There’s plenty of Easter eggs to be found for musical fans in Wicked, but Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel’s magical cameo was the hardest to pull off.
For those who grew up watching the stage production of Wicked, there will be no greater combination than Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, the stars of the original Broadway production.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have stepped up as the new Glinda and Elphaba, but that doesn’t mean the original duo weren’t included in the new movie. In fact, Chenoweth and Menzel both have their own moment to shine in a musical interlude.
The scene takes place during the “One Short Day” sequence, wherein Glinda and Elphaba arrive at the Emerald City for the first time. As they explore, a group of actors detail the legendary story of how the Wizard first came to Oz, led by Chenoweth and Menzel.
Jon M. Chu reveals how Wicked cameos came to be
According to director Jon M. Chu, it was quite a task to film the scene with the two Broadway heroes. With only one night to shoot the entire number, the pressure was on.
“We had one night in the middle of the night, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m, on a rainy night. … the moment they sang the songs and got their iconic moments in that, it was beautiful,” Chu explained [via The Hollywood Reporter].
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But despite the short hours, he also shared how the cameos were an emotional moment of closure for the cast and crew.
“I think it was really healing for everybody. … I said, ‘This is in honor of you. This whole us making this movie is an honor of you because we want you to experience what we got to experience when we first saw it, when I went to the theater before it went into Broadway, what it felt like to watch Elphaba and Glinda steal our hearts, you have never got to experience that. And now we get to do that for you.'”
“Ari is crying the whole time,” he added. “Cynthia was crying the whole time. There was a lot of love on that set that day. And so I’m so grateful for them to come out there.
“I was not involved with the deal-making. I have no idea what it took to get them there. All I knew is they were down and willing. We just had one day to do it.”
Wicked is out in theaters now. For more, find out how Wicked’s best scene accidentally copied Spider-Man, why Fiyero has a big connection to The Wizard of Oz after Wicked, and most importantly, when to pee during Wicked.