'Wicked’s' Director Tells Us The Original Idea They Had For Idina Menzel And Kristen Chenoweth’s Cameos, And How Plans Changed Over One ‘Magical’ Night

It would be difficult for Jon M. Chu to mount a film adaptation of Wicked without paying some tribute to the Broadway sensation’s original stars, Idina Menzel (as Elphaba) and Kristin Chenoweth (as Glinda). Those of you who have seen the new movie – and based on box office numbers, it’s a large number of people – know that Menzel and Chenoweth appear in Wicked in the third act, when Glinda and Elphaba leave Shiz University and arrive in the Emerald City. They are a huge part of the musical number “One Short Day.” But when we spoke with Chu, we learned that they had different plans for Menzel and Chenoweth, and they changed rapidly as the shoot went on.

Jon M. Chu appeared as a guest on CinemaBlend’s official ReelBlend podcast, where he spoke about the film’s reception, and several elements of the filming of the Broadway musical. And when we brought up the cameo appearances of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, we talked about walking the complicated line of showcasing these talents, but not taking audience members out of the movie that they have shown up to see. As “wickedly” talented as Menzel and Chenoweth are, they have the ability of possibly stealing focus away from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, whose movie this very much is.