Cynthia Erivo Recalled Doing A 3-Hour Audition For "Wicked" With Two Potential Glindas When She Went Out For The Role Of The Wicked Witch Of The West

As the world patiently awaits the theatrical debut of Wicked starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Cynthia opened up about how her journey with the film began.

Cynthia is taking on the role of Elphaba Thropp, a misunderstood woman born with green skin, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Ariana will play Galinda Upland, a popular young woman who clashes with Elphaba, who eventually turns into Glinda the Good Witch.

For over a year, Universal Pictures has been teasing audiences with posters, behind-the-scenes photos, clips, and trailers as they gear up for the movie's official release in November.

Wicked (also known as Wicked: Part One, because the adaptation will be broken up into two films) follows Elphaba's college journey at Shiz University, as well as the path that led her to become the Wicked Witch of the West, alongside her roommate, Galinda, who turns from friend to rival.

Earlier today on SiriusXM’s This Life of Mine with James Corden, Cynthia shared a sweet story of when she learned she landed the role of Elphaba.

The Tony Award-winning actor revealed she's been singing songs from Wicked since she was 20, so she was very familiar with the material — all of the lines and notes — when she auditioned.

She remembered being in the room for three hours because she had to perform four songs with two prospective Glindas in four scenes.

"I remember really loving every second of being in that room," Cynthia told James. "Being able to explain that for me, this music wasn't just a great musical. For me, this was a way to connect with someone at drama school."

"A friend of mine, Michael Peavoy, would take me into a room, and we would sit at the piano, and we'd sing through the entire libretto of this music. We'd sing through Wicked at drama school. It was just him and I in a room with a piano."

At the end of the audition, Cynthia told herself she "did okay" and then tried not to think about it. Nearly a month later, she finally received the call she'd been waiting for from director Jon M. Chu — the man behind the 2018 box office hit Crazy Rich Asians.

"When I hear, I'm in London, it's 1 a.m., and I get this frantic email from my agent who says, 'Oh, I've got this little production company' — and he knows, like, I'm interested in, like, cool IP — 'so there's this book that we really want to have a meeting on and the writer is around now. There's not much time, but we need to get on the call with them now.' And I'm like, sure, fine, It's 1 a.m., I don't care. Let's do it."

"I get on the Zoom, and Jon Chu's name comes up, and still, for some reason, it doesn't click. And then everyone's face starts coming up, and he goes, 'So there's this book, it's a really cool story about how this woman becomes this green witch,' and I, I just can't. I collapse in tears. I have glasses on. My glasses go up over my head, and my head is in my hands. And I just, part of me is like, this cannot be happening."

Well, I can believe it! I can't wait to see Cynthia and Ariana grace our screens when Wicked hits theaters on Nov. 22 and on Nov. 21, 2025 when Part Two drops.

You can watch the full clip from Cynthia's SiriusXM’s This Life of Mine with James Corden interview below: