On a Wednesday afternoon in late September, thousands of “Wicked” fans, press and other guests convened at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre for a celebration of the beloved musical film during the taping of “Wicked: One Wonderful Night.”
With attendees given a mood board of looks ranging from classic witch to Emerald City glam to Shiz prep, the Dolby Theatre was decked out in green, pink and plenty of elaborate costumes, including a group of drag queens dressed as the main cast of “Wicked.”
With no guests for the special announced beyond leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, some audience members caught a glimpse of Bowen Yang in the wings, preparing for his introduction of Grande during the special’s opening number, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” which featured some choreography with flowers for audience members on the floor level of the Dolby.
As the taping of the special extended into the night, the production team reset sets or called for a re-do of several songs, and there were several memorable moments from the “One Wonderful Night” taping that didn’t make it into the two-hour edit that broadcast on NBC on Nov. 6, and will stream on Peacock beginning Friday.
Cynthia Erivo defied gravity twice, and other repeats
Perhaps the most memorable performance of the night was Erivo’s “Defying Gravity,” which saw the multi-hyphenate defy gravity in the Dolby Theatre with a flying harness that had been tested out earlier in the show, giving attendees a glimpse at what was to come. And when it happened, it was epic, drawing an emotional response from the audience as Erivo was brought up to eye level with guests on the mezzanine level.
As soon as it was over, fans roared for an encore, and luckily enough, the performance merited a re-do, giving audiences a second chance to hear the beloved song — and that end belt — live twice.
“Defying Gravity” was among several songs that were performed twice in a row during the taping, including “The Wizard and I,” “What Is This Feeling?” and a new song from “Wicked: For Good,” “Thank Goodness,” which was repeated by Grande due to a lighting issue. The audience also got an encore of an ending medley of “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again,” in a nod to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand’s “The Judy Garland Show.”
Bowen Yang scolds audience for thinking we were getting “For Good” live
While the special included several songs from “Wicked: For Good” sung for the first time live, including “Thank Goodness” and previews of original songs “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl In The Bubble,” the Los Angeles audience did not get the pleasure of hearing “For Good” live. Yang introduced the song, explaining it would be performed at New York City’s Gershwin Theatre, which drew some disappointed sighs from the audience.
Yang scolded the audience for thinking arguably the most anticipated song would be performed live that night, telling the audience, “You’re not going to get that before the movie!”
As anticipated, Erivo and Grande were joined by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth at the Gershwin for “For Good,” which debuted during the special.
Marissa Bode draws standing ovation for calling out “power hungry dictators”
While introducing “Defying Gravity,” Marissa Bode’s remarks noted that Elphaba stood up to a “power-hungry dictator.” The statement, which sums up Elphaba’s charge against the Wizard, drew an immediate standing ovation from the audience, who appeared to resonate with the message amid the current political climate.
The standing ovation was anything but brief, though the moment was cut from the special, with Bode’s introduction cut off after saying, “This song is an ode to authenticity and about believing in yourself no matter what obstacles the world puts in your way,” with no mention of “power-hungry dictators” in the special.
Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande goof off obsessing about Michelle Yeoh’s voguing
As the night went on, the cast had a few laughs they couldn’t contain, including when Yang and Grande filmed some standalone introductions for the special. When cameras weren’t rolling, Yang applauded what he called Yeoh’s voguing during “What Is This Feeling?” which led to a round of jokes between the pair. “We’re fired,” Grande joked after going quite a bit off script.
Ariana Grande pops out to “thank u, next”
As sets and costume changes happened on stage, audience members were encouraged to groove out to whatever music was playing on the Dolby speakers, with the night’s emcee leading dances to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” But one of the best candid moments of the night had to have been when Grande popped her head out from backstage when she heard fans singing to “thank u, next.”
“Wicked: One Wonderful Night” premieres Thursday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and begins streaming on Peacock starting Nov. 7.
