40 Things We Learned About ‘Wicked’ From Jon M. Chu, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Commentary: Easter Eggs, Deleted Scenes and More

The film opens with a disheveled room filled with Easter eggs — everything from the Wicked Witch’s hat to a spilled bucket of water and a propaganda poster. “We wanted to drop people into a crime scene,” Chu said. But the sequence wasn’t always so brief. Originally, it started “with water dripping upside down, so it looked like balloons floating to the sky, and then the camera would turn all the way around… It was just too long.”

Dressing the Munchkins for “No One Mourns the Wicked” was no small task. Chu noted that each extra had a unique outfit, and actors were up as early as 3 or 4 a.m. to make sure everyone was dressed on time and the shoot stayed on schedule. But it wasn’t all hard work — there were spots to rest during those long days. “All of the Munchkin huts were actually functional, with little spots to nap or hide a coffee or a banana,” Grande revealed.

Glinda’s bubble was designed with a foot pedal, adding a little twist to her seemingly magical entrance. “Part of the theme was that there is no magic,” Chu explained. “We wanted to build machine and magic in one. What you don’t see are all the gears working behind it—both in the movie and with what we did [on set].” During filming, Grande performed the entire song on the ground platform, unaware of how the bubble would actually float her down. “That was a surprise for me,” Grande said. “It was exciting to see!”

The one question on everyone’s mind: “Does that baby have an agent?” Grande quipped during her commentary. “Does he have a stack of headshots that are like, ‘This one’s one minute old?’” In truth, baby Elphaba was played by a pair of twins and Erivo visited the set to meet them “She was the sweetest, most darling, most peaceful little baby I’ve ever met,” she said. Chu explained that one twin performed during the lift, while the other was used for their close-up. The movie magic didn’t stop there — the mother, holding her baby during filming, was replaced with Dulcibear (voiced by Olivier winner Sharon D. Clarke) using VFX in post.

When it came to finding young Elphaba, Karis Musongole immediately captured the hearts of the creative team. “I remember seeing her on the audition tape, and it was just very clear she was an old soul,” Chu shared. Musongole transformed into young Elphaba — complete with matching freckles, green skin, and a gap tooth to mirror Erivo.

In addition to her physical likeness, she also channeled Elphaba’s strength. Instead of performing alongside young Nessarose, played by Cesily Collette Taylor, most of Musongole’s work was done solo. “[Taylor] was so frightened and so overwhelmed, so scared, they had to catch everything separately. And you can’t tell at all, because Karis is so wonderful that she’s able to act against almost nothing,” Erivo said.

One cameo that didn’t make the cut? Broadway titan Lin-Manuel Miranda. Chu revealed that Miranda (with whom he’d worked on the 2021 film adaptation of “In the Heights”) eagerly pitched himself for the role of the Munchkin who asks Glinda, “Is it true you were her friend?” Chu laughed, “I got many calls from Lin. He might have even tweeted about it.” Despite the enthusiasm, Chu ultimately felt it would be “too distracting.” “Sorry, Lin!”

As a “Wicked” superfan, Grande wasn’t about to let some of Glinda’s most memorable lines land on the cutting room floor. When “The Wizard will see you now!” was cut from “One Short Day” in early drafts, she waged a passionate campaign to bring it back.

She also tried to preserve other iconic Glinda quips, including, “Perhaps you remember my essay? ‘Magic Wands: Need They Have a Point?’” which was another of her favorites. “I felt it was my duty to protect those little moments for her,” Grande said.

In this deleted scene, audiences learn that Glinda’s Shiz University clique goes way back — though Glinda doesn’t quite remember her old friends Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James) at first.

When Glinda arrives at Shiz, Pfannee and Shen Shen approach her giddily — and her confused expression makes it clear that she doesn’t seem to have any idea of who they are. That is until Pfannee reminds her they all went to “Miss Cringable’s Twirling Academy.” They reenact a wrist twirl, full body turn and the chorus “Sunrise, bright eyes” and it clicks. Then, the trio share a group hug and Glinda asks how they are — “truthfully.”

“I’ve been through,” Pfannee says, turning suddenly solemn. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Glinda replies earnestly.

The first day on set was also the first day at Shiz. Grande and Erivo’s first scenes together were the moments after the young witches are assigned to be roommates. “One of my favorite things [Chu] would do when it was on your coverage would be whisper in my ear, ‘Just play around, try stuff, surprise her,’” Grande said. “He gets little surprise reactions out of both of us that way.”

The scene — added from the stage show — brought more emotional depth to both characters, showcasing Elphaba’s “fierce boundaries and protective nature” while allowing Glinda to “show that she’s not dumb! She knows what’s going on, and has a lot of determination and a lot of drive. She has faith in herself,” Grande said.

Yang and James were given free rein to improvise. “They had very little lines in the script; we just let them loose. You never knew how long we would shoot… we’d just keep the camera rolling,” Chu said. Yang, known for his work on “Saturday Night Live,” ad-libbed much of his dialogue, including the entire first interaction with Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and his exchanges with Glinda. “Bowen and Bronwyn were just the most brilliant comedic sidekicks in the entire world,” Grande said. 

During “The Wizard and I,” Elphaba begins on the ground and gradually ascends—“Bit by bit,” Erivo teased. “Not necessarily flying, but going upward every single time.” This slow rise foreshadows the moment later in the film when Elphaba ultimately climbs high enough to “Defy Gravity.”

But as Erivo belts her song, there’s also a hidden gem: a cameo from Jeff Goldblum’s… head. His Wizard face is carved into the side of the Shiz facade, and Grande and Yang accidentally discovered it one day during a set walk. “We didn’t know it was there,” Grande said. “It was really shocking!”

In a pivot from the stage version, more time is spent with Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible, including an added scene where we see her sorcery studies with Elphaba. “[The scene] is an exploration of how she has to learn to use her powers. We learn where [it] comes from,” Erivo explained.

Morrible’s powers range from magical (controlling the weather) to manipulative (controlling those around her).

As for the magical, there are weather references sprinkled throughout the suite – a tornado chandelier, weather instruments on the shelves with references to wind, water and fire. Even the clock includes a 13th hour, nodding to the stage production.

But as for the non-magical powers? Chu said that’s why he hired Yeoh. “She can be intimidating, but just draw you in and not make you suspicious. [She’ll] make you actually want Elphaba to be accepted by her,” Chu said. “Michelle can sell that. She can sell anything.”

The interaction in the study between Morrible and Elphaba was the first scene cut for the film, but Chu credits editor Myron Kerstein for finding the “in-between moments” that ultimately made the final cut. One of those moments was a hand shadow homage to the original “Wizard of Oz” witch, Margaret Hamilton. “I didn’t think it would ever fit in the edit,” Chu admitted.

Dr. Dillamond is one of the few animals in the film, but the designs went through quite a few changes before landing on something realistic. “We tried designs where the animals sort of look like humans [like the musical], but it just felt too creepy,” Chu admitted. They eventually settled on more animal-like designs and added gadgets to help them navigate a vertical world —things like accessible doors, a teapot cradle and hooves pedals. Some of the other details, like chalk holders and book-holding tools, didn’t make the cut. Neither did Grande’s nicknames for Dillamond. “Dr. D! Dr. Dilly! I had so many names for Dr. Dilly, and all of them are cut!” Grande said. 

Dr. Dillamond has some star power behind him. Uncredited, Grande reveals that David Eigenberg, a.k.a. Steve from “Sex and the City,” voices the Tamarin Monkey, who has the line “A solicitor was sacked just for arguing a case” before “Something Bad” kicks off. “He has one line, and it’s the best line in the whole thing,” Grande said. “You were great on 20 seasons of Sex and the City.”

In the final cut of the film, Glinda learns that Prince Fiyero has been spotted at Shiz when a copy of the Shiz Gazette newspaper flies onto her balcony. Excited, she flits back into her dorm room to ready herself — just in case she bumps into him.

But that scene was originally about a minute longer, beginning with the Gazette arriving on campus via water courier. The sequence demonstrates just how fast good news travels around Shiz as the students buzz about Fiyero’s impending arrival.

Copies of the newspaper fly around the school, from what appears to be the Shiz University roller derby team to one pigtailed student who shrieks with excitement. We even get a glimpse of Boq’s (Ethan Slater) concerned reaction – foreshadowing the complicated love triangle to come.

Tossing hair isn’t for the faint of heart — or so Grande quickly discovered. After her first day rehearsing Glinda’s iconic “toss toss” hair flip, she was feeling the aftermath. “I couldn’t move my head. I had Icy Hot patches all over. It was a solid week of Icy Hot patches on my neck,” she revealed.

But Grande wasn’t backing down from commitment to the role. As she prepares to meet Fieryo, Glinda douses herself in perfume — spritzing her entire face, including her eyelashes — a decision that the actor improvised on the spot. “My makeup artist was slightly distressed,” Grande laughed.

Navigating the logistics of the “tornado wheel” in the “Dancing Through Life” library turned out to be nearly as complicated as the dance moves themselves. The set piece arrived just two weeks before filming and was scaled down from five chambers to three to save costs. Choreography for the number couldn’t begin in earnest until the set piece was in place, then once they had it, there was a mad rush to cast the right dancers. “You couldn’t choreograph until you knew what it felt like to be in there,” Chu said. But the end result? One of the film’s most epic dance sequences, featuring a one-take flip by a dancer that lands straight into a shot with Jonathan Bailey’s Fieryo. “I didn’t know that!” Erivo exclaimed when Grande shared the fun fact during their commentary. “That’s insane.”

While Yang’s Pfannee pulls out a collapsible hat from Glinda’s closet, the full, constructed version that Elphaba wears isn’t foldable. Chu turned to costume designer Paul Tazewell to create an additional accordion-style version of the hat to use to create a dramatic drop effect for that reveal. “The amount of time and effort and money it took to create a folding witch hat… That created a little panic,” he said.

Grande wasn’t exactly fresh-faced during her scene with Madame Morrible during “Dancing Through Life.” In fact, she purposely skipped makeup touch-ups. “I wanted to look like I had ‘make out face,’” she explained. “You can tell when you’ve been kissing! They just look a little… something is different.”

And while audiences didn’t see fresh faces, they also missed an extra bit featuring Madame Morrible. Yeoh — who filmed the scene days fresh off her Academy Award win for “Everything Everywhere All at Once”— originally had a moment where Morrible exits her conversation with Glinda, grabs a drink, and spits it out. “She frequents better places than this,” director Chu laughed. “It was hilarious… but we needed to get on with the story.”

The “Wicked” filmmakers have often described the Ozdust Ballroom scene as the “heart of the movie” with this as the turning point in Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship — beginning with Elphaba’s humiliation as she realizes Glinda pranked her by offering the “hideodeous” hat to wear to the party and ending with Glinda’s silent apology as she joins her on the dance floor. In the commentary, Erivo and Grande offer their earnest recollection of filming the emotional sequence.

“I still remember how this felt — just horrible,” Erivo said as she watched the footage of Elphaba’s Shiz classmates pointing and laughing at her while she walked into the ballroom.

“There’s a lot of underscoring in this scene, but on the day, in the room, it was utter silence,” Grande chimed in as the camera cuts to Elphaba’s close-up. “And everyone in this room, every single person, was right there with you. I think everyone in this home probably still feels how this day felt.”

Then, when Elphaba begins to dance, Grande added: “Watching you do this so many times, really did cast a spell on everyone. It was just such a powerful day and I think everyone in the room was just trying to hold space for you as much as they could, because you were just giving so, so, so much.”

It was a “tough day” on set Erivo admitted, but she “definitely felt held in the space.” The commentary ends on this emotional beat, with the actors letting their powerful performance speak for itself.

The deleted scenes also includes an extended version of “Popular,” with a full minute of Glinda teaching Elphaba the art of tossing her hair. But first, Elphie must get a little “pep in her step,” so Glinda urges her to stand on the bed and “bounce” to loosen up.

“I’m not really a kind of bouncing person,” Elphaba protests, but Glinda insists, so she hops on the bed with her. And much to her surprise, it feels pretty nice. “I feel free,” Elphaba says, letting her arms flail around a bit — but not too much, since Glinda warns her to “be easy.”

The comedic interlude, which lasts about a minute, then expands on Glinda demonstrating her signature “toss toss” move. Glinda swishes her blonde hair back and forth dramatically and reveals an alternate version of the movie: “Toss toss, leg,” she says, popping her leg out wide. Elphaba looks on and then copies her new bestie — but it lacks finesse (judging by Glinda’s dismayed reaction), so Glinda tries another approach.

“I’m going to teach you how to talk with your eyebrows. When you’ve got something to say, but you can’t really say it, and you want to get your way, raise ‘em,” Glinda instructs her.

This move is much more up Elphaba’s alley and her mastery actually impresses Glinda enough to warrant “That’s good” in response.

While they’re bonding in their dorm room, newly-minted friends Elphaba and Glinda are surrounded by easter eggs and production magic.

Erivo revealed that she asked costume designer Tazewell to create a new pair of pajamas for the scene, separate from the ones she wears during “What Is This Feeling?” (which already feature hidden Toto details). “It’s a new moment, a new sort of chapter for them,” Erivo said. Tazewell’s team pulled it off in just 48 hours.

Elphaba’s little green bottle under her pillow is also a subtle touch, designed to look suspiciously like the upside-down witch’s hat, according to Chu.

As the scene progresses, eagle-eyed fans spot a pair of red ruby slippers that Glinda clicks three times — but they were actually gold during filming and changed to ruby in post-production.

Grande and Erivo kept the crew laughing with their improvised “Ballgown!” and “Toss toss!” moments. But one major improv from Grande made it into the final cut: a riff on the original musical line “Wear the frock, it’s pretty!” became “Wear the froat.” She explained: “That came spontaneously, because I was like… ‘This is not a frock. It’s a froat. It’s a coat and a frock.”

The Ozdust ballroom band has plenty of animals – including a few chickens playing the piano. “L. Frank Baum [author of ‘The Wizard of Oz’] raised and sold show chickens, so I wanted a little nod to that,” Chu revealed. 

Once Glinda teaches Elphaba how to flirt with boys, there’s a brief moment between Elphaba and Fieryo, but the setting nearly didn’t look the way it does in the final cut. “We had a fight about the waterfall,” Chu laughed. It wasn’t practical to pull off a waterfall on camera, but Chu insisted one be included in the final edit. “It was going to be a lot of money and a lot of time, but I was like, ‘This is romantic.’ This is the two of them falling for each other, flirting for the first time. We got that in.” But not everyone was a fan of the flirting. “Okay, Fieryo, that’s a little too much! I’m not okay with that,” Grande joked. 

After Elphaba and Fiyero rescue the caged lion cub from Shiz University, they make their way through the Enchanted Forest to release him.

The extended scene reveals how Fiyero got the scratch on his face as the young cub nervously wriggles under his blazer while they search for the safest place to let him go.

“Don’t squeeze him,” Elphaba tells Fiyero. “He’s wriggling because you’re holding him the wrong way.”

As Elphaba instructs Fiyero to stay still, she tenderly touches the cub, calms the creature and lifts him properly. Then, with a side eye that says “I told you so,” Elphaba carries the cub to drink from a pool of water.

In the forest scene, Erivo and Bailey are actually navigating the biggest sound stage that was used during the film. In fact, the forest that was built was “so dense and beautiful” that real birds started nesting in the rafters of the stage. When Erivo sang during filming, the birds would join her. “But only when she sang,” Chu noted. “It’s like they were on the same wavelength. They knew what was happening there and it was magic.”

Of all the deleted scenes, this one is among the most emotional. After Elphaba and Fiyero return from the forest, Glinda finds a quiet moment in Madame Morrible’s seminar to ask Elphaba why she didn’t choose her to help rescue the lion cub.

“I would’ve helped you,” Glinda says. “If you needed someone, you could have picked me.” Recognizing the hurt in Glinda’s voice, Elphaba turns to her and apologizes. “I made a mistake. I won’t leave you behind again.”

Then, the Wizard’s invitation to the Emerald City arrives.

This deletion of this scene has caused some commotion on social media as fans argue that it depicts the depth of Glinda and Elphaba’s friendship and is crucial to the movie. But, in the commentary, Chu explained why the scene got cut: “[Elphaba’s] promise felt too early.”

In an interview with Variety’s Marc Malkin, Chu expanded on that thought, saying that it was the most difficult cut to make because of Grande and Erivo’s masterful performances.

“But what I found is it takes a little bit of the tension away from the next scene, when Elphaba is invited to the Emerald City,” Chu explained. “If you know there’s a promise and Elphaba is a woman of her word, then you know she’s going to invite [Glinda]. But if you don’t know where they are at and if you don’t know that Glinda has a sense Fiyero and her having a little thing, it makes her smarter and a little bit of a surprise. So it was very difficult. And at that point, our movie is at two hours – let’s get to the Emerald City and get to the Wizard.”

Elphaba’s Emerald City send-off also included a cold interaction with her father, Governor Thropp, who was invited to the train station by Madame Morrible.

Ignoring Elphaba, Gov. Thropp beams as he tells Madame Morrible, “I treasure any chance to see my dear daughter,” and places a gloved hand on Nessarose’s shoulder. (Remember, he blamed Elphaba for her mother’s death and Nessarose’s disability.) When Madame Morrible reminds him it’s an honor that “your other daughter be welcomed by the wizard,” he snidely replies, “Let’s just hope she makes a good impression.”

On cue, Glinda — ever the supportive friend — appears at a hurt Elphaba’s side and retorts, “I’m sure she will.” Madame Morrible agrees, and then Pfannee and ShenShen whisk Elphaba away with their recommendations for her time in the Emerald City.

In another scene from the train station, Boq and Elphaba have a candid heart-to-heart about their romantic prospects — or seeming lack thereof.

Boq, who has been enamored with Glinda ever since they met, knows she has her heart set on Prince Fiyero. Though he’s has been spending time with Nessarose ever since Glinda suggested he ask her out to the Ozdust Ballroom, Boq admits to Elphaba that he “still has hope” that Glinda will one day return his affections.

“You shouldn’t,” Elphaba says, frankly.

“Look what hope did for you,” he replies. “Your dreams are coming true, why not mine?”

Elphaba encourages Boq to tell Nessarose the truth — that he doesn’t really love her. But he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings.

And on the subject of truth, Boq points a finger back at Elphaba. He bluntly asks if she could change her feelings for Fiyero, but she abruptly denies having any at all.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I misunderstood. I thought we were being honest,” Boq says, then walks off.

This nearly two-minute deleted scene takes place aboard the train to the Emerald City. As the instrumental of “One Short Day” plays, Elphaba and Glinda marvel at all of the offerings and read about the wonders of the Emerald City. It’s a cute clip that clarifies just how far the Emerald City is away from Shiz as the two eat, drink, dance and nap (using one another as pillows) – all the things that two best friends would do as they set off on the adventure of a lifetime.

Because the visual effects aren’t finished, the clip shows off Erivo and Grande’s acting skills as they take in the wonder of the moment, which ends as Elphaba and Glinda finally arrive at the Emerald City, greeted by the splendor of everything green.

When Glinda and Elphaba arrive at the Emerald City, a whole bustling world awaits.

The final version of the film features a song-and-dance number that tells the story of Oz, narrated by original Broadway cast members Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. The deleted scene serves as the introduction to their show, where Glinda and Elphaba insert their tickets into a fortune-telling-like kiosk for Wizomania. A mechanical wizard then presents, “the absolute factual story of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

As they hear about the Wizard’s magical abilities, the machine moves aside, and Wizomania kicks off.

“One Short Day” brings the bustling Emerald City to life — and hides a few familiar faces in its crowd. Original Glinda and Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, returned to Oz for a special cameo, while lead choreographer Christopher Scott steps in as an Emerald City attendant, spotted right after Erivo and Grande exit the train. He’s joined by several other associate and assistant choreographers, including Pete Francis, Will Loftus and Leah Hill, who can be seen dancing through the streets.

The scene also marked an emotional reunion for Erivo with her former choreographer, Kenrick Sandy. “That was the first time we had seen each other in years,” Erivo revealed. “I cried.”

The 14-hour shoot day in the Emerald City was one of the longest during production and when the last shot wrapped around 7 a.m., Chu gave a speech to the cast, honoring the legacy of Chenoweth and Menzel and the “Wicked” world.

“He told them what a love letter this entire project is to them and their work,” Grande said. “It’s meant so much to so many people for such a long time. And to have that be said after a 14-hour shoot day, all of us were crying.”

Other familiar faces pop up throughout the film, including “Wicked’s” original composer Stephen Schwartz, book writer Winnie Holzman and former West End Elphaba Alice Fearn, who takes on the role of Glinda’s mother.

In a film full of elaborate props, the Grimmerie stands out as Erivo’s favorite. “I loved the weight of it; it was like a real, heavy, carved book,” she said. “I loved carrying it with me.” Grande grew similarly attached to Glinda’s wand. “We formed relationships with these props,” she said. “These physical things hold so much comfort and power.”

At first glance, the Grimmerie looked simple enough in a plain holder — “I sort of wanted to do that Indiana Jones thing, where actually the most powerful thing is on just the most simple stand,” Chu explained. But in reality, it was far more intricate. The cover featured three images: one symbolizing nature and plants, another for Ozians and humans, and a third for animals, representing their trio’s circle of energy. When it opened, Chu wanted it to feel alive. “It’s almost like fungi growing and glowing and unpeeling. It had to have a delight to it, but also an almost organic, touchable feel to it.”

Goldblum brought his own special brand of magic to playing the Wizard. “All the little magic tricks were things that Jeff wanted to do,” Grande shared. From the slightly hacky coin tricks to the twinkle-toed tap dancing, Goldblum had a precise vision for the character. “This idea of the ultimate storyteller was something that we talked a lot about – how far would you go to delight people? Even if it takes you to a place of action, or violence, hatred or fear,” Chu said. Goldblum’s approach painted the Wizard as a playful, almost “Peter Pan-like” figure, with a dash of “Walt Disney-ish” charm. “It was a bit of wish fulfillment,” Chu added.

When it came to designing the flying monkeys, Chu described it as a “classic Universal monster moment.” “It’s Frankenstein waking up,” he said. Special attention was given to Chistry, the head guard, who was designed with one green eye and one red eye to make him feel “othered” from the rest of his peers.

Grande and Erivo found themselves “choked up” watching the actor undergo the physical transformation. “It was really hard—all this physical pain that you’re seeing Chistry experience was literally what [movement artist] Robin [Guiver] was doing in a grey bodysuit,” Grande said.

Oz’s flying monkeys have always been terrifying, so cutting this 30-second sequence of Elphaba and Glinda running through the castle being chased by the winged creatures spares audiences from extra fight.

The visual effects on this scene are not quite finished, but that doesn’t make things less scary — note, Glinda’s high-pitched screams as the monkeys try to grab her and she frantically pushes them away.

When Elphaba and Glinda finally escape by finding a secret doorway, there’s a bit of levity as Glinda promises to “get the next one.” A breathless Elphaba replies, “Sure” and runs on with Glinda following behind asking, “What now?”

A hot air balloon chase was added as a lead-in to “Defying Gravity,” serving both emotional and practical purposes. “We need some sort of confrontation for her… to get that adrenaline out,” explained. But there was also a logistical challenge: The Wizard’s palace is on the ground floor, and they need to get to the attic for Defying Gravity. “How are we gonna get them up?”

The chase also set up one of the film’s funniest moments, thanks to an offhand ad-lib from Grande during Erivo’s coverage. “Give me my leg!” she shouted at a Palace guard, a line that almost didn’t make the cut. But Erivo insisted Chu turn the camera around to capture it. “Everyone, you can thank Cynthia,” Grande joked.

When designing Elphaba’s broomstick, the goal was clear: something “earthy,” as Erivo put it. “We looked at loads of different trees and roots,” she said. After some consideration, they landed on the mangrove root — “one of the most powerful, helpful, environmentally helpful plants in the world,” according to Chu. While Chu admits he’s “not a scientist,” he was drawn to the fact that when mangrove roots touch, they merge and their DNA blends together. “We loved this idea, this amazing, powerful root almost as one.” For the finishing touch, Erivo chose an open, palm-like design for the end of the broom’s handle. 

With that, Elphaba’s physical transformation into the one who will be called “The Wicked Witch of the West” was complete and Chu wanted to make a moment of it — framing the green witch in a powerful pose as she tosses her cape. “This was really a big moment for me,” Erivo said of the shot. “Because he decided that she could be a superhero and I thought that was a really special thing to think of her [as].”

It’s well documented that the actors sang live on set during production, but what’s often overlooked is just how much physical stamina it took – particularly on massive numbers like “Defying Gravity.” Especially Erivo, who had to maintain her breath support while navigating massive steps during the finale or soaring in giant rigs through the blue screen sky. “I mean, luckily, she’s a marathon runner, so she can handle it,” Chu remarked. But their contributions didn’t stop there. In addition to singing live, the two leads were also hands-on with the vocal production for the soundtrack. “One of my favorite things when I was comping the vocals was hearing [Cynthia’s] little footsteps on the stairs,” Grande shared. “It’s really real, live singing.”

“Defying Gravity” might have left many viewers teary-eyed, but Chu asked his actors to hold back their emotions until the moment truly called for it. “I kept telling them, don’t, don’t, don’t cry when you get together. Just try to hold it in… You can feel the fight,” he said. But when the tear finally fell on Erivo, it didn’t want to leave. “That teardrop just stayed there [for the closeup] … It wouldn’t go away,” Erivo recalled. “It’s definitely from my eye – not gel!” The finale was emotional for the entire crew, too. “Every time [Erivo] hit this note, our whole crew and cast would try to hold back our applause and yelling until she finished … then it was just pure applause, a standing ovation in the room.”