One of the most scandalocious and delightful features on the home release of Wicked is the feature commentary by stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. It also includes several deleted scenes, giving curious fans a glimpse of what didn’t make it in to the epic musical.
Grande in particular has been very vocal about her love of the extended moments. “I love them all. They all have a cozy spot in my heart,” Grande told Variety over the weekend at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. She also said she’s been personally advocating for the release of even the ones not included on the home release of the film. (We’re hoping for the meadow friendship scene between Elphie, Galinda, Nessa, Pfannee, Shen Shen, Boq and Fiyero where there’s a hunk-off with the shirtless boys, as detailed by one Bowen Yang.) “I’m talking to Jon,” Grande added, referring to director Jon M. Chu.
There’s also multiple times in the film commentary when Grande jokes to Erivo that she wants release some of the deleted scenes on Instagram. (If she calls them “green slime tutorial” clips it’d be the funniest Broadway nerd inside joke ever.) Here’s a breakdown of what the stars have shared about some of the deleted scenes that you can watch on the digital release—and why they think they didn’t make the cut.
“Boq and Elphaba Talk”
“I love the train station scene with Boq (Ethan Slater) and Elphaba (Erivo) … the first time I read the script that line Boq says, ‘Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought we were being honest,’ me and my acting coach Nancy Banks, we put so many hearts around because we were like, ‘That’s the best line in the whole movie.’ I think that scene has a lot of magnificent work in it, so I miss that,” Grande told Variety.
She also mentions it in the Wicked commentary: “From the moment I read this script, my favorite line was one of Boq’s. I thought it was one of the most important lines in the whole thing. And I do love that scene, so I hope it sees a light of day.”
The scene depicts the moment where Elphie tells Boq to be honest with Nessa about his true feelings, and Boq says she should do the same in regards to Fiyero. However, Elphie plays her feelings so close to the chest she can’t even bring herself to admit she has a crush on her best friend’s beau, even though it’s clear to her friend Boq.
Erivo shared how many of the friendships were trimmed down, in particular that one. “I thought it was a special line. I thought it was an important for people to be like,’Oh’,” she said of Boq recognizing Elphie’s true feelings. “And that’s actually a really important relationship from the book, that they actually are friends.”
“Train Platform Farewell”
Another clip that was trimmed was when Glinda and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) come to stand up for Elphaba when her father Governor Thropp (Andy Nyman) continues to deride her despite her invitation to the Emerald City. Morrible in particular sharply calls him out. “I loved that moment because it felt like people were holding her up,” Erivo explained to Variety.
“Toss Toss”
The “toss toss” clip was one that Grande and Erivo laughed through in the commentary and talked about the extended cut that was trimmed down. “That’s a choice. We’re trying not to break.” Grande said, “I think we need a whole string out of Elphie’s toss tosses. Ridiculous. I just want that whole 12 hours.”
While the deleted scene included in the Wicked home release isn’t actually 12 hours, we’d like to imagine that as Grande explained about the moment, “This is when Jon was laughing under the bed. We were all laughing. We did a lot of different ball gowns and toss tosses.”
“Elphaba’s Promise”
One of the key takeaways from this deleted scene is the build-up to Elphaba asking Glinda to come with her to the Emerald City, and later, that fateful choice in “Defying Gravity.” It all goes back to the moment where Elphaba puts the classroom to sleep and Glinda clocks that Elphie and Fiyero are gone along with the lion cub. There’s envy there but Grande points out that it’s not what you would think, at least not yet.
“I know she’s jealous that you didn’t take her, but I don’t think for a second it would cross her mind that anything else might be occurring,” she said of Glinda feeling some type of way that Elphie chose Fiyero over her for help. Erivo added that at that point, “I don’t think she thinks anything is about to happen,” in regards to Elphie’s growing feelings for Fiyero. Yet Grande added, “He might know a little something.”
However, it boils down to the Gelphie shippers’ knowledge of how the true love story of the film is between the two main characters, and their friendship being the heart of the film. In this scene, Galinda (as she’s still known at this point in the film) reveals she doesn’t want to be left behind and Elphaba promises she’ll take her with her. As Erivo explained, “What you don’t know is that there is a scene that plays before we came out here,” just before the Wizard’s invite arrives; fortunately, the deleted scene now fills in those blanks.
Both actors agreed they love the moment, but understand why it was cut. “We gotta get to the Emerald City, it’s been two hours,” Grande joked.
Train Ride to Emerald City
Gelphie intensifies in this clip that shows a bit more of their ride on the train and the characters’ “they’re just roommates” closeness. Erivo revealed, “We filmed so much in this train. So much. And none of it made it … I really enjoyed our little moment on the train because I thought it was really fun.” Fun—and bittersweet, as the “One Short Day” sequence is pretty much the only time they get to be together outside of Shiz, to experience what could have been before everything changes for good.
Wicked is out now in theaters and digital. Wicked: For Good opens this Thanksgiving.
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