This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Ariana Grande: Hi, I'm Ariana Grande.

[0:03] Cynthia Erivo: Hi, I'm Cynthia Erivo, and you're listening to The Sentimental Men Podcast. Visit vpn.fm to discover more.

[0:14] Kevin Bianchi: Guys, we're not even gonna waste your time. I can't even believe we're saying these words, Quincy, but welcome to the Ariana Grande episode of Sentimental Men. Welcome to the Ariana Grande episode! I mean, this is insane. It's insane. It's absolutely insane, and the conversation was, I think, everything and more that we could have hoped it would be. A top-tier interview for sure.

[0:41] Quincy Brown: Like OG sent men taking apart the characters.

[0:48] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. I'm just really thrilled that we got the chance to really sit down and talk with Miss Ariana Grande.

[0:53] Quincy Brown: Me too. About Wicked, the Wicked movie.

[1:00] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I feel like it was a really good conversation.

[1:02] Quincy Brown: Yes. And we also got to talk to Miss Cynthia Erivo. Ah, Quincy, we are the luckiest Sentimental Men in the world. Truly. I feel so happy. I still haven't processed all of this, but it's just so exciting.

[1:08] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I got a journal about it or something. Also, we're at a point where, like, the Wicked hype is really hyping, and the time is almost upon us, and just really couldn't be happier with this conversation, our conversation with Cynthia that you'll get to hear on November 15th, with this podcast we do.

[1:34] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, and in between this episode and next episode, we're going to the Wicked premiere in LA.

[1:39] Quincy Brown: We're going to the Wicked premiere in Los Angeles. So, like, it's just a very cool time to be us, honestly. It's a very cool time to be a Wicked fan. It feels like the world is very much catered towards our interests at the current moment, and I am very grateful for that.

[1:50] Kevin Bianchi: Yes. So, some disclaimer. Our conversation with Ariana did get into specific movie details at moments, and since this is coming out pre-movie, if you're listening to audio only, this interview is also going to be available to watch on YouTube, but if you're listening to audio only, you're going to hear some scrubbing, fast-forwarding moments. That means we're talking about spoilers, and we'll be releasing extended director's cuts of each of these episodes after the movie has come out that includes conversation about the spoiler.

[2:24] Quincy Brown: We just don't want to ruin any of the magic.

[2:28] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, we don't want you to have to be stressed about having to anticipate these things, so sit back, enjoy the conversation, knowing that nothing will be spoiled for you.

[2:35] Quincy Brown: Yeah, when we put out our movie reaction, I got some feedback from people saying they didn't want to listen because they didn't want spoilers, and I was like, oh no, we didn't really, we didn't do the spoiler thing. And I know Seikan does not want spoilers, and I hope Seikan's listening, so.

[2:48] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, we gotta watch the movie with Seikan. So yeah, this will be a spoiler-free listening experience, and then after the movie, we'll release the extended cuts of both, where hopefully you'll have seen the movie by then. If you're listening to this, I'm sure you will have. We can all relish in the nitty gritty details. Couldn't be happier.

[3:09] Quincy Brown: Okay, okay, okay, let's get into the episode. They don't listen to us anymore. Okay, bye!

[3:16] Quincy Brown: I'm Quincy, and I'm Kevin, and this is Sentimental Men.

[3:21] Kevin Bianchi: We're here to talk, and maybe scream, about our favorite women in musical theater.

[3:33] Quincy Brown: Ariana Grande, thank you so much for joining us on Sentimental Men.

[3:37] Ariana Grande: Thank you for having me. I'm so glad that we can do this, and you know, we didn't coordinate or anything.

[3:42] Quincy Brown: I know, I just...

[3:43] Ariana Grande: We just happened to wear...

[3:44] Quincy Brown: Okay, but I'm jealous of the pink shoes, which are especially me, jealous.

[3:48] Ariana Grande: Thank you so much. I'll see what I can do. I thought they made, like, I thought they were doing pink ones and green ones, and people were just getting, like, luck of the draw, pink or green, but then no one else had them, and I... I feel like those are limited edition. I thought that was the plan, and then I was wrong. But yours, I agree.

[4:05] Quincy Brown: I can't believe you're here right now. Cannot thank you enough for joining.

[4:08] Ariana Grande: Thank you for having me. I'm honored. I'm such a fan, and I love your show.

[4:13] Kevin Bianchi: Thank you.

[4:13] Quincy Brown: So we start every interview with, how did Wicked the Musical enter your life as a normal person? What is your first touch point with the show?

[4:19] Ariana Grande: Wicked the Musical entered my life when I was 10. I got to see the original Broadway cast. I was very, very, very fortunate to see them, and I... It was during the Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS when they do the auctions after the show, and I kept bidding, and my mom was like, that's enough.

[4:42] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God. But they were auctioning off a backstage tour, and we...

[4:49] Kevin Bianchi: And had you known about Wicked prior, or was it just a random thing that your mom bought tickets to?

[4:52] Ariana Grande: No, it was just the show that everyone was talking about, and we love The Wizard of Oz, and I love Judy Garland, and I've always been a huge Wizard of Oz person. So, you know, the untold story of The Witches of Oz, we were like, count us in. And I don't think we had any idea what we were in for. I knew we were all just kind of life before and after Wicked, you know?

[5:14] Kevin Bianchi: Right, right.

[5:16] Ariana Grande: There are so few things that I feel that way about, but it's like, you know, when art can shake you like that, I just...

[5:20] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, my God.

[5:24] Ariana Grande: I'm so sorry.

[5:25] Kevin Bianchi: That's okay.

[5:27] Ariana Grande: Sorry. That might happen a lot.

[5:29] Kevin Bianchi: That's okay.

[5:30] Ariana Grande: Just... That might happen a lot, a lot. So let's just get... I'm so sorry.

[5:33] Kevin Bianchi: I think they're okay.

[5:36] Ariana Grande: That's the whole story. I mean, really, it just moved us so much, and I remember getting the soundtrack and learning all the words within the first week of having it. I mean, I loved it so much. I got to... Oh, yeah, again, we did the auction, and we got to go backstage and meet everyone. And I remember Idina gave me a little green bracelet, and just being so excited to meet everyone, and Kristen was just over the top kind and generous.

[5:57] Ariana Grande: She gave me a little wand, which feels so full circle and insane, and a body wash that had glitter in it, and she said it was magical, and now I really believe that it was. And it was just a really beautiful experience, and I have loved it and turned to it for comfort ever since. The soundtrack has always been such a safe space for me, and I've always listened to it if I was nervous about something, or to warm up.

[6:30] Ariana Grande: It's funny, because I started in musical theater, and pop music sort of... I think my dogs are going to howl and sing a long note, because there's sirens, and they might react to that. So just warning you.

[6:38] Kevin Bianchi: I thought there were our sirens.

[6:40] Ariana Grande: No, no, no. They're mine. I'm sorry that I came with so many...

[6:45] Kevin Bianchi: No, it's perfect. We were allowed to. We're allowed to.

[6:48] Ariana Grande: What was I saying? Oh, yes. But yeah, I don't know. Musical theater and Wicked in particular were always kind of my most grounding and comforting things that I would turn to.

[6:59] Kevin Bianchi: What was your first musical love growing up in musical theater, Curly? What kind of gave you the bug?

[7:05] Ariana Grande: I don't even... I mean, I don't know. I mean, maybe Wizard of Oz.

[7:08] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[7:11] Ariana Grande: Myron, I'm so sorry. I think I should... Should I let him out really quickly, and then come right back? I'm really sorry. I'm so sorry. This is a full-time... This is my full-time life. It's my full-time job. I'm so sorry. I work for Myron. Myron, do you have a second one for you?

[7:30] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Absolutely. You tell him.

[7:35] Ariana Grande: There's nothing there. Hold on. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Hi.

[7:45] Kevin Bianchi: It's okay.

[7:46] Ariana Grande: Hi.

[7:47] Kevin Bianchi: So if you're saying Broadway's kind of like your first love, your first... Or musicals are kind of your first touchpoint. And then as pop music kind of entered your life, what was that conversation internally between like, well, here's this pop music career that is happening. How does that interact with my Broadway dreams? Because when you're in 13, are you now thinking, okay, I'm going to grow up and be a Broadway diva. This is my path. Or was there other options on the table?

[8:05] Ariana Grande: Well, I had always hoped to do a little bit of both. Because I loved writing, and I loved singing as well. And I loved pop music too. But I never figured it would come my whole life, the way that it did. For a decade, really, it was kind of the only thing. And that I didn't see coming. I just kind of like, I loved theater. I loved being on Broadway. I loved going to shows. And my favorite thing in the world about musical theater was that it also integrated comedy.

[8:50] Ariana Grande: There's so much comedy. And that's always been something that has made my heart so happy, is comedy. It's one of my favorite things in the world. So, I don't know, I think I pictured it being more, I think I pictured myself being more of a theater person. And like, I would make music too. And hopefully, I would have a little fan base that would be into my albums and do a little bit. And I remember people at the time would make fun of me for it. And they were like, oh, what are you going to do music and have fans and whatever? And I was like, I don't know, maybe. I don't know.

[9:29] Ariana Grande: But it was funny because, yeah, I never really talked about it. But when I was younger, some people actually lightly bullied me about it. And were like, oh, you're always singing like whatever. It was just it was a strange, interesting thing. But yeah, it's really funny. I don't think I expected for pop to become the only thing for such a long time. But I'm very grateful for everything, of course, but it's funny.

[9:59] Kevin Bianchi: But I do imagine when your pop career is careering, it becomes then difficult to find your way to the stage. Do you feel like you kind of have to segment it out when you're in the bag of either lane?

[10:05] Ariana Grande: Well, yeah, just because it's so strange. Like to me, I've been doing what I've been doing since I'm eight years old and I know what I love to do and can do. And, you know, being a part of shows and auditioning and, you know, that's such a happy, fun thing in my youth and my life. But it's funny because people need to. And this is something that I loved about auditioning so much for Wicked was that like, it has to be earned anything, you know, on this scale, being a part of anything I think isn't it's not just like given because they know you for one thing.

[10:49] Ariana Grande: So it's fun to kind of have the challenge of reframing people's perception and kind of like doing the work to earn your way back into the other spaces, because it's not just a no brainer, because I know what happened one time a long time ago. You know, I don't know. Was that the question? No, not at all. It was so long ago.

[11:17] Kevin Bianchi: Well, I think that's interesting, though, is like what you're saying about feeling like you want to earn your way back into these other spaces, because I think it would probably be easy for you in the position that you're in to just be like, I would like to be in a Broadway show who will have me, you know, but it's like the fact that you want to earn that and you want to be it needs to be valid. You don't want to just walk in because you're Ariana Grande.

[11:43] Ariana Grande: Well, I feel I mean, that's that's so ridiculous. But no, I feel I really do feel like it's the opposite. I feel like it's the opposite in a lot of ways. And I think, well, that's how I see it anyway. And it's funny because people sometimes say that to me like you had to audition. I'm like, yeah, of course, you're out of your board. It's it's wicked. And it requires a totally different skill set than people know me for and have ever seen me do anything like.

[12:10] Ariana Grande: And of course, it's wicked. That's the most respectful thing you have to do. It has to be earned. And I think that's kind of I think it was the opposite. I think it was it can work against me, you know, in certain ways, because, you know, when you have this caricaturized persona that's out there and people know you very well as this one thing, it's like, how, you know, is this person going to be able to erase that and disappear into a character that we need them to offer themselves to this greater story? You know, it's not that it's not about them. This isn't about me.

[13:14] Ariana Grande: So that's what I love. And I missed so much about acting, though, is because with music, I feel like I have so much of my own stuff intertwined, like my own pain, my own stories, my own. It's very self-aggrandizing and very self whatever. And I feel like with acting, you get to use those pieces of yourself while honoring something way bigger than you and find new homes for these traumas and these things and these pieces of yourself that, you know, but also it's not about you. It's about giving to a character that you get to love and to know. And it's a nice that's a really beautiful. I can't even explain it extraordinary experience. It's like the best thing. It's such a gift and a cool thing. I'm so grateful I got to do this.

[13:37] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, I want to hear all about the movie audition. But before we get into it, can you just paint a picture? You see Wicked on Broadway that first time? What did Ariana Grande as a Wicked fan look like? What bootlegs were you watching? Who were the ladies you were into?

[13:58] Ariana Grande: Oh, my gosh, when I was I mean, like at that age, I had like my curly brown hair and a little headband in. I went with my family. And I just was I adored them. I like studied the cast. I just I completely adored them. I went home and I googled them all and I was such a fan. I remember I had a little iPod and I deleted everything else on the iPod except Wicked. I don't need to hear anything else ever again. That was me.

[14:25] Kevin Bianchi: iPods helped like six songs at that point.

[14:30] Ariana Grande: Yeah. Even if they had more it was not what I wanted. And I imagine you saw it multiple times after seeing it that first time.

[14:36] Ariana Grande: I did. I was very lucky. My mom definitely spoiled me and I got to go see it a few times. So that was really cool. But I went early like I went when it was the original Broadway cast and I didn't see it again for many years. So that was my it's so I'm like so lucky. It's such a crazy experience.

[14:56] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so now take us inside the movie audition. When was the first time the prospect of auditioning came across your desk?

[15:01] Ariana Grande: Okay, so the prospect of auditioning came across my desk actually way before they had even attached John, which is crazy. And it was just a murmuring of a something.

[15:15] Ariana Grande: Yeah, pre pandemic. And I remember I was on the sweetener tour. And I said to my team, I said, if this is happening now, you we have to figure it out. We got to pull the plug on this tour. I'm going home. I'm getting voice lessons. I'm getting acting lessons. And I'm going to turn this shit out. I need to know you need to hear me from me right now. If this is happening now, I'm going home and I'm training. I'm getting ready. This is all I want.

[15:24] Ariana Grande: And pre pandemic?

[15:46] Ariana Grande: Yeah, and I'm going it's done. It doesn't matter. We'll figure it out. My team was like, well, that's insane. No. I was like, well, yeah. And they were like, Okay, so it was at that point, was it for Glinda or Elphaba?

[16:03] Ariana Grande: I had an inkling in my heart always that it was gonna be Glinda. But I was hearing really mixed things from people who were like, oh, they want you to maybe read for Elphaba or whatever. And I was like, well, I guess that's because they don't know my what my voice is, maybe can do and maybe they like think vocally and might be better suited for Elphaba. But that's fun. And that's like what I think I think I secretly knew that I could, you know, was only meant for Glinda. But and that's, you know, for a few, like, different reasons we can talk about later, but I just kind of knew that that was what it was. But either way, I was going to be open to conversation.

[16:47] Ariana Grande: And I basically was just like, Hello, let's talk whatever it is. And I floated the idea of a few times. And nothing, there was nothing, it was just like, okay, we think this is coming up. And I was like, when? And then they said in the next couple of years. So that was when I kind of became very alert and very aware. And I, that was like, kind of around the time that I know, in the middle of the pandemic, I kind of started working with Nancy Banks, my acting coach. But it was just on random stuff, just on like, monologues and plays and whatever, just because we wanted to, to start using the instrument, yeah, using the muscle and playing around.

[17:33] Ariana Grande: And then I finally got wind of, okay, it's happening for real.

[17:43] Ariana Grande: In 2021. No, that's not true. Oh, no, I don't remember. Wait. My audition. No, because my first audition was August 13, 2021.

[17:58] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[17:58] Ariana Grande: Okay. 2021. Your first real audition.

[18:01] Ariana Grande: Yes, my first real audition was August 13, 2021. Okay. And I, yeah, but before that, when I when I heard that they were going to start seeing people, I went just straight into vocal and acting lessons every day. This is when I was filming The Voice. And I was, I would basically start my day with my lessons, then I'd go shoot the show.

[18:22] Kevin Bianchi: And at that time, what in your head is like, okay, I need to work on this if I'm going to be going in for Wicked.

[18:28] Ariana Grande: I wanted to just basically strengthen and change my kind of like, vocal muscles and how they are. Because I do have a high range, but it's a very different thing, you know, than what's required of Glinda. So I really wanted to train so that I could sound as authentically operatic as possible. And really use those muscles because it's been a long time. And I'm singing one certain way. And your vocal cords, it's just like any other muscle in the body, they get used to a certain thing.

[19:06] Ariana Grande: Right? Yeah. So I had to kind of dig in. And really, I wanted to do it every day to train them to behave and said it was natural and that it was healthy. And it sounded really full and warm and how it's supposed to. Because I had been singing one specific way for such a long time. But yeah, I sort of just began really kind of preparing and even just like reading through the Broadway script a whole bunch. And oh my God, sorry.

[19:39] Kevin Bianchi: He might need to come back in. But I'll give it one more second before he tells me what he needs.

[19:44] Ariana Grande: Um, yeah, so I began that process. And, um, oh my God, okay.

[19:49] Kevin Bianchi: And so you're doing all of this.

[19:52] Ariana Grande: Tell me, tell me, tell me.

[19:54] Kevin Bianchi: I said, so you're doing all of this before there's even like a date on the books to audition. You're just prepping so that you're ready.

[20:00] Ariana Grande: Yeah, I just wanted my muscles and my tools to know what they're doing and be ready to do anything. Like I had a feeling they were going to make me sing for both roles, even though they weren't actually considering me for both roles. I had a feeling they were going to have me sing both.

[20:12] Ariana Grande: And they did. They had me sing for, they had me sing in my first audition, No One Mourns Popular Wizard and I Undefined Gravity.

[20:19] Kevin Bianchi: Wow.

[20:20] Ariana Grande: So that was a really fun first audition. But I came in and I had like my pink thermos and I had my pink thing. And it was very obvious what I was campaigning for.

[20:31] Ariana Grande: Yeah, I was like, I'm sure. Sure, whatever you want.

[20:34] Kevin Bianchi: You're sure you want to hear this one.

[20:35] Ariana Grande: Whatever you want and more, whatever you need. I'll bring coffees, whatever you think. But like, no, I, we know I'm here for one thing specifically. Hold on, I'm going to let Myron back in and I'll be right back.

[20:45] Kevin Bianchi: Okay.

[20:47] Ariana Grande: Oh, no, never mind. He completely doesn't want to come in.

[20:49] Kevin Bianchi: Ariana, I do have to say, a majority of the Glindas we have on this show have this same chaotic energy.

[20:58] Ariana Grande: What? It's my chest. Oh, my God.

[21:03] Kevin Bianchi: There really is something baked into these roles, though. There really is.

[21:06] Ariana Grande: There's something like genetics that comes to play.

[21:10] Kevin Bianchi: I'm honored to hear.

[21:11] Ariana Grande: Okay. So that first audition, tell us more about exactly what you did. Did you read any scenes?

[21:17] Ariana Grande: No. So the first one was just singing. And I was 45 minutes early for everything, for every single time they saw me. I was 45 minutes early. And I remember like I was blasting. I was with my assistant and I was with my manager, my day to day manager, Ray and my assistant Diane. We were driving around in Burbank, just like circling and like blasting one short day.

[21:40] Ariana Grande: And you can ask me, but that was the one that we were like, repeat on one short day. And John was like outside. And he was like, I didn't realize that he was outside. But he told me later on that like, he heard and saw me circling every time forever. Like he was like, she's crazy.

[22:13] Kevin Bianchi: And so early. Why is it so early?

[22:16] Ariana Grande: And why was it one short day?

[22:18] Ariana Grande: Because that was the song. That is the song, which I will say in the movie.

[22:24] Kevin Bianchi: So that was a surprise for Cynthia and I, too. We were like, oh, my God.

[22:33] Ariana Grande: It's a lot.

[22:33] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, really beautiful.

[22:35] Ariana Grande: Yeah, we're blasting one short day. So then after that first audition, what was the call that was like, hey, so like we've made the distinction. She's clearly a Glinda. Then are you coming back in and just focusing on a Glinda after that or what?

[22:48] Ariana Grande: Even going in that day, I have to be super clear. I said like I said, I will sing whatever they want, but I'm going in for Glinda. Like I told them I was like, this is who I am. I do. I will sing both for fun if they want that. Like, I don't care what it is, of course.

[23:03] Ariana Grande: Right. I got it.

[23:04] Ariana Grande: I was a girl. Let's go. I better figure it out. No, but no, but I it was clear from the start. But then the callback was singing again and scenes from the first and second film.

[23:22] Ariana Grande: The second audition had, thank goodness. And it had some scenes in it from the Broadway show, nothing from the from the movie script. And then my third time was chemistry read. I think I was there for three and a half hours. I read with two different actresses that were amazing. And it was just a long, exhausting, but like floaty out of body, buzzy, so much adrenaline experience.

[23:47] Ariana Grande: And I I had I had cried so much. My lashes were kind of like erect. And John was like, OK, like. We really appreciate your time. Like, thank you, thank you, thank you so, so, so much. I think you can like, you know, go to the car and and and collect to yourself and have a beautiful rest of your day. Like, thank you so much.

[24:15] Ariana Grande: And I was like, OK, bye, everyone. And I left my lashes on the mirror. I was like, well, that's all folks. Officially, I officially left everything else I had to give in this room. So blood, sweat and lashes. So don't forget about it. I leave my lashes on.

[24:38] Kevin Bianchi: Don't forget me.

[24:39] Ariana Grande: No, but it was yeah, it was really special and beautiful. And I remember even in the like the very first audition, I just felt such a really beautiful connection with everyone, especially John.

[24:49] Kevin Bianchi: And are you gaining more confidence as each audition continues or are you still living in the state of anxiety?

[25:00] Ariana Grande: I think I felt a lot of anticipatory excitement and positive anxiousness, but I never felt afraid. I felt grateful and excited and inspired and prepared. But John made me feel so comfortable. And the thing that I was really excited by and grateful for and that surprised me in a big way was.

[25:18] Ariana Grande: He loved. The little risky choices that I was making that were not to the Bible, that were like not not what like I kind of like grew up having choice to.

[25:36] Ariana Grande: Yeah. And he loved it. And he was like, I love that. That's fun. That's really cool. Let's like keep playing. I love when you play.

[25:43] Kevin Bianchi: Right.

[25:48] Ariana Grande: So that was really exciting to me because I was like, oh, this is in the hands of someone who is just here to like catch butterflies. He's inspired and he knows he knows every single inch of it. He loves every single inch of it. But that is what's so beautiful is that he is inspiring play and truth and listening and reacting, which is basically the whole point of everything.

[26:06] Ariana Grande: But he's not here to to bring the stage show to the screen. He's here to kind of maximize how we're telling this story and get to know these women in a new way.

[26:18] Kevin Bianchi: Right. He's not looking for impressions.

[26:20] Ariana Grande: No, it was really it felt really beautiful that immediately he was like, keep playing. This is so fun. And I was like, oh, my goodness, I feel safe and positive. And just this like thoughtful, amazing human being is in charge. And I love knowing that as a fan, even if I don't get this part, I can love his attitude towards this.

[26:42] Kevin Bianchi: It's right. And it's and it shows how much he loves and cares about it. So that was I felt a really immediate connection with him.

[26:48] Ariana Grande: And.

[26:49] Ariana Grande: Yeah, I remember Tiffany Little from. Telsey casting was my alphabet during popular, and she had her mask, she had a mask on because it was like there was a random covid wave in L.A. and they had to postpone the Fiero auditions because all of the Fiero said covid. And so she was wearing a mask and I'm.

[27:19] Ariana Grande: It was just the sweetest thing because I could see her eyes were smiling and I loved knowing that she was giggling and it was really sweet. I'll never forget that.

[27:28] Kevin Bianchi: Well, so that's interesting. Growing up as a fan of the show, how do you reconcile now having to audition for the part? How much of OK, I'm going to emulate what I know to be this character or I'm going to bring my own unique take to it?

[27:34] Ariana Grande: Well, I think that's the thing, is that being a fan of something and then living it and kind of. Taking it on in this insanely personal, intimate way are two completely different things, and I wanted to make that that differentiation immediately, I was like, OK, I'm not going to watch or listen to, you know, anything right now.

[28:07] Ariana Grande: I want to basically just get to know this girl and read the script a million times with with Nancy and ask all these questions and kind of find my Glinda while also finding certain physicalities and.

[28:22] Ariana Grande: Familiarities to honor what we all have known and loved for so many years because there is a specific Galinda type thing, you know, that is written. This role was written so beautifully and iconically and brilliantly by Kristen and Winnie. You know, that was a very collaborative thing. A lot of the most iconic lines in the state show were adlibs by Kristen.

[28:48] Ariana Grande: So it's it for me was about finding that balance because it has to be truthful. It can't be an impersonation because that's very easy to do, right? And, you know, lines that have I've heard and I've known for 20 years take on a very new leaning when you break them down and look at them differently, you know, especially given your like personal closeness to the source material, just like as a person and a friendship with another person.

[29:13] Kevin Bianchi: Is there guidance that came from Kristen? Was she very, was she more like she let you do your own thing? When did you tell her you were going in for it?

[29:19] Ariana Grande: Yeah. Oh, my God. OK, so we had talked about it for years and years and years. And but not but me finally confessing to her that I wanted to go in for Glinda was like a whole different thing. And I finally confessed to her because I think Wizard and I on the the anniversary special. So I think she assumed, you know, like, OK, yeah, let's do that. Let's totally do that.

[29:50] Ariana Grande: But I finally I confessed to her. I said, hey, like, I think they're doing this now. And I think that I want to go Glinda. And she went into the bathroom and closed the door and started crying. And she was just like this. It was the sweetest thing in the world.

[30:10] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God. Makes me emotional. It was so cute. And she was just like. She was just like, oh, my God, like I was hoping this would happen. Like, I love you and I and I trust you with it, baby girl. She was like, just do your thing. She was like, just do your thing. She was like, you are so funny and you have great instincts. And no one knows that. You're going to back door, she said, and OK, so she was yeah, she had a very positive, positive reaction, thankfully, and she was very supportive.

[30:44] Ariana Grande: But I didn't send her things. I didn't I didn't go over the material with her. I kind of just wanted to keep to myself. I kept to myself so much from my family, from Kristen, from everyone, from my I like I didn't want to talk about it. I just didn't want to talk about it at all. And we she would check in on me and tell me things she was hearing. And it was very sweet and very supportive. But I think she still hasn't heard or seen my Glinda yet. So I'm excited.

[31:18] Ariana Grande: We're going to she's going to see it on. She's going to see it on the 28th. So I'm excited. I think I hope she feels how much this film is a love letter to her and Adina, while also we wanted to also do our own Elphaba and Glinda for this as well. And I hope that I think it'll I think it might make her really happy.

[31:41] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I think so. What's interesting about Glinda in the movie is she has all of the like stage Glinda isms, the classic lines that you would want from Glinda. But then they also wrote a lot of new ones for you that you put your own spin on, but I think are going to be canon here.

[32:03] Ariana Grande: I'm so grateful to hear you say that, because I ad libbed a lot of them. And I'm surprised that they made them into the movie. I was really I was really shocked that they made them in. But that's what I'm saying about John. He was just like, play, play, play. And he trusted us so implicitly. So I played and then I was like, oh, my God, they made the way I don't remember. I don't remember saying that and be in the film. That's crazy.

[32:20] Kevin Bianchi: I don't know. There's a bunch of surprising, lovely moments like that, that I couldn't even made it in. But yeah, from first audition to that zoom call that we've all seen, how long was that period?

[33:00] Ariana Grande: I can't help you just as upset with an animal if he wants to come in.

[33:06] Ariana Grande: The first audition to getting the call was three months.

[33:10] Kevin Bianchi: It's pretty condensed, all things considered.

[33:12] Ariana Grande: But it felt like 14 years.

[33:17] Kevin Bianchi: When you got the call, you said, I'm going to take such good care of her. What does that mean to you?

[33:24] Ariana Grande: I think what that meant to me was that this was going to have all of me, you know, there wasn't going to be any other thing in my brain or in my workload. Like I wasn't going to be writing music. I wasn't going to be on as many of my calls that I'm usually on for my beauty and my fragrance and my other things that I think require more of me than people would assume. I really tried to give my full self to her and just honor her and do the work as best as I could.

[34:04] Kevin Bianchi: Right. As somebody who does have lots going on constantly and lots of different plates spinning, what was it like letting other people keep the other plates spinning while you focused on one thing?

[34:20] Ariana Grande: No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. No, I have an incredible team that really, really took care of the other departments during that time. I'm a very hands-on person. With everything that I do, I'm very hands-on. That was very hard for me, but it was a lot easier because I was playing Glitter. The idea of that is not an option to me. There's no other time that I would really ever do that.

[34:51] Ariana Grande: Step that far back from things?

[34:56] Ariana Grande: Yeah. I had a separate phone for the first few months. I had a pink phone. I was gone. I just wanted to fully be there and be as present as humanly possible and know everything I needed to know, read every book, read everything, do all the things, and give myself over entirely. I didn't write music. I did one feature at the very beginning, and then that was kind of it.

[35:26] Kevin Bianchi: I think in watching from an outside perspective, you have done such a beautiful job at balancing Ariana Grande TM duties and Ariana Grande Glinda duties. I think that only goes to show how much you care about this project in particular. It rings true and is very clear that you are devoting a large amount of your time and energy to making sure that this project is done correctly.

[35:51] Ariana Grande: Thank you. It means a lot, especially coming from you, too.

[36:00] Ariana Grande: When something once-in-a-lifetime like this happens, every single second counts. It deserves all of us and the best of us.

[36:18] Kevin Bianchi: What were you most scared about? You get the offer. You're so happy and excited. It's like, now I have to do it. Oh, my God. Wait. I hope it goes well. Then what is the anxiety? After you're over the excitement, what is keeping you up at night?

[36:33] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God. I think I felt a little bit of the initial nervousness or the sort of preconceived notions about what I might be able to deliver or not deliver or why I would be wrong or whatever. I think, of course, any human being hearing something about something they care so much about like that, it's been a great secret. They didn't get to see any auditions or know anything.

[37:09] Ariana Grande: Going off of side to side, I probably would have said the same thing. I probably would have said, why the fuck? Kill me. I've waited 20 years for this. Kill me. I would have said that as a fan from the outside, knowing of only seven rings probably, I'd say, well, that's bullshit. I get it, but I think that initially in the beginning, I was like, okay, I'm going to try to turn that off and just do the work, keep my blinders on and focus and train and do the best I can.

[37:40] Ariana Grande: I think that was an initial a little bit of a gulp moment, but I tried not to let it derail me.

[37:49] Kevin Bianchi: I was going to say, do you feel a satisfaction in surprising people this way?

[37:55] Ariana Grande: I think I just feel a tremendous gratitude. I think to see the Wicked fans embrace at all, it's really special. It's really, yeah, that's the feeling. It's just gratitude, really.

[38:18] Kevin Bianchi: Was there something that you couldn't wait for? Something that you were like, I can't wait to do this with my Galinda?

[38:22] Ariana Grande: I love improv and I love playing. There was so much space to try and play and hopefully make Cynthia break and laugh or Michelle. I love that. I love making people laugh. I was just so excited because it's my favorite thing, genuinely.

[38:50] Ariana Grande: I think making people laugh is mine. If I had to put everything on it, whatever, it would be my favorite. I think that was the thing I was most excited for because Galinda, there's so much room for play and you can deliver the same line really heartfully. Some of these lines are designed to do both. That's what I think the beauty of Galinda is because some of the things she's saying are really hilarious to someone else, but she means them in the most beautiful way.

[39:20] Ariana Grande: That's my favorite thing about her. You don't have to play the joke because what she's actually feeling is funny to begin with. The fact that her heart, that is the joke. There's so many different ways. I think playing and John just encouraging it was something I was really excited for.

[39:43] Kevin Bianchi: We were saying after seeing the movie, your Galinda is so matter-of-fact. All the funny almost goes over your head, which then makes it more funny for the audience.

[39:51] Ariana Grande: Thank you. Thank you.

[39:53] Kevin Bianchi: Tell us about the first time you and Cynthia were in a room together after having gotten the roles.

[40:00] Ariana Grande: We FaceTimed for the first time 15 minutes before the announcement went out. I'm not kidding. We had no idea. No, not 15 minutes. It was four hours. We had sent each other flowers, but we hadn't been able to connect yet because we were both busy doing stuff. We were like, oh my God, this is happening now. It's happening now. We met over FaceTime.

[40:29] Ariana Grande: I immediately loved her, obviously, of course.

[40:34] Kevin Bianchi: That was the first time we-

[40:35] Ariana Grande: You did not chemistry read with her.

[40:36] Kevin Bianchi: No. We both read with, oh my God, holy shit.

[40:43] Ariana Grande: Then we met for the first time in person at John's house. He had a welcome dinner.

[40:49] Kevin Bianchi: Was it nerve-wracking that you hadn't chemistry read with her and were now going into this?

[40:54] Ariana Grande: No. I don't know why. I know of her greatness, of course, and I know that she's the best, most formidable actress and singer that there is. That part was easy.

[41:11] Ariana Grande: I felt a kindness from her the first time we connected and I knew we'd be okay. Also, we had a really real conversation at the very beginning just about what we're not going to do and how we're not going to be and what we're not going to allow.

[41:27] Kevin Bianchi: You guys are signed up for this two plus year journey now.

[41:31] Ariana Grande: Oh, it's already been three, hasn't it?

[41:34] Kevin Bianchi: Right. Now you have two more years.

[41:36] Ariana Grande: Right. Exactly. I think even aside from the time commitment, it's just deserving of the best of us and that requires real honesty and real trust. This whole movie is not going to work. You can spend as much money as you want on flying monkeys in the air and talking brilliant goats, which we'll get to that later.

[42:10] Ariana Grande: We need a full hour second episode. It really falls on Elphaba and Glinda to take care of each other. I think that's really palpable when you see it and I hope so. I think us taking care of each other and forming a real true friendship and being honest with each other about everything always at all times, being there for each other when we're in a silly mood, leaving space for everything and getting to know each other in that way where I can just look at her and I know what she's thinking and she can just look at me and she knows exactly what I'm thinking.

[43:00] Ariana Grande: Helping each other, too. We immediately formed that because without that, nothing else works. Nothing else matters and works.

[43:00] Kevin Bianchi: I've never done this, but it's really nice. It's satisfying. I'm doing this.

[43:03] Ariana Grande: I've been loving it.

[43:04] Kevin Bianchi: It's because I'm talking about Cynthia and I'm doing nails because I'm talking about synth.

[43:10] Ariana Grande: That was an immediate commitment. We had that conversation. We were like, hey, let's do this for real.

[43:23] Kevin Bianchi: Relatively, it's such a simple decision to make. Hey, you and me are signed up for this five-year long thing together. We need to choose now to make this a good experience.

[43:36] Ariana Grande: It's also really hard work, though.

[43:38] Kevin Bianchi: To commit, to hold yourself to that.

[43:42] Ariana Grande: We need to be there for each other and there's not a battle that she has to fight alone or that I have to fight alone. There are many little challenges along the way and being there for each other and having each other through it all, the highs and lows and mids and ups and downs, and everything in between was truly a magnificent gift. There's nothing we can't talk about and didn't.

[44:11] Kevin Bianchi: It's nice, too, because we hear a lot of the women who do the show on Broadway talk about the Green Girl Sisterhood. Whenever a new Elphaba gets cast, it's always messages or whatever from all the previous. But you two are the only two in the world who know what it's like to play these characters on film for 12-hour days for months on end.

[44:27] Ariana Grande: And you were doing it in such a vacuum.

[44:35] Kevin Bianchi: Right. The importance of that support system makes me very happy that you guys had that in each other.

[44:46] Ariana Grande: Me, too. It's really beautiful. It really is.

[44:50] Kevin Bianchi: And it reads. It's so palpable.

[44:52] Ariana Grande: Thank you.

[44:53] Kevin Bianchi: So what was something, as you're shooting the movie, what was something that you learned about Glinda that was surprising to you?

[45:01] Ariana Grande: I mean, I think I learned this in the preparation leading up to... I'll try to think about something new that I learned during filming, because things really took on a whole new life once you actually get there and are filming. But I think the thing that I learned in digging into her in this way, preparing, whatever, was why I love her and feel so connected to her.

[45:27] Ariana Grande: Because obviously it's like the comedy in the high notes, and I love all of those things. But I think also there's a very specific thing about kind of her relationship to the Ozzians and kind of that love that they give her and that validation that they give her and her kind of hoping for the good in them and kind of like trying to spoon feed them.

[45:47] Ariana Grande: In No One Warns the Wicked, she's trying to spoon feed them this opportunity. She's like, hey, wait, hold on. Just can't wait to do this. Like, hey, wait, hold on. Just can't wait just for one second. Can't you just consider that this happened to her?

[46:12] Ariana Grande: And there's this tightrope that she walks and there's grief and loss and tragedy that she has to stomach while also performing for these people that she feels need her while she's also needing so much.

[46:32] Kevin Bianchi: And that is like a specific thing.

[46:37] Ariana Grande: It's a specific thing.

[46:39] Kevin Bianchi: You know that.

[46:40] Ariana Grande: Yeah.

[46:41] Kevin Bianchi: I think Kevin had said when the casting came out, it is really inspired casting, because in a lot of ways you are our culture's modern day Glinda. And so it's like really cool to see the metanarratives.

[46:54] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God.

[46:55] Kevin Bianchi: You are a believer?

[46:56] Ariana Grande: That's so nice.

[46:58] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, yeah.

[46:59] Ariana Grande: Kelly Pop, never a doubt in my mind.

[47:02] Kevin Bianchi: I'm kidding.

[47:03] Ariana Grande: I'm kidding.

[47:04] Kevin Bianchi: No, but I think what became so clear to me when I was actually digging into the material was that.

[47:11] Ariana Grande: And, you know, just kind of I was like, oh, wow, I feel like this song, like, I feel like, thank goodness was written for me.

[47:18] Ariana Grande: Like, I feel like that's like a moment that I have lived in real life. And I think that I was kind of surprised by the things that I thought made me feel so connected to her being like.

[47:33] Ariana Grande: Third and fourth on the list, you know?

[47:35] Kevin Bianchi: Right, right.

[47:36] Ariana Grande: It was a healing thing to get to know her and spend time with her.

[47:42] Kevin Bianchi: Can we talk about popular?

[47:44] Ariana Grande: Please.

[47:44] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[47:45] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God.

[47:46] Kevin Bianchi: It is one insane on screen. How much of that was blocked and choreographed? And how much of that is you on set in the room playing and figuring it out as you go?

[47:57] Ariana Grande: So a lot of all of it was blocked and choreographed.

[48:00] Kevin Bianchi: OK.

[48:00] Ariana Grande: Some pieces were blocked and choreographed on day one. Like my very first day was popular in rehearsals with Chris and Leah and Will and Comfort.

[48:14] Ariana Grande: But it was funny because I was so grateful because Chris was so collaborative. And like a lot of the bits didn't have as many like jokes, like it was highly choreographed. And it was, but we got to make it galindified.

[48:26] Ariana Grande: And it was very, like, collaborative and fun and silly. Like, I'll never forget where we found the bit where I'm.

[48:44] Ariana Grande: Great.

[48:45] Kevin Bianchi: Well, and that was something beautiful about her character.

[48:49] Ariana Grande: Go ahead.

[48:49] Kevin Bianchi: No, I'm just saying, isn't that such a beautiful choice?

[48:52] Ariana Grande: Oh, yes, it is.

[48:53] Kevin Bianchi: And like her whole take on Elphaba is I'm not angry at the world for not liking me. This is all I've ever known. And so why would I expect anything different? Which I think is a big tonal shift from stage to screen.

[49:06] Ariana Grande: I love it so much.

[49:07] Kevin Bianchi: OK, you had told us a while ago that you felt like the fangirl gatekeeper on set and making sure that specific moments kind of kept their integrity. Do you have an example of one of those moments in the film?

[49:33] Ariana Grande: Is my favorite.

[49:34] Kevin Bianchi: Can we talk about Bo and Yang?

[49:36] Ariana Grande: Yes, there is both so good.

[49:38] Kevin Bianchi: We need three more hours.

[49:40] Ariana Grande: Well, we got to do another one after the movie comes out and we can like.

[49:43] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe we can talk about it.

[49:45] Ariana Grande: Yeah, I'm putting on lipstick because I'm smiling so much. I'm like dry.

[49:49] Kevin Bianchi: Hold on.

[49:50] Ariana Grande: What has been the high and low of the journey up until this point? Rose in the thorn.

[50:01] Ariana Grande: I think I know this is so corny, but the low I don't know, I can't.

[50:07] Ariana Grande: I think maybe how quickly everything happened and is happening.

[50:15] Kevin Bianchi: It feels quick on your end.

[50:17] Ariana Grande: It does.

[50:18] Ariana Grande: Because you've been in it.

[50:20] Ariana Grande: Yeah, and Cynthia and I were in the wizard's chamber and she was like, she's like, we're going to blink and it's going to be May, babes. And I was like, no.

[50:29] Ariana Grande: And now it's October 20th, two years later, a year and a half later. And she was right. It's just it was very quick.

[50:39] Kevin Bianchi: But I mean, the highs.

[50:43] Ariana Grande: I think I learned so much from this project and I'm just so grateful. It was just a really I can't describe how special every single day was.

[51:01] Ariana Grande: And what I have learned from Glinda and what I've learned from Cynthia and John and every single person involved in this.

[51:08] Ariana Grande: And I don't know, it's really. Immeasurable, the gratitude that I feel, I can't really describe it.

[51:18] Kevin Bianchi: That didn't answer either, actually.

[51:20] Ariana Grande: It was good.

[51:21] Kevin Bianchi: I didn't answer one of them.

[51:22] Ariana Grande: I didn't answer both.

[51:23] Kevin Bianchi: I didn't answer anything.

[51:23] Ariana Grande: What was the most challenging scene for you to shoot?

[51:27] Kevin Bianchi: Ooh.

[51:28] Ariana Grande: In act one, I guess.

[51:30] Kevin Bianchi: OK, I was going to go into act two.

[51:32] Ariana Grande: But I think I think I think the Oz dust, I think.

[51:42] Ariana Grande: Defying gravity.

[51:45] Ariana Grande: Saying goodbye and the Oz dust, you know, it's a.

[51:53] Ariana Grande: Turning point for Glinda and holding space for Elphaba and for Cynthia that day.

[52:03] Ariana Grande: You know, I.

[52:06] Ariana Grande: It's so funny because I get like little heart flutters when I watch it because I like.

[52:13] Ariana Grande: Remember how anxious that scene felt, you know, it's so funny.

[52:20] Ariana Grande: It's really strange.

[52:22] Kevin Bianchi: I asked Cynthia about this because when we watched it for the first time, I like felt certain things that I felt on the day when I watched them, which was so weird.

[52:31] Ariana Grande: Like my heart rate, like my heart started like fluttering when I like realized she was going to enter the Oz dust.

[52:38] Ariana Grande: It's so strange.

[52:40] Kevin Bianchi: And just kind of like.

[52:42] Ariana Grande: Watching her and that.

[52:46] Ariana Grande: Gut wrenching moment.

[52:48] Ariana Grande: Um.

[52:50] Ariana Grande: Yeah, I think that was a really big day and defying gravity and saying goodbye and tying her cape and saying goodbye to my friend and, you know, that decision.

[53:11] Ariana Grande: I know we're not allowed to talk about it, but I can't wait for you to see.

[53:17] Kevin Bianchi: Well, that's the thing where I'm like all the like side characters are really going to get a chance to shine in the second movie.

[53:24] Ariana Grande: And I just like it's annoying to say, but I want this like a movie now.

[53:28] Kevin Bianchi: And we know I know the first one. I got to I got I got to be there and watch some of it.

[53:32] Ariana Grande: And it's like I was dying.

[53:34] Kevin Bianchi: It's so cool.

[53:35] Ariana Grande: It's so good.

[53:35] Kevin Bianchi: Everyone is so good.

[53:36] Ariana Grande: It's really crazy.

[53:38] Kevin Bianchi: Sorry.

[53:38] Ariana Grande: So they were all in the same place.

[53:40] Kevin Bianchi: Mentally, the screening we went to as soon as the first movie ended, everyone was like playing the second one.

[53:44] Ariana Grande: That's good.

[53:46] Kevin Bianchi: That's great news.

[53:47] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God.

[53:48] Ariana Grande: And what I think is good about the film adaptation is on Broadway. It's very easy to get caught up into these divas singing down and get caught up in the performance of it all. And you forget that it's a Wicked is kind of centered around the Dillamond storyline and animal rights.

[54:04] Kevin Bianchi: It is a story about animals, really.

[54:08] Ariana Grande: Yeah.

[54:09] Kevin Bianchi: We're here.

[54:09] Ariana Grande: All of that rings true in the movie in a very real way.

[54:12] Kevin Bianchi: Even something bad hits in the movie.

[54:14] Ariana Grande: It hits.

[54:14] Kevin Bianchi: Which I don't know if I'd say on stage.

[54:16] Ariana Grande: There's I mean, honestly, thank God. I'm so happy to hear you say that it's really taken on the life of its own in the film.

[54:24] Ariana Grande: It's yeah, I think we talked about, too, is just like the artistry involved in the animals does so much to further the heaviness of that plot.

[54:37] Ariana Grande: Like it hits so much harder because you're looking at a goat, not an actor with a goat mask on.

[54:43] Kevin Bianchi: And it's like the difference that that makes is paramount.

[54:48] Ariana Grande: It's I mean, he's so beautiful. Dr. Dillamond is the most emotional, moving, insane thing I've ever seen.

[54:54] Kevin Bianchi: I really am.

[54:56] Ariana Grande: I am thankful that he didn't look like that in the classroom when I'm being an absolute you know what to him because I wouldn't have gotten through the scene.

[55:01] Kevin Bianchi: There's no way.

[55:08] Ariana Grande: I mean, he's adorable and I'm being an absolute, you know.

[55:14] Kevin Bianchi: But also the the actors who were doing the physical acting for Chistory and Dillamond.

[55:22] Ariana Grande: Oh, my God.

[55:24] Kevin Bianchi: Take a picture for us what it was like to be on set shooting.

[55:26] Ariana Grande: Oh, my goodness. Well, Robin, who plays Chistory.

[55:31] Ariana Grande: I mean, they really modeled all of Chistory's movements after what he was actually physically doing in a gray suit.

[55:38] Ariana Grande: Um, he was just so beautiful and like such an incredible performer, like the transformation scene where he's getting his wings.

[55:49] Ariana Grande: I was so like scared and moved.

[55:52] Ariana Grande: There's a real person freaking out.

[55:54] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[55:54] Ariana Grande: Oh, wow.

[55:55] Ariana Grande: And what you see Chistory doing, Robin was doing in a bodysuit and the sounds as well, like all of it.

[56:00] Ariana Grande: And he was just so beautiful, so moving. It was like so intense.

[56:07] Ariana Grande: Cynthia and I both were like.

[56:09] Ariana Grande: Choked up like it was very intense.

[56:13] Ariana Grande: There's so many like.

[56:16] Ariana Grande: Brilliant performers involved in this that I fear like without these behind the scenes pieces, I'm so happy Universal has been putting out and everything.

[56:25] Ariana Grande: People wouldn't be able to know about what other brilliance that is happening.

[56:30] Ariana Grande: That's making this movie what it is like.

[56:32] Ariana Grande: Every single like Louisa, who was our Diliman, she was reading all the monologues, all the lines, all the everything and physically doing the work as well.

[56:42] Ariana Grande: And on her, her like little, like the specific arm movement things that she had to wear these little arm things so that she could be on all fours like a goat and a thing on her head with fucking tennis balls over here.

[56:54] Ariana Grande: And I'm like, I'm, I'm going to be a bitch to tennis balls today.

[56:57] Kevin Bianchi: That's doable.

[56:59] Ariana Grande: We see it in the movie. I'm like, damn, that's really intense.

[57:06] Ariana Grande: But no, there's so much brilliance behind the scenes that I think like I'm so glad Universal is capturing and showing the world because it's really special.

[57:14] Ariana Grande: And I got to do some really special work with Robin in movie two as well. So I, I'm.

[57:20] Ariana Grande: I love him. He's just such a beautiful history.

[57:23] Kevin Bianchi: I hope they show more footage of him being just straight.

[57:26] Ariana Grande: Just amazing.

[57:27] Kevin Bianchi: So amazing.

[57:29] Ariana Grande: What I will say is I feel like there's a common fear or apprehension that I hear people have about this movie being nervous there. It's too CGI and it's going to be very animation vibes. But I would say in watching the movie, I was shocked at how real everything felt and all how practical all of the sets were in actuality.

[57:48] Ariana Grande: Oh, that makes me so happy.

[57:50] Ariana Grande: Yeah. I mean, the only thing that is CG is.

[57:55] Ariana Grande: You know, the animals, really, everything else was there.

[57:59] Ariana Grande: Everything else we.

[58:02] Ariana Grande: It was, it was the most insane thing. These sets, Nathan Crowley is the most incredible set designer. But just walking into like a theme park, it felt like every day. It was the craziest, most submersive thing in the world.

[58:14] Ariana Grande: And, you know, the yellow brick road and my bubble platform. It was just the Munchkin huts were actually functioning Munchkin huts.

[58:23] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, really?

[58:24] Ariana Grande: You go in there and there would be someone taking a nap and I'd be like, oh, sorry.

[58:29] Ariana Grande: I was like looking for, I don't know, whatever.

[58:34] Kevin Bianchi: Finding a coffee somewhere.

[58:35] Ariana Grande: But, you know, I don't know. It was just it was really crazy.

[58:39] Ariana Grande: Yeah. All of it was practical. And I think you felt that.

[58:43] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, can we talk about something?

[58:46] Kevin Bianchi: I think that rings true in this movie between you and Cynthia before you two are friends before Elphaba and Glinda are friends. Is there such a joy in taunting each other? And there's like a clear love even when you guys are being mean to each other.

[58:58] Ariana Grande: When we admire each other.

[59:00] Kevin Bianchi: It's like flirting more than it's like, yeah, yeah.

[59:03] Ariana Grande: How much of that was directed and established? Or is that something you just landed on in acting it out with them?

[59:09] Ariana Grande: With Cynthia?

[59:09] Ariana Grande: I think that's just how we did it.

[59:11] Ariana Grande: I think we couldn't resist that urge because they don't.

[59:17] Ariana Grande: I mean, like, sure, they hate each other, but also they admire each other a lot.

[59:26] Ariana Grande: I want fascinated by each other.

[59:28] Ariana Grande: She's fascinated.

[59:28] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, we're fascinated by each other.

[59:31] Ariana Grande: I respect her talent.

[59:33] Ariana Grande: I see that.

[59:34] Ariana Grande: You know what I mean?

[59:36] Ariana Grande: It's like it's interesting.

[59:37] Ariana Grande: Also, I think the reason why we dislike each other is because we there's so much that we resonate with each other.

[59:44] Ariana Grande: We're like, oh, we have a lot in common.

[59:46] Ariana Grande: And I hate that.

[59:48] Ariana Grande: I hate that.

[59:49] Ariana Grande: Right.

[59:49] Ariana Grande: I don't want to have a lot in common with this person.

[59:52] Ariana Grande: Because I think they're the opposite of me.

[59:54] Ariana Grande: But something feels like home and I can't figure it out yet.

[1:00:04] Ariana Grande: You know, it's like, how could this person that is so supposed to be my opposite?

[1:00:06] Ariana Grande: Why am I like falling in love with him?

[1:00:09] Ariana Grande: I can't figure out like what's happening at all.

[1:00:11] Kevin Bianchi: But yeah, that's just kind of how it felt.

[1:00:13] Kevin Bianchi: And we just followed it.

[1:00:14] All right, Kevin, I think it's time.

[1:00:15] Kevin Bianchi: Okay.

[1:00:18] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, it's time for our last question.

[1:00:19] Kevin Bianchi: This is how we end every interview.

[1:00:20] Kevin Bianchi: I know.

[1:00:20] Kevin Bianchi: Are you a no one mourns the wicked Galinda?

[1:00:24] Kevin Bianchi: A popular Galinda?

[1:00:26] Kevin Bianchi: Or a thank goodness Galinda?

[1:00:27] Ariana Grande: I think I'm a thank goodness Galinda for sure.

[1:00:29] Ariana Grande: I think I'm like on the cusp of no one mourns the wicked.

[1:00:32] Ariana Grande: I think that's probably my favorite to sing.

[1:00:35] Ariana Grande: But I think I'm a thank goodness Galinda for sure.

[1:00:38] Kevin Bianchi: Why?

[1:00:39] Ariana Grande: I think just because I've been there and I've asked those same questions.

[1:00:45] Ariana Grande: And I have felt that feeling so many times.

[1:00:49] Ariana Grande: I think, yeah, it's just like I said, I think it's a specific thing.

[1:00:57] Ariana Grande: And I've felt it and I know it.

[1:01:00] Ariana Grande: And sometimes we learn the hard way that the things that make us feel most ourselves and most full are the things that maybe we have had all along or the weight that we thought this thing would hold isn't what you thought.

[1:01:25] Ariana Grande: And this thing that people make seem so like the end all be all goal, although we're grateful for it and we're going to pep ourselves up to do this job.

[1:01:35] Ariana Grande: And it's a privilege and we're going to do it. And we're going to be good and make people feel good.

[1:01:42] Ariana Grande: It feels so it can feel sometimes like so corrupt and empty.

[1:01:49] Ariana Grande: And I think that is something that I've felt several times.

[1:01:53] Ariana Grande: And that is why I'm a thank goodness, Glinda, because also there's also such a through line of even though it's bittersweet, there is a through line of gratitude in it.

[1:02:05] Ariana Grande: And I think that's something that has kept me afloat for my whole life, even in the hardest moments.

[1:02:11] Kevin Bianchi: And now we have to just wait until 2025 to see Ariana Grande's thank goodness.

[1:02:15] Ariana Grande: It's not. It'll fly.

[1:02:18] Kevin Bianchi: OK, we have some rapid fire questions that we're going to ask all your movie castmates.

[1:02:22] Ariana Grande: I hope they're not about the moon.

[1:02:27] Kevin Bianchi: No, I pray they're not about the moon landing.

[1:02:29] Ariana Grande: Oh my God, help me.

[1:02:31] Kevin Bianchi: Help.

[1:02:32] Kevin Bianchi: So this can be you have to answer with one of your Shiz Class of 2024 castmates. You can only use each name once.

[1:02:39] Ariana Grande: OK?

[1:02:39] Kevin Bianchi: OK.

[1:02:40] Kevin Bianchi: So who was most likely to be first to set?

[1:02:44] Ariana Grande: Me.

[1:02:46] Ariana Grande: Me.

[1:02:47] Ariana Grande: Me or Ethan early.

[1:02:49] Kevin Bianchi: Most likely to be the last one to leave set.

[1:02:51] Ariana Grande: Me.

[1:02:55] Ariana Grande: Or John.

[1:02:56] Ariana Grande: Or John.

[1:02:57] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[1:02:58] Kevin Bianchi: OK.

[1:02:59] Kevin Bianchi: I love this game.

[1:03:02] Kevin Bianchi: Most likely to take a keepsake from set.

[1:03:04] Ariana Grande: These are like, this is a joke.

[1:03:06] Ariana Grande: Is this a bit?

[1:03:07] Ariana Grande: Did you do that?

[1:03:08] Kevin Bianchi: Are these all going to be you?

[1:03:09] Ariana Grande: You can't do this.

[1:03:11] Ariana Grande: No.

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