Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Wicked.
Green and pink magic is undoubtedly in the air as audiences continue to flock to theaters in droves to witness the super-sized movie musical 15 years in the making — Wicked. And while most scenes in the toe-tapping project are certainly powerful, one scene in particular successfully stole the show after highlighting one of the movie’s best-kept secrets.
Yes, it’s hard to deny that the Ariana Grande vehicle is absolutely dominating the box office right now — especially thanks to an eye-catching surprise that had most of us nearly in tears and ready to grab the nearest tissue box. Of course, I’m speaking directly about the surprise reunion featuring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth — the famed actresses who first portrayed Elphaba and Glinda in the OG Broadway run of Wicked.
In the aforementioned scene, Elphaba and Glinda (now portrayed by the brilliant Cynthia Erivo and Grande) are welcomed with open arms to the Emerald City as they prepare to meet the Wizard. During their larger-than-life trip around the city, the pair encounter two Wiz-O-Mania performers (Menzel and Chenoweth) who desperately attempt to one-up each other as they sing their hearts out — reminding us why the original run of Wicked was so dang monumental in the first place.
As if the interaction itself isn’t powerful enough, the scene then features a heartwarming moment as Menzel sings directly to Erivo (having both played Elphaba) while Chenoweth sings directly to Grande. It’s a touching interaction that perfectly showcases the unwavering talent of Chenoweth and Menzel, who were unequivocally delighted to be a small part of this big-screen project.
That being said, you simply cannot include two of the most significant actresses in the history of Wicked and not expect audiences around the nation to immediately fall to pieces. So when the time came for moviegoers to flock to the internet to express their sheer excitement, places like X and Reddit became a safe space for die-hards to explain just how wonderful the cameo truly was.
We’re all emotional, so don’t worry about feeling alone in that department:
Over on Reddit, a specific thread has been dedicated to the earth-shattering cameo, with some claiming they knew the OG actresses would be included, but were impressed by how their inclusion was executed. On the other hand, a portion of commenters were unaware that Menzel and Chenoweth were set to pop up in the movie, leading to a surprise we’ll be talking about for weeks to come.
The cameos of Menzel and Chenoweth were guaranteed to cause quite a stir and evoke plenty of emotion, sure, but the entire Wicked community is also prematurely preparing for Grande and Erivo to perform “For Good” — which is set to tear-jerkingly be showcased when part 2 drops on Nov. 21, 2025. Until then, we’ll simply be rewatching part 1 over and over again — especially in regards to the Emerald City scene and the return of Broadway’s original Elphaba and Glinda.