particularly touching video sent by Chenoweth, saying:
“And Kristin has been sending random Instagram posts to me, and today she sent an Instagram post of this little girl who has made her face green, and she has a swimming pool floatie, which she is using as a broom. And when the music comes on her, she jumps into her dad’s arms, and her dad flies her around.”
For Erivo, moments like that are what the magic of Wicked is all about. “I also think the thing about this is it is making young kids and their families believe in magic, like believe that anything is possible, so even against the backdrop of the things that we have to learn as human beings. We also get to see what it’s like when there’s a spark in someone and they can believe that it’s possible to do things that are said to be impossible.”
Wicked is in theaters now, and is also available on digital.
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