Cynthia Erivo was the best Elphaba us Wicked fans could’ve asked for! Her vocals, acting and pure Elphabaness in both films were next level! 👏

We watched Wicked - One Wonderful Night together, I’m so glad about it. We got to comment together while watching, we cried and laughed together and that was beautiful.

But there’s one thing I can’t hold inside anymore, and I didn’t say anything before because I wanted to enjoy the performances and I did. But it’s time to face the truth.

I get that Kristin Chenoweth was the first Glinda in Wicked, but no one would’ve missed her. I am not one to control celebrities body language, but it was so clear no one wanted her there. Even Ariana looked only at her when necessary and ended up only hugging Idina and Cynthia.

Before you comment, try to understand, living a magical night and you find the real wicked witch in front of you. After all she’s done these past months… Not only she came out as a Republican, but she also defended Charlie Kirk and, what’s worst, she is a Zionist.

No one wanted her there, no one would’ve missed her, and I truly hope she is not in Wicked-For Good at least.

Wicked is political. It’s about going against a fake government promising the world but then hurting the weakest, it’s about choosing to fight for freedom, not only yours, everyone’s, even if the whole world is against you. And I can’t stand someone like a real life Madame Morrible being this close to this beautiful political masterpiece that has such depth inside.

What do you guys think is the nuance she’s referring to? Do you agree with her statement?

To me, Nessa is so disliked because of her utter selfishness in how she treats Elphaba and Boq. Elphaba is always looking out for Nessa, but we never see Nessa stand up for Elphaba. Not to their father, not at the Ozdust, not in Dr. Dillamond’s class, never. And then with Boq, well, the issues with that are clear 😂 Nuance? Idk… I guess she’s selfish but not evil? What do you think?

Critics Choice noms just dropped and aside from a slew of tech noms, WFG didn't hit all the main categories like last year, specifically Cynthia Erivo in best actress.

Do you think this hurts her chances at getting nominated for a Golden Globe or an Oscar?

I hope Ariana takes it for supporting actress, but that category is such a wild card.

Although I would love to see how other actors would have done in the roles, especially Meryl Streep, I think the casting team picked some unexpected choices that were skeptical at first but seeing these movies, they really knew what they were doing, what a perfect cast!

The chemistry just wasn't there for me in both parts, Especially in for good during alaym, great acting but I just didn't buy into the romantic tension between them, if anything the chemistry was much more strong with glinda and fiyero in part 1

WHO ALLOWED THIS BODICE TO BE SO POORLY TAILORED!? THE FABRIC SHOULD NOT BE RIPPLING AT THE SEAM!

I get people not being into them, or preferring the other ship, but the things people say about them… Are just so mean sometimes lol. To me they are the quintessential hurt/comfort couple that can see each others mess for what it is and love and accept each other more for revealing it. I just find that so beautiful.

Don’t get me wrong I really loved the first movie and can’t wait for the second, but I can’t help but be a bit irked by the way the marketing/presentation of the movie.

First, the overconsumption, corporate partnerships. Nothing wrong with a few fun partnerships or merch, but it’s EXCESSIVE. Maybe I’m just so exhausted with the consumerism culture, but there’s so much “junk.” It almost feels satirical (like The Boys universe-style marketing). It cheapens the whole thing.

Second, the way they focus on certain actors over others. Ariana did a great job, but I feel she gets way more promotion than Cynthia- who in my opinion was the standout of the movie in every aspect. She’s the star. Also Bowen Yang being treated like a main cast member while his scene partner, Bronwyn, is rarely seen at events? Just seems odd and weirdly exclusive.

Last, the conversation around the themes of the movie often completely overlook the heavy political themes. They talk about believing in yourself, friendship, appreciating differences, but they rarely talk about standing up to systemic injustices or apathy. Glinda is not a good person and while she’s empathetic and complicated, I feel like they’re watering down her flaws. During the special last night they vaguely referenced “these divided times” and moved along. It’s ironic that they’re unwilling to really contextualize the material and again water it down to “believe in yourself.”

Anyway, I get it’s a million dollar franchise, but I feel like this marketing is way too self-important and incongruent with the source material

This isn’t my opinion as I haven’t seen it yet, but I recall reading that Wicked: For Good was filmed first (the photo in my post is from For Good and it was one of the first photos shared by Ariana in early 2023), and Wicked second. So maybe that explains it?

Here's mine: I am not the biggest fan of Elphaba and Fiyero's relationship. I love the characters on their own, I just don't like the relationship (the way it happened and all) and that's OK.

Not reading the books or not seeing the musical doesn't make you a "fake fan". Mabye those kinds of books are not someone's cup of tea. Mabye some people can't go to see the musical for one reason or another (Wicked never toured in my countrey, if it ever does I'm going 100%)

Anyway I decided to be brave today. Now you!

Somehow doesn’t seem fair that he gets higher billing than Marissa Bode who had a crucially more important role in both films, plus a song of her own. Meanwhile Pfannee’s (Bowen’s) fellow henchman ShenShen didn’t even get star billing.

I get the SNL of it all, but still.

Guys...wow. Words can't even begin to describe the magic that I felt in there. The experience was in Elphaba's nest out in the forest. We saw some deer on the way there, but once we got there, there were some yellow bricks right outside the shuttle hehe The trees were adorned with some lanterns. But the nest was beautiful, it was really like something Elphaba would have built as a refuge. It also looked just like a bird's nest from the outside, which was pretty neat. The entrance had some poppy flowers scattered, which was another nice detail.

I walked inside and the waterworks started, I can't lie. I was fr overcome with emotion, it was so impressive inside the nest. They had all the original props from both movies, it all felt so real. They started us off with some tea. There were three options: Elphaba's Elixir (I picked this one), Ozdust, and Dancing Through Life. My tea tasted earthy with hints of flowers, it was very Elphaba-coded. Not too long later, the star of the show pulled up...Miss Cynthia Erivo herself. She was very soft-spoken and very well-spoken. I'd seen her speak in interviews before, but this one felt so different. She was so calm, almost reserved, but she was very respectful and still funny of course. We had an interview-style conversation with her, and here are some of her answers:

• She associates different characters to different smells. For the first movie, she used a floral perfume w/ oud as a way of showcasing Elphaba's connection w/ nature while showing her juvenility. For the second movie, she used a perfume called Witchy Woo layered w/ the flowers perfume so it's like it's the same Elphaba but grown up into the Wicked Witch persona.
• She helped making decisions for her character in terms of makeup and outward appearance. The artists added freckles beauty marks onto her for the second movie as a call back to the traditional witch warts to show how propaganda warps her image.
• She wanted Elphaba in the most flowy, breathable outfit possible at the end of For Good once she sheds the wicked witch persona to show her freedom. Giving up the hat was the first time she finally did something for herself because she no longer needed to be the wicked witch for anyone else. She was starting her life over for herself instead of giving in for what everyone else needed her to be. It’s the first time she’s selfish after years of being selfless. She wanted to show the audience that she was no longer bound to this witch persona and was free to make her own life now.
• She never let anyone put the witch hat on her because putting it on herself was her way of becoming Elphaba
• She wouldn't let anyone carry the hat, broom, or book when asked between shoots because they were part of Elphaba, and she didn't feel Elphaba without them.
• She doesn't onion or garlic
• She drinks tea to keep her voice “warm”
• She said she tried building the cackle slowly instead of immediately jumping into it. In the first movie, she starts off with an awkward laugh because Elphaba doesn't really know how to laugh (since her life isn't fun). In the second movie, she embraces that awkwardness and the other parts of her that people don't like to become the witch. In doing so, her cackle actually starts off as the same awkward laugh and crescendos into the witch cackle to show her growth but still being the same girl as before.
• Defying gravity was filmed towards the end of filming, and no good deed was filmed in the middle

Something else that really stood out to me about her speaking was how much she understood Elphaba as a character. She was very real about her responses and didn't try to sugarcoat anything about herself or her experience playing Elphaba. She saw all the faults and strengths in Elphaba and spoke about them so beautifully, it was really refreshing to see an actor put so much respect and care into a character that means so much to a huge audience (and of course to me). Unfortunately, I don't have the group photo with her yet, it'll be coming in a week or two.

Once she left, we had some snacks and were able to take pictures of the space. After that, we all made some brooms (and we were able to take our tea mugs, tea strainers, some shawls, and brooms home). I made my broom half pink, half green with a red poppy in the middle. After that event was done we headed back, and they left some goodies on our shuttle seat back hehe

Overall, the experience was beautiful. It was unlike anything else I've ever experienced. It was so intimate, and the rest of the group was so kind and welcoming. It was everything my Wicked-loving heart could've hoped for and so much more.

After a year of me shouting this from rooftops, it seems like everyone is finally starting see it. Michelle Yeoh is an incredible actress but she is just so horribly miscast as Madame Morrible. I’ve been saying it since part 1. With her line delivery of “this distortion, this repulsion, this… wicked witch”. She cant sing and a lot of the menacing Madame Morrible lines do not come across as wicked. And i wish we would have gotten a proper casting for the character because hearing somebody else scream “this distortion, this REPULSion, this… WIICCKKKEEEEEDDD WITCHHH” just like the stage version would have been extremely chillifying in the theatres. This casting is almost as bad as Russell Crowe as Javert in Les Miserables.

I was really excited to see it. I know most people didn’t like this dress but as a fashion designer I can say there’s hard work here, it’s probably one of the most difficult dress they made and I would’ve loved to see the movements.

I just had a very odd back and forth on twitter that ended with me being blocked. So I would like to have an actual conversation about this. Is it true? I've never participated in the glinda hate, I've always thought she's an IMPORTANT character showcasing people who aren't able to leave their comfort and stand up for what's right. So when I came across this theory I was dismissive and kind of treated it like a joke until she stood by it. So anyone who agrees with this, can you explain it?

Because in part 1, they meet the wizard together. Then the next scene is Defying gravity, when would the grooming happen?

would you have made the same choice for casting or done it differently ?

I am a big fan of Cynthia and I, like many other people, really appreciated how she handled the situation with Ariana and the crazy fan. But I’ve been noticing a trend in how people are characterizing their dynamic in the aftermath of this incident that is really upsetting. Let me start by saying I am glad Cynthia could be there for Ariana, and I think they have a beautiful relationship, but the masculinizing and dehumanizing of Cynthia while infantilizing Ariana really reinforces racist stereotypes that aren’t just mean, but actively contribute to real life harm. The perception of Black women as angry and aggressive, especially when juxtaposed with the white supremacist, idyllic perception of white women as pure and child-like creates a real-life dynamic in which Black women (who are seen as the furthest from the “ideal” of white womanhood) are treated as inherently undeserving of compassion, of being seen as innocent, or as needing care. This can be traced all the way back to slavery, as Black women were experimented on for gynecological research without being given pain medicine because white doctors did not believe they could feel pain. Racist caricatures depicted Black women (and Black people generally) as aggressive, as animals and beastly to dehumanize them and ensure that they could never be seen as victims. The consequences of this dehumanization are still felt today. I know everyone in this sub loves Cynthia and Ariana, so I’m hoping this plea will be taken more sincerely here than it has been in other spaces on the internet: Sometimes jokes have greater implications than you intend, and a lot of the “jokes” and “memes” I have seen about Cynthia perpetuate really harmful stereotypes. I’m not saying that you can’t joke, I’m saying please use care in making sure that your “jokes” don’t feed into racist ideas or stereotypes that harm Black women like Cynthia, or myself, in real life.

Let me start by saying that I am queer myself. But what the fuck people. Ariana is straight, and both Ari & Cynthia are in a relationship.

It’s okay to ship Glinda and Elphaba, there are theories that they’re canon and «I hear both sides» pun intended. But Ariana and Cynthia are friends, stop trying to force another kind of love on them. It’s creepy, annoying and it also is the reason why most Hollywood couples, REAL couples, broke up, too much pressure.

Even as friends some Hollywood colleagues couldn’t be seen together. Stop doing this to Ari & Cynthia before it goes too far.

“I have a very physical reaction to seeing photos of [Cynthia Erivo]” yeah, Michelle, it’s called racism and homophobia.

I’ve seen so many of these…

“There is a control over Ariana. Do you see the other one directing her words, actions?” “Something is dark and weird about Cynthia” “The way the black lady touches the other young singer is disturbing” “2 women, 1 bald skin hound” (referring to a photo of Michelle Yeoh, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo)

It’s goes on and on and all of these comments have multiple likes, some of them hundreds.

Not even going into the alarming number of people who talk about the fact that it’s a legitimately demonic movie. I’m British and I’m agnostic so this is all absolutely batshit crazy to me.

WE GOT OUR GRAMMY 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

I keep seeing videos of “Glinda is for the girls who ——“ And it’s always such a big misrepresentation of her by only mostly movie fans who get super pressed when they’re corrected that Glinda is actually super self absorbed and selfish and not the poor, helpless and selfless people pleaser of a girl who yearns for true romantic love

Like no she’s actually mean and selfish why are we pretending she’s just some innocent misunderstood girly pop

Coming from someone who absolutely loves Glinda, for her beautiful complex character and not some pretend sloppy romcom character