Ariana Grande Tears Up, Reveals What Kristin Chenoweth Told Her Before ‘Wicked’

From one Glinda to another: Ariana Grande still gets emotional thinking about Kristin Chenoweth’s passing of the wand to her for Evil film adaptation.

Grande, who plays Glinda in Universal’s long-awaited film, cried recently as she recalled the reaction and advice from Chenoweth, who famously originated the role in the Broadway musical of the same name, when she told her she was auditioning for the role .

“We had been talking about it for years and years, but me finally admitting to her that I wanted to go for Glinda was like a whole other thing,” Grande said during an episode of Broadway Podcast Network Evil podcast, Sentimental men (airing at 10 a.m. ET Friday) when asked if Chenoweth had any guidance for her in the role.

“But finally I confessed to her, I said, ‘Hey, I think they’re doing this now, and I think I’m going to go after Glinda,’ and she went into the bathroom and closed the door and started to cry,” she said.

“It was the sweetest thing in the world. Oh my god, it makes me emotional,” Grande recalled, before pausing to gather her emotions herself. “It was so sweet,” Grande continued, teary-eyed and shaking her head at the memory. “She was just like, ‘I was hoping this would happen. I love you and I trust you with this, baby girl.’ She said, “Just do your thing, you’re so funny and you have good instincts, and nobody knows.” And I was just like, ‘Okay’.”

Evilwhich also starred Idina Menzel, premiered on Broadway in 2003. Based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel of the same name and with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, The Wizard of Oz prequel musical traces the paths of the two witches from students at Shiz University to Elphaba, who became the Wicked Witch of the West. The show went on to earn 10 Tony Award nominations in 2004, including one for Best Musical.

Since the film’s casting, Chenoweth has been outspoken about her support for Grande.

“She was really nervous,” Chenoweth told Kelly Clarkson while performing The Kelly Clarkson Show in April 2023. “She said, ‘I want to pay tribute to you, but I’m scared. I want to make you proud.’ I say, ‘Well, you’ve already made me proud, so it doesn’t matter. check — done it.'”

“‘What I want to encourage you to do, Ariana, is make Glinda your Glinda,'” she continued. “‘Sure, you can tip your hat to me if you want. But really, I just want you to do you’.”

In that interview, Chenoweth also got choked up discussing the casting and her longtime relationship with Grande. “I’ve known her since she was 10,” she said. “And now I’ve come full circle. She called me, she said, ‘I get it.'” We sounded like two dolphins talking, I can’t wait to see her do it.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Evil the film also stars Cynthia Erivo as Glinda’s frenemy Elphaba. The adaptation also features Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang and Marissa Bode.

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The film adaptation is being split into two parts, with the first half scheduled for a theatrical release on November 22.

The full one Sentimental men podcast episode with Grande streams Friday starting at 10 a.m. ET.