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Ariana Grande flies to her hometown for one day just to see ‘Wicked’ with her grandma

BEST SELLING AUTHOR WHOSE BOOK INSPIRED ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR BROADWAY MUSICALS EVER, WHICH IS COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN, THIS WEEK. I’M TALKING ABOUT WICKED NOVELIST GREGORY MAGUIRE SPLITS HIS TIME BETWEEN THE BOSTON AREA AND THE SMALL TOWN OF STRAFFORD, VERMONT. HE VISITED THE WICKED MOVIE SET DURING FILMING AND ATTENDED THE OFFICIAL PREMIERES, AND HE TELLS NBC5 HE WAS THRILLED WITH THE FINAL PRODUCT. I AM DESPERATELY HAPPY. I’M STILL KIND OF ELECTRICALLY ELECTROCHEMICALLY BUZZING FROM HAVING SEEN THE MOVIE FOUR DAYS AGO. I’M JUST NOW STARTING, YOU KNOW, MY HEART RATE IS STARTING TO COME DOWN. AUTHOR GREGORY MAGUIRE INSISTS WICKED, WHICH IS BEING RELEASED IN TWO PARTS, LIVES UP TO THE HYPE. UNLIMITED. I THINK THEY DO A TERRIFIC, TERRIFIC JOB AND HE PROMISES FANS OF THE STAGE MUSICAL, BASED ON HIS BESTSELLING FANTASY NOVEL, WILL EXPERIENCE THE STORY IN A NEW WAY ON FILM. IT’S ACTUALLY HEIGHTENED BY BEING ABLE TO SEE IT NOT JUST IN IN GREATER COMPLEXITY OF STORYTELLING, BUT CLOSE UP. SHE HAD HER SECRETS. THERE IS A SENSE THAT OZ IS JUST AS BIG AND COMPLICATED AS THE UNITED STATES, WHICH IS WHAT L FRANK BAUM INTENDED, AND ALSO WHAT I INTENDED. THE NEW MOVIE MUSICAL ABOUT THE COMPLICATED AND MISUNDERSTOOD FIGURE NAMED ELPHABA, LABELED BY OTHERS AS THE WICKED WITCH LONG BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED INTO OZ, WAS IN DEVELOPMENT SINCE 2012, SOME OF US ARE JUST DIFFERENT, BUT MAGUIRE TELLS US YEARS EARLIER HE HAD A LOT OF THINKING TO DO WHEN HE WAS FIRST FIELDING CALLS FROM TEAMS WANTING TO ADAPT HIS SUCCESSFUL BOOK. WOULD IT BECOME A TRADITIONAL FILM OR MAYBE A MINI SERIES? HE DECIDED BROADWAY WAS THE BEST PLACE TO START, THANKS TO AN IMPRESSIVE CONVERSATION WHEN THE COMPOSER STEPHEN SCHWARTZ APPROACHED ME ABOUT THE NOTION OF MAKING IT INTO A MUSICAL FOR THE STAGE BEFORE OR MAYBE INSTEAD OF IT BEING A BIG BUDGET HOLLYWOOD MOVIE, HE WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS THAT I WOULD SAY NO. I HAD THREE CHILDREN. I NEEDED TO PAY OFF MY MORTGAGE, AND I WANTED THE MONEY THAT HOLLYWOOD WAS GOING TO OFFER. AND HE SAID, RATHER NERVOUSLY, I’M SO CONVINCED YOU’RE GOING TO SEE THE RIGHTNESS OF MY IDEA THAT I WILL ADMIT TO YOU. I ALREADY WROTE THE OPENING SONG, AND I SAID, WHAT? AND HE SAID, YES, IT’S GOING TO BE CALLED NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED. AND WITH THOSE FIVE WORDS, HE SEALED THE DEAL, BECAUSE WITH THOSE FIVE WORDS HE TOLD ME HE KNEW THAT I HAD WRITTEN THE BOOK FOR A SERIOUS REASON. I WAS NOT MAKING A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PARODY OF THE WIZARD OF OZ. I WAS USING A COMMONLY HELD STORY TO ASK MY READERS TO THINK ABOUT IMPORTANT THINGS, AND THAT’S WHAT THE PLAY DOES TO THEMES LIKE POLITICAL POWER, BELONGING, FRIENDSHIP. AND HERE’S THE BIGGIE HOW DO COMMUNITIES OR INDIVIDUALS DECIDE WHO IS DESERVING OF SCORN AND WHAT DRIVES THOSE ATTITUDES? THERE’S A LINE IN THE STAGE PLAY A SUNG LINE IN THE MIDDLE OF ACT TWO, WHICH WE’RE NOT GOING TO HEAR UNTIL NEXT YEAR, WHEN THE SECOND MOVIE COMES OUT AND IT’S SUNG BY THE WIZARD AND IT’S THREE LINES, THREE, THREE LINES OF MUSIC THAT I THINK ENCAPSULATE WHAT WICKED, THE NOVEL WICKED, THE STAGE PLAY AND WICKED THE MOVIES ARE ALL ABOUT. IT’S A PLACE WHERE THE WIZARD REARS BACK AND SINGS TO ELPHABA AND HE SAYS THERE ARE PRECIOUS FEW AT EASE WITH MORAL AMBIGUITIES. SO WE ACT AS THOUGH THEY DON’T EXIST. AND WHENEVER I HEAR HIM DO THAT, I THINK YOU GOT ME THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT. WE HAVE TO BECOME COMFORTABLE WITH AMBIGUITY BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY AVENUE FOR RESCUE FOR OUR NATION, OUR COMMUNITIES AND OURSELVES. MAGUIRE’S NOVEL IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE MUSICAL. IT INSPIRED. IT SPANS A MUCH LONGER TIME PERIOD. FOR EXAMPLE. BUT STILL, THE WRITER HAS ALREADY SEEN A FLURRY OF NEW SALES FROM A MOVIE TIE IN EDITION. NEARLY 30 YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL BOOK WAS PUBLISHED. THE THEMES OF THE BOOK ARE EVEN MORE PERTINENT NOW THAN THEY WERE IN 1995, WHEN IT CAME OUT, AND IN MARCH 2025, HE’LL RELEASE HIS NEXT WORK, ELPHIE A WICKED CHILDHOOD, ABOUT THE YOUNGER YEARS OF THE FUTURE WICKED WITCH. SOME OF THIS WAS INSPIRED BY 2 OR 3 SCENES THAT ACTUALLY I HAD PUT IN THE ORIGINAL NOVEL, BUT THAT GOT LEFT ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR BECAUSE THE NOVEL WAS TOO LONG AND I HAD TO LOSE SOME SOME STUFF UP FRONT TO GET ELPHABA AND GLINDA TO MEET SOONER. IN THE NOVEL. I ALWAYS REGRETTED THAT BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW NOT JUST ARTISTS, BUT ANYBODY. ANY REFLECTIVE PERSON KNOWS THAT WHO WE ARE IS AN OUTGROWTH OF WHO WE WERE. AS CHILDREN. WE EITHER SURVIVE OUR CHILDHOODS OR WE EMBELLISH AND IMPROVE UPON THEM. OR MAYBE BOTH. SO A CHILDHOOD STORY IS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE ADULT. IT WAS WORDSWORTH, I THINK, WHO SAID THE CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN AND THE CHILD IS MOTHER TO THE WITCH. AND SO THAT’S WHAT ELF IS ABOUT. MAGUIRE SPLITS HIS TIME BETWEEN HOMES IN CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, AND STRAFFORD, VERMONT, WHERE HE SAYS HE WROTE MUCH OF HIS NEXT TITLE, CALLING VERMONT A PLACE WHERE HE CAN LIBERATE HIS IMAGINATION. THERE ARE A LOT OF TALENTED WRITERS IN VERMONT, AND I DON’T KNOW, QUITE WHY THAT SHOULD BE, EXCEPT IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL AND THERE’S A WAY IN WHICH LIFE IN VERMONT SEEMS TO BE PARED DOWN TO ITS ESSENCE, BECAUSE THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE KIND OF PUSHES ITSELF IN YOUR FACE. YOU CAN’T YOU CAN’T IGNORE IT. YOU KNOW, IF YOU DRIVE TO MAINE, THERE’S THAT SIGN ON ROUTE 90, I-95 THAT SAYS MAINE THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE. AND I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE SAYING WHAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO VERMONT ARE PEOPLE BORN WICKED? BACK TO ONE OF THE YEAR’S MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES, OR DO THEY HAVE WICKEDNESS THRUST UPON THEM? MAGUIRE CALLS WICKED A CAREER DEFINING FILM FOR STARS CYNTHIA ERIVO AND ARIANA GRANDE, PREDICTING AUDIENCES COULD SEE GRANDE IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT AFTER HER ROLE AS GLINDA. I WAS BLOWN INTO THE LONG ISLAND SOUND, YOU KNOW, AND I WAS SITTING IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN. SHE IS TERRIFIC, SHE WAS MUCH BETTER THAN I EXPECTED. I KNEW SHE WOULD SING WELL, AND I KNOW SHE’S BEAUTIFUL AND I KNOW SHE’S PERSONABLE BECAUSE I MET HER IN LONDON. GLINDA, YOU I KNOW IT’S MY GRANNY. I’D GIVE IT AWAY, BUT I DON’T HATE ANYONE THAT MUCH. I DID NOT KNOW THAT SHE WOULD CARRY OFF THE COMPLEX ACTING ARC THAT SHE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DO WITH SUCH FINESSE AND SHE’S SHE’S MAGNETIC. THE WAY KRISTIN CHENOWETH WAS MAGNETIC IN THE ROLE, YOU COULDN’T NOT LOOK AT HER WHEN SHE WAS ON THE STAGE. YOU CAN’T NOT LOOK AT ARIANA. SHE IS. SHE DOES SOMETHING TO YOUR EYEBALLS. I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY. KNOW WHAT IT IS. I AM HOPING THAT PEOPLE WHO SEE THE FILM AND WHO GO BACK TO READ THE NOVEL AGAIN WILL SAY TO THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW WHAT? IF I JUST TAKE FIVE SECONDS OF SILENCE BEFORE I SAY THIS NEXT NASTY THING? IF I TAKE FIVE SECONDS OF SILENCE AND CONSIDER MY MOTIVATIONS AND WHAT I CAN KNOW AND CANNOT KNOW ABOUT THE SHAPE OF SOMEBODY ELSE’S SOUL, WELL, THEN I THINK MY WORK AS AN ARTIST WILL HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. I ASK PEOPLE TO PAUSE, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND CONSIDER WHAT AND WHY THEY’RE ABOUT TO DO OR SAY, WHAT THEY’RE ABOUT TO DO OR SAY. THE PART TIME VERMONTER REALLY APPLAUDED THE CASTING OF CYNTHIA ERIVO AS ELPHABA AND NOT JUST FOR HER INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE SINGING TALENT. MAGUIRE SAYS HAVING A BLACK WOMAN PLAY THE ICONIC ROLE SEEMED TO AMPLIFY MANY OF THE STORY’S KEY THEMES AROUND THE WAY PEOPLE TREAT EACH OTHER, AND IF YOU’RE CURIOUS, YES, MAGUIRE DOES GET A CREDIT IN THE MOVIE FOR INSPIRING THE MUSICAL. HE SAID WHEN HE SAW HIS NAME CO

Ariana Grande flies to her hometown for one day just to see ‘Wicked’ with her grandma

Ariana Grande is sharing the magic of “Wicked” with her grandmother Marjorie “Nonna” Grande.Video above: ‘Wicked’ author Gregory Maguire discusses new film, Ariana Grande’s performanceThe singer and actress, who stars as Glinda the Good in the “Wicked” movie, made a pit stop in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida on Monday to see the movie with her Nonna, who turned 99 in October.”Flew to Boca for a day to watch with Nonna,” Grande wrote on her Instagram Stories, showing a photo of herself sitting next to her grandmother and brother Frankie in a dimly lit movie theater.Grande added that they saw the film at “the movie theater I grew up going to every weekend,” and gave her boyfriend Ethan Slater, who also stars in the movie as Boq, a shoutout for taking the photo.She also shared a video of her Nonna smiling while watching Grande’s “Popular” musical number on the big screen.”Thrilled to report when the sugar glider had her drum solo nonna exclaimed loudly ‘oh i LOVE that,'” the Grammy-winner wrote in another slide.In March, Grande’s Nonna made history when she became the most-senior artist ever to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 98, according to the music charting site. Her Nonna was cited on Grande’s song “Ordinary Things” as a featured artist. The track debuted on the chart at No. 55.Grande stars alongside Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, in “Wicked,” the cinematic adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that recounts events in Oz that occurred before Dorothy’s arrival.The Jon M. Chu-directed movie premiered in theaters on Friday and raked in an estimated $162 million at the box office worldwide during its opening weekend. It also became the third highest-grossing opening weekend of 2024 behind “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.”

Ariana Grande is sharing the magic of “Wicked” with her grandmother Marjorie “Nonna” Grande.

Video above: ‘Wicked’ author Gregory Maguire discusses new film, Ariana Grande’s performance

The singer and actress, who stars as Glinda the Good in the “Wicked” movie, made a pit stop in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida on Monday to see the movie with her Nonna, who turned 99 in October.

“Flew to Boca for a day to watch with Nonna,” Grande wrote on her Instagram Stories, showing a photo of herself sitting next to her grandmother and brother Frankie in a dimly lit movie theater.

Grande added that they saw the film at “the movie theater I grew up going to every weekend,” and gave her boyfriend Ethan Slater, who also stars in the movie as Boq, a shoutout for taking the photo.

She also shared a video of her Nonna smiling while watching Grande’s “Popular” musical number on the big screen.

“Thrilled to report when the sugar glider had her drum solo nonna exclaimed loudly ‘oh i LOVE that,'” the Grammy-winner wrote in another slide.

In March, Grande’s Nonna made history when she became the most-senior artist ever to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 98, according to the music charting site. Her Nonna was cited on Grande’s song “Ordinary Things” as a featured artist. The track debuted on the chart at No. 55.

Grande stars alongside Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, in “Wicked,” the cinematic adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that recounts events in Oz that occurred before Dorothy’s arrival.

The Jon M. Chu-directed movie premiered in theaters on Friday and raked in an estimated $162 million at the box office worldwide during its opening weekend. It also became the third highest-grossing opening weekend of 2024 behind “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.”