Dear Old Wicked goes to the Big Show

Because at this point, the Wicked cast are almost as familiar as your cousins, right? After the most epic and committed press cycle in recent history, we’ve committed every expression and interaction Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have ever had – not to memory, because they’re too numerous and too boring to catalogue, but somewhere deeper – muscle tissue? Like, I truly feel like I know these women and their every move on a carpet or press appearance as well as I know my childhood phone number.  And not altogether by choice, but by forced osmosis! Right? 

That said, G(a)linda and Elphaba had pretty impressive showings last night. They were strong and early on the carpet, and Ariana got a lot of early conversation with her delightful Schiaparelli lampshade bodice.  Yes, we’re all exhausted of the pink and green motif (I have to assume Grande and Erivo are, too) but this is a very strong entry to round out the team of dresses. 

Cynthia Erivo’s custom Louis Vuitton was also beautiful, of course, and apparently wanted her dress to be an homage to Hattie McDaniels’, but it wasn’t a revolution compared to other forest or emerald outings. Which, to be fair, she knew – she kept most of the focus on her nail art and spent a long time outlining exactly which techniques her nail artists had used for each one. 

She seemed easygoing and loose, and maybe that’s because she didn’t particularly think she was going to win, all conversations about EGOTs to the contrary. But the real reason, I think, is because they were about to open the show and bring the house down, and they knew it. 

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo perform ‘Defying Gravity’ at the #Oscars.

— Pop Base (@popbase.tv) 2025-03-03T00:13:59.354Z

That is a hell of an opener! They get the benefit of revealing the stage (and that truly amazing orchestra perch! More instruments in the air, please!), they’re in total control of the audience and their attention,  the outfits are even better than the carpet (Grande’s is an homage to Dorothy’s Ruby Slipper) and they’re feeling themselves, because let’s be honest – even though everyone has heard that song more times than ‘Happy Birthday’, it still makes you tear up, doesn’t it!? 

The end of the video makes me laugh the most, though, because, as Lainey pointed out, Ariana ‘bows out’ to allow Cynthia her moment – or rather, to allow Elphaba her moment. This is of course choreographed, but as Lainey said, it’s almost as though she’s doing it because Glinda would do it. And I fully believe this – that they’re all still cosplaying in their roles and happy to keep on being them… 

The whole Wicked team seems this way, don’t they? We saw very little of Ethan Slater last night (which was probably also very choreographed – Grande sat beside her mother all night) but Michelle Yeoh, in a brilliant blue dress that’s honestly one of the best of the night, is still overflowing with joy for the film and seems truly delighted to be in it, even though of course we know they’re lucky to have her. Jon M. Chu beamed all the way through the show, even as the wins they didn’t get racked up – nothing seems to touch these people. 

This is what’s so remarkable, and probably so exhausting for people tired of this movie -- even after the epic, monster merchandise extravaganza and musical firehose that was this release and this promotional cycle; even knowing that there’s another whole movie to release; everyone involved here still seems to genuinely really like each other, and the movie, and it’s all kinds of obnoxious but also delightful. A movie like this would have every reason to be a mess, inside if not outside, but there is no whiff of Cats anywhere about this production, and I guess that’s the real win right there. 

On a related note, remember this?

Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey presenting at the #Oscars

— Film Updates (@thefilmupdates.bsky.social) 2025-03-03T03:11:25.000Z

Queen Latifah performing "Ease on Down the Road" at the 2025 #Oscars in honor of Quincy Jones

— Film Updates (@thefilmupdates.bsky.social) 2025-03-03T03:16:10.000Z

When I watched Oprah and Whoopi introduce Queen Latifah, and she sang the glorious “Brand New Day” from The Wiz, and the dancers playing the Winkies (yes, they’re called Winkies, don’t @ me) were clearly costumed in Shiz University-inspired garb – more on that later, obviously – I realized that we are a month away, at most, from an announcement of a big studio remake of The Wiz. If you haven’t seen it, go find the Live version from 10 years ago or so, delight in Ne-Yo as The Tin Man, then please do @ me when they announce the movie, and I’m proven right…and then we can do this all again!