Kristin Chenoweth couldn’t be happier that Ariana Grande is playing Glinda on ‘Wicked’ movie

Kristin Chenoweth and Kelly Clarkson are overjoyed that Ariana Grande will play Glinda in the upcoming “Wicked” film! Chenoweth, who famously played the role on Broadway in 2003, revealed her advice to the popstar when she first got the part.

In the “Wicked” film, Grande plays Glinda the Good opposite Tony-winning actress Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, which will be released in two parts in 2024 and 2025.

In an interview with Kelly Clarkson on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the Broadway legend who famously played Glinda in the Original Broadway Production of “Wicked” revealed her delight that Ariana Grande would play the famous Good Witch of the North in the film adaptation of the said musical.

Grande was “really nervous” when she called Chenoweth after landing the role, according to Chenoweth.

Chenoweth affirmed the Grammy-winning singer:

“She said, ‘I want to pay homage to you but I’m scared. I want to make you proud.’ I go, ‘Well you’ve already made me proud, so it doesn’t matter. Check, done that.'”

Erivo and Grande were announced as the lead witches for the film above in November 2021. “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In The Heights” director Jon M. Chu will take the helm for the film.

Chenoweth, on the other hand, wanted Ariana to do something different.

She added:

“What I want to encourage you to do is make Glinda your Glinda. Sure, you can tip your hat for me if you want. But, really I just want you to do you,”

Ariana Grande has previously stated that “Wicked’s” Glinda is her dream role, so this is a full-circle moment for her.

Clarkson stated in the same interview that Grande had known Chenoweth since she was ten. It is because Grande went to see Chenoweth in the original cast production of “Wicked” with her grandmother when she was a child.

In 2013, she told KiddNation that playing Glinda was “for sure” the role she wanted to play if given a chance. When the topic of playing a role in “Wicked” came up on the Zach Sang Show, Grande became emotional.