"When the first trailer for Wicked came out, it ended with a bang: The clip revealed star Cynthia Erivo's final battle cry. What a mistake that was! Elphaba's last riff in "Defying Gravity" is one of the all-time defining vocal moments in musical-theater history. As soon as Erivo was cast in the Broadway adaptation, fans began anticipating the moment they would finally hear the Tony-winning actress's interpretation."
"Instead, the trailer editors just ... tweeted it out. That spoiled the single most exciting vocal choice Erivo got to make, and the fact that she was going entirely off script, singing a riff that no Elphaba had ever sung onstage. She added new melismas that brought the syllable higher, then pirouetted her way down, creating a newly definitive version of the song."
"Now she's getting to do it again. There are multiple iconic vocal choices coming up in Wicked: For Good, the sequel that adapts Act Two of the Broadway show, all of which have been kept hidden from audiences thus far. The stakes are high: How Erivo, Ariana Grande's Glinda, and the rest of the cast sings these songs will become the canonical versions for many fans. And the actors have 20 years' worth of options to choose from."
A trailer for Wicked prematurely revealed Cynthia Erivo's climactic vocal riff from "Defying Gravity," spoiling a signature moment that showcased her off-script melismas and novel phrasing. Erivo originally altered the melody with higher melismas and a descending pirouette that redefined the song's delivery. Wicked: For Good adapts Act Two and contains multiple iconic vocal moments that have been intentionally kept secret. Performances by Erivo, Ariana Grande's Glinda, and the rest of the cast have high stakes because their interpretive choices will shape canonical versions for fans. The show's two-decade performance history provides abundant precedents that both cast and audience members already track closely.
Read at Vulture
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