Kristin Chenoweth remembers the day Ariana Grande came to see the original Broadway production of “Wicked.” Adam Lambert fondly recalls playing the role of Fiyero in the touring production before “American Idol” made him a star. Original cast members and first-wave fans of the smash Broadway musical “Wicked” have come together for a salute to the tuner’s 15th anniversary on Broadway, set to air Oct. 29 as an hourlong special on NBC. Chenoweth has been part of the fabric of “Wicked” from the beginning – the role of Glinda was written with her in mind – but 15 years on, she confesses that she didn’t realize at the time how important the musical would be to so many. “It’s impacted my life when I get to meet people who say, ‘It’s one of the first shows I saw and the first scores I heard,’” she told Variety ahead of the taping for NBC’s anniversary special, “A Very Wicked Halloween,” which airs Oct. 29. The special features stars of the original production, Menzel and Chenoweth, performing hits from the tuner from author Gregory Maguire and composer Stephen Schwartz, with guests including Grande and Lambert. Grande was one of those performers touched by her experience seeing “Wicked.” “I remember when she came to see it when she was a little kid, and now she’s the heart of the show,” Chenoweth said. The two have grown close over the course of rehearsals for the NBC special. Chenoweth refers to Grande as “someone I love very much,” and she gushed about her 25-year-old co-star at every opportunity. “It couldn’t get any bigger than her, but I just expect bigger and bigger things from her and her career for the rest of her life. She’s my baby,” Chenoweth said. The members of Grammy Award-winning a capella group Pentatonix are also among a generation of performers raised on “Wicked,” which makes participating in the special all the more exciting. “It was such a huge part of our growing up. It kind of shaped us as musicians and performers – musical theater is what made me fall in love with music in the first place,” said Kirstin Maldonado, who made her own Broadway debut earlier this year in “Kinky Boots.” “It’s seriously so mind-blowing, not only because we grew up singing this and listening to it religiously, but just to be alongside people who have really paved the way for this industry and that we’ve looked up to growing up,” lead singer Mitch Grassi added. “It’s a really weird, full-circle moment.” Lambert also characterized the NBC special as a “crazy full-circle opportunity” — he first played Fiyero more than a decade ago, years before the run on “American Idol” that would make him famous. “It’s beautiful: so much has happened since I was cast,” he told Variety. Despite those successes – including a Grammy nomination, three solo albums, and an ongoing collaboration with Queen – “Wicked” still holds a special place in his heart. “We were the first national cast, so that was right on the tail end of the Broadway production cleaning house at the Tonys. Very exciting! I knew that on my theater resumé, that would always have a shining spot,” he said. The 15th anniversary performance has been similarly nostalgic for Menzel, particularly coming on the heels of her new best-of album, “idina:live.” “It’s a moment of reflection, just to think about the journey I’ve been on and the experiences that have gotten me to where I am, ‘Wicked’ being one of them that really informed who I am as an artist,” she said. “I built up my confidence as a performer, an actress, a singer – and I’ve learned what an incredibly important responsibility I have to this younger generation to talk about and embody belief in yourself.” Both “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” and Menzel’s “Frozen” power ballad “Let It Go” have become anthems for the marginalized, a phenomenon Menzel takes seriously as well as an opportunity she cherishes every time she performs. “I get to sing them all the time and remind myself how lucky I am to have those experiences, that music, these characters and stories in my life that allow me to try to reflect this idea of owning who you are, what makes you unique and different and special and extraordinary,” she said. The key, she believes, is not to step back from those differences, but to embrace and celebrate them: “Once you do that, that’s what gives you the power to change the world.” Menzel’s reunion with Chenoweth (who played Glinda to her Elphaba in “Wicked”) has been another source of joy. “Anytime we can get back in the same room together is really lovely,” she said. “And this is especially profound and moving for us – to commemorate this time and look back at what we helped create together.” Chenoweth feels the same. “We have separate lives, separate careers, and we’re busy, you know? But when we come together, it’s like, ‘Hey girl, hey!’” she said, laughing. Rehearsing together again has only reaffirmed the strength of that bond, no matter where the pair go next. “We had an experience! Nobody can take that from us.” (Pictured: Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel with other “Wicked” performers from over the years.)<doc-sep>The world seems particularly terrible today, so here is a nice thing: Last night, at NBC’s A Very Wicked Halloween, Kristin Chenoweth performed “Popular,” her signature song from the smash Broadway musical in which she originated the role of Glinda in 2003. To watch it is to experience nearly five minutes of concentrated, inescapable charm. The concert was a celebration of Wicked’s 15 years on Broadway, and if you have any fondness at all for that show and its score full o’ power ballads, it’s worth checking out more than just Chenoweth’s performance. You can see original Elphaba Idina Menzel straight-up murder “Defying Gravity,” Ariana Grande belt her way through “The Wizard and I,” and a whole chorus of Glindas and Elphabas — led by Chenoweth and Menzel — get teary-eyed together over “For Good.” There’s Pentatonix and Adam Lambert and the entire current Broadway company of Wicked, all there. But if you have limited time and you need just a quick hit of something uplifting — and even if you’re one of those people who always thought Wicked was too bombastic and over-the-top — Chenoweth is here for you. Watch her imperiously command her audience to applaud her! Watch her guide the superfans in the front row into the perfect selfie-taking angle! Watch her commandeer a man to carry her down into the audience as she breathes, “Oh, mosh pit!” Chenoweth is in such pure Broadway diva mode, and it works so well with the song, that it almost feels as though Glinda should always be played by a woman in her 50s who’s had time to develop a healthy regard for her own inarguable superiority. As Chenoweth herself crows, mid-dance break, she’s still got it.<doc-sep>
Fans of the hit musical Wicked hoping to see it onscreen one day can shout “thank goodness!” NBC announced on Wednesday that they will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Stephen Schwartz-penned Broadway show this October with a special concert taped at New York’s Marquis Theater led by original stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. The two actresses will host and perform in the show, dubbed A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway. Chenoweth, 50, and Menzel, 47, were last back together in 2016 — when they performed a duet from the show for the first time since they hung up their broom and wand after the 2004 Tony Awards. They’ll be joined in the NBC special by a cavalcade of special guests to help celebrate the music and the magic of the show, including Ariana Grande, Pentatonix, and the current Broadway company of Wicked. ariana-grande Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage Grande is an alum of both Broadway and NBC televised live musicals, having starred in Jason Robert Brown’s 13 on stage back in 2008 and Hairspray Live! in 2016. Pentatonix also has ties to the peacock network. The a cappella group won the third season of NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2011. Opening Night of "Wicked" on Broadway Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel | Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic "Wicked" Stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth Unveil their New Line of Cosmetics Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel | Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic Wicked opened on Broadway on Oct. 30, 2003, and has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon — winning over 100 international awards (including three Tonys) and earning over $4.6 billion in global sales, with performances in over 100 cities across 14 countries around the world. Over 55 million people have seen the show worldwide. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical tells the story of the witches popularized in The Wizard of Oz, but from their perspective. Book writer Winnie Holzman adapted the tale, while Schwartz penned its Grammy-winning score. Songs like “Defying Gravity,” “Popular” and “For Good” have gone on to be come mainstays in the musical theatre lexicon. Many of those tunes have been performed by Grande in the past, too. Videos have surfaced of her singing “For Good,” “The Wizard and I,” and “I’m Not that Girl” on YouTube. She dueted with Mika in 2013 on his “Popular Song,” which sampled Wicked‘s “Popular” And then there was Carpool Karaoke: The Series, on which Grande sang “What Is This Feeling” with Seth McFarlane. “One of my dream roles is to play Elphaba,” she said in the episode. “I would do it tomorrow. I’d cancel my whole s—. That’s my dream.” RELATED VIDEO: TODAY‘s Al Roker Joins Cast of Waitress on Broadway Grande might have the chance to do just that on the big screen one day. A film adaptation of the musical has long been in development at Universal, with Variety reporting in August that the movie currently has a Christmastime release planned for Dec. 20, 2019. No casting has been announced yet.