Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo deliver an outstanding performance in the recently released “Wicked” film, showcasing their extraordinary innate abilities.
As the musical film approaches its release in less than 30 days, “Wicked” offers a fascinating sneak peek into the creation of this iconic story, showcasing clips of both Ariana and Cynthia passionately singing on set.
And just to clarify, there’s no lip-syncing involved, as both leading ladies and the film’s helmsman, Jon M. Chu, affirmed in the behind-the-scenes featurette that the dynamic duo performed live during filming.
You have to check this out… Cynthia, portraying Elphaba (a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West) in the forthcoming film, can be heard executing vocal scales before she takes on the song’s legendary piece, “Defying Gravity,” moving several crew members to tears.
In a similar vein, Ariana — cast as Glinda the Good Witch — showcases her operatic prowess by casually executing vocal runs while pausing between film shots, later hitting an astonishingly high note during “No One Mourns the Wicked.”
Additionally, there’s a fascinating clip of the two performing a portion of “Defying Gravity” together without any instrumental support… where the actresses harmonize beautifully, rivaling the original Broadway cast. Apologies to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.
The filmmaker shared that there was early uncertainty regarding the extent of live singing that would occur on set, as the standard approach entails recording the tracks ahead of time and having the actors lip-sync during the shoot.
However, as Jon pointed out, both Cynthia and Ariana are among the “finest vocalists in the world,” leading them to opt for live performances for every scene.
This choice is undeniably audacious, especially considering that a similar strategy did not yield successful results for the cast of the 2012 film adaptation of “Les Misérables,” where Russell Crowe faced criticism for his vocal performances.
Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that both Ariana and Cynthia are more than equipped to tackle a musical film compared to Russell… just saying!!!