Warning: This article contains spoilers for special cameo appearances in Wicked.*
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The most magical moment in Wicked was filmed in just one rainy night, as original Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth secretly slipped into London for their special appearance.
Director Jon M. Chu disclosed that the production had merely hours to capture the iconic duo’s cameos in the film’s “One Short Day” sequence. During their visit to the Emerald City, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) attend Wizomania, a propaganda musical about the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) where the surprise appearances occur.
“We had one night in the middle of the night, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m, on a rainy night,” Chu revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. “The moment they sang the songs and got their iconic moments in that, it was beautiful.”
The solution emerged organically: “Let’s make them the biggest stars of Oz. Let’s make them this iconic legends of Oz on the stage show, and let them present the history of Oz. They would be the wise women of Oz,” Chu shared. The emotional impact resonated deeply. “What was cool about the day was, I think it was really healing for everybody.”
The sequence serves a crucial narrative purpose, with Menzel and Chenoweth appearing as legendary performers explaining the Grimmerie’s significance – a sacred text that, according to prophecy, can only be read by the person destined to save Oz in its darkest hour. Both stars got to reference their original roles, with Menzel performing Elphaba’s famous “Defying Gravity” riff and Chenoweth hitting one of Glinda’s signature high notes.
Chu told the original stars, “This is in honor of you. This whole us making this movie is an honor of you because we want you to experience what we got to experience when we first saw it, when I went to the theater before it went into Broadway, what it felt like to watch Elphaba and Glinda steal our hearts, you have never got to experience that. And now we get to do that for you.” He noted that both Grande and Erivo “was crying the whole time. There was a lot of love on that set that day.”
The scene includes additional Easter eggs for theater enthusiasts, featuring appearances by other former stage Elphabas and Glindas, including Kerry Ellis and Dianne Pilkington. The creative team also joined in, with book writer Winnie Holzman appearing as an Emerald City resident saying, “He must be a wizard!” while Schwartz plays a palace guard announcing, “The Wizard will see you now!”
Coordinating Menzel and Chenoweth’s appearances proved challenging, as both were preparing for Broadway productions – The Queen of Versailles and Redwood, respectively. Holzman called their joint appearance “a minor miracle.” The moment held particular significance due to Grande’s longtime connection to Chenoweth, whom she first met backstage at Wicked when she was just 10 years old.
“We cried through the whole night,” Schwartz recalled of the filming, per USA Today, highlighting the emotional weight of seeing the original and current stars together.