Yahoo Lifestyle I Genuinely Can't Watch The Ozdust Ballroom Scene From "Wicked" Without Crying Now After Learning These Facts From Filming
There are obviously spoilers ahead for Wicked!
It's no secret that Wicked is the biggest and most talked about movie in theaters right now. Adapted from the beloved Broadway musical, Wicked notably tells the story of witches Elphaba and Glinda and what exactly happened before the events of The Wizard of Oz.
The movie was released in late November and has already garnered widespread acclaim — with many thinking it could win Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars — and box office success. It has become the highest-grossing movie based on a Broadway musical at the US box office, shattering a record held by Grease for 46 years.
As of right now, Wicked has surpassed $358 million at the worldwide box office.
And this is just for Part One, with the second half of Wicked scheduled to hit theaters next November for Part Two.
And every day more and more is being revealed about what went on behind the scenes to finally bring Wicked to the big screen. With each new story from director Jon M. Chu and stars like Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, I believe with absolute certainty we waited this long for a movie adaptation so this exact group of people could be involved in Wicked.
While some of my favorite behind-the-scenes facts about Wicked have been about how they built the sets and all the hard work that went into making everything as practical as possible, what has also made me emotional is seeing how much Cynthia and Ariana love Elphaba and Glinda, and all the thought they put into portraying these characters.
While so many scenes between Elphaba and Glinda are being talked about, one of the most beautiful in Part One happens during "Dancing Through Life."
During the expansive musical number, which has been made even bigger in the movie adaptation, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) leads Glinda and other Shiz University students to the Ozdust Ballroom, where they dance the night away.
It's there that Elphaba joins her fellow classmates wearing the hat that Glinda gifted her as a joke. This prompts everyone to point, stare, and laugh as Elphaba enters. Then, Elphaba begins to dance alone on the dance floor.
Eventually, Glinda joins her, and the duo share a very poignant moment as they dance together with Glinda mimicking Elphaba's dance moves as everyone watches.
The scene ultimately leads to their enduring friendship that shapes the remainder of Wicked: Part One and will inform a lot of the second movie, too.
Shortly after Wicked hit theaters, many have pointed out how beautifully filmed the scene is and how outstanding Cynthia and Ariana are during this moment.
this scene ALONE justifies why they are crying so much during the press tour … 10s across the board https://t.co/eU4pn1CDdX
— matthew (@intomatthew) November 30, 2024
Universal Pictures / Via x.com
And now, I think it's important to point out how Ariana made the moment even more memorable based on a choice she made behind the scenes.
In an interview with Matt Rogers and her fellow Wicked castmate Bowen Yang on the Las Culturistas podcast, Ariana opened up about filming the Ozdust Ballroom scene alongside Cynthia, saying it took one and a half days to film this particular section of "Dancing Through Life."
"One and a half days of utter pin-drop silence, and every single person in the room was absolutely just right there with Cynthia and kind of holding a very warm space for how much she was giving the whole time," Ariana recalled.
She continued, saying, "It's such an isolating and painful scene, and even if you're acting, it's such a heartbreaking feeling. I had such flutters and butterflies that whole day and holding space for her. And then having this guilt and this realization that I'm responsible for this and looking at a friend and trying to course correct. It was a really intense day."
Ariana went on to praise Cynthia, adding, "She did such beautiful work."
Then, Ariana revealed that she actually didn't memorize the choreography for the scene when Glinda steps up and dances with Elphaba in order to make the moment feel as authentic as possible.
She told Las Culturistas, "Even though we rehearsed it once or twice before that day on set, I never learned it. I didn't want to remember it because I literally, just, wanted to be, like, following her hands and letting her lead the way."
Ariana continued, saying, "Because I felt like the more awkward it looks on Glinda, the more beautiful it can be. We're both just, like, little wild deer greeting each other and trying to figure out how to speak the same language. It's so beautifully awkward, and I love it very much."
She also added that it was "such a ride" going from this very slow and emotional moment in the Ozdust Ballroom right into "Popular," which is very upbeat and Glinda's big iconic moment in Wicked: Part One.
Elsewhere, in an interview on the Sentimental Men podcast, Cynthia also talked about Ariana choosing not to learn the choreography for this moment, saying, "Whenever we would do the dance together, she would try to forget it. She didn't want to over-rehearse it because she wanted to learn on the spot. So it's like teaching a person this piece, her language, fresh every time."
She added, "I think in that moment they really see each other. It's when Glinda sees, 'Oh, that's a human being.' That moment when Glinda dances on her own and tries to do this dance, I always think, is the most vulnerable moment of asking for forgiveness and wanting to connect. And the first time Elphaba, sort of, says, 'Follow me,' and she puts her hands and waits, that's an 'Okay. Should we start again?'"
Cynthia also eloquently talked about what this moment meant for Elphaba and how emotionally draining it was to film saying she pulled from her own experiences of not feeling accepted in a group of people or feeling like an outsider to inform her performance and have those emotions bubble to the surface for Elphaba as well.
After hearing both Ariana and Cynthia talk about the experience filming the Ozdust Ballroom scene, it just makes me love it even more (and makes me so emotional, too).
You can listen and watch Ariana's entire chat on the Las Culturistas podcast here.
And you can listen and watch Cynthia's entire chat on the Sentimental Men podcast here.
What did you think of the Ozdust Ballroom scene in Wicked? Tell us everything in the comments below.
