Ariana Grande is known for her amazing singing voice, whistle tones, and time as Cat on Nickelodeon's Victorious. But she hasn't done much acting since then. Until now, Ariana will play Glinda in the upcoming new Wicked Movie alongside actress Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. In a 2019 interview, Ariana called Glinda her "dream role."
Ariana Grande Has Always Loved Broadway
Ariana Grande started her Broadway career in 2008 when she starred in the music, 13. This is where she met Victorious co-star Liz Gillies. In 2012, she played Snow White in a Snow White Christmas.
Over the years, fans have heard Ariana Grande belt out tunes from various musicals. Including Little Shop of Horrors song "Suddenly Seymour". She sang this in a carpool karaoke ride with James Corden. Fans also heard her sing a Wicked song, "What Is This Feeling?" with Set MacFarlane.
She performed "Still Hurting" from the musical The Last Five Years for a virtual concert. In Hairspray Live she played Penny Pingleton. It is safe to say Ariana has a huge love for musicals and a voice that fits perfectly with them.
Why Ariana Feels So Connected To 'Wicked'
Ariana's love for Wicked when was just 10 years old. She won a chance to go backstage and meet Glinda. At the time, Kristin Chenoweth played the role. Ariana sang in front of Kristen and completely blew her away. Since then the two have been friends for years. Ariana even says she has learned the most from Kristen. Kristen worked alongside Ariana on this season of The Voice to help coach her team.
Ariana performed for the 15th Anniversary of Wicked, a concert special that aired on NBC. She sang "The Wizard and I." In an Instagram post with the lyrics of the song, she captioned it "honored to be included in this celebration of 15 years of my favorite musical of all time wouldn’t miss it for the whole universe."
In one of Ariana’s old tweets, she said, "Loved seeing Wicked again…amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole."
She has even said one of her favorite songs is "Making Good", one that was ultimately cut from the musical. Saying that “those lyrics stuck with me all these years." It is quite a full-circle moment that Ariana now has the role of Glinda in a musical she cares for so deeply.
How Ariana Is Preparing For The Role Of Glinda
Fans were beyond excited when Ariana revealed on Instagram that she would be playing Glinda in the new movie. Her post showed a card from her co-star Cynthia Erivo saying "the part was made for you." So how has Ariana been preparing for her dream role?
She and Erivo are bonding and getting to know each other well. Erivo said, "Ariana and I have been meeting and chatting and talking and building our own relationship because we know that it's a sisterhood, and we want to be ready and prepared to be there for one another."
Ariana has recently attended the Wicked Broadway Show. Although she has seen it many times, it makes sense she would want to go see it again to prepare for her role. She shared her praise for Brittney Johnson, who plays Glinda, and Lindsay Heather Pearce, who plays Elphaba, calling it an honor to see, hug, hear, and witness them both.
The two even shared pictures with Ariana that they took together. The current Glinda calls Grande "the future Miss Bubble Queen" and that she can't wait to see Ariana's take on the character. The current Elphaba called Grande "our beautiful wicked movie girl."
Fans are just as excited about seeing Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba as they are. Fans even think Ariana predicted and manifested her getting her dream role in Wicked. Alongside the excitement that Grande scored her dream role, fans are thrilled to see her return to acting.
She recently played a small role in the Netflix movie, Don't Look Up. She plays Riley Bina, although a small part in the movie it most certainly got fans ready for her much bigger acting project. There is no set date for the release of the Wicked Movie, but they are set to start filming this June.
