Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to Perform ‘Wicked’ Songs for Live NBC Special

“Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will perform a handful of songs from the musical for a live NBC special airing this fall.

Erivo and Grande will be joined by “their cast mates and some wonderful surprise guests” for a live special filmed at the Peacock theater in Los Angeles, which will air on NBC in November, director Jon M. Chu announced Monday during NBCUniversal’s Upfront presentation. The special will air on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock, though no official release date was set.

“They will perform live many of the songs from the first movie and maybe, just maybe, a little bit from the second one as well, for a night of entertainment that we think will … as they say in Oz, thrillify,” Chu said.

Ahead of the debut of “Wicked: For Good,” which is slated to debut in theaters on Nov. 21, Chu also debuted the first trailer for “Wicked: For Good” to the room of advertisers and press in Radio City Music Hall.

The trailer, which has not yet been released to the public, featured a first look at Erivo and Grande singing the anticipated song “For Good,” as well as a glimpse of the wedding of Grande’s Glinda and Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero. Meanwhile, Erivo’s Elphaba is being hunted down, but that does not stop her from speaking her truth as she writes, “The Wizard Lies,” in a cloud.

“There’s no going back,” Elphaba said in the trailer.

The trailer sees the return of the main troupe — including Dorothy — walking down the yellow brick road to see the Wizard, who asks the group get the broom from Elphaba. Dorothy’s iconic ruby slippers can be seen in the trailer but did not show a glimpse at the actor who will play the role originally played by Judy Garland in the 1939 film.

The first trailer for “Wicked” was released during NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation last year, before the first part of the Broadway musical adaptation debuted in theaters on Nov. 22, 2024. “Wicked” eventually arrived to Peacock in March, a strategy NBCUniversal will likely mirror for “Wicked: For Good.”

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