{"id":362230,"date":"2025-11-07T13:14:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/362230\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T13:14:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:14:38","slug":"behind-the-scenes-highlights-cut-from-wicked-one-wonderful-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/362230\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind-The-Scenes Highlights Cut From Wicked: One Wonderful Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from NBC<\/a>\u2018s broadcast special Wicked<\/a>: One Wonderful Night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIn anticipation of Wicked: For Good<\/a>, NBC took audiences on a journey to the Emerald City Thursday night with its broadcast special, Wicked: One Wonderful Night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe event featured performances from Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and the cast of Wicked, including special arrangements of songs from both acts of the musical from \u201cNo One Mourns The Wicked\u201d to \u201cI\u2019m Not That Girl\u201d to \u201cFor Good,\u201d as well as exclusive interviews with the cast and sneak peeks of the two new songs in Wicked: For Good, \u201cThe Girl In The Bubble\u201d and \u201cNo Place Like Home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was also special duet from Grande and Erivo singing \u201cGet Happy\/Happy Days Are Here Again,\u201d previously performed by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the special aired just a few weeks before the premiere of the anticipated theatrical release of Wicked: For Good, it was actually taped at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on September 24 (with the exception of one special song, which we discuss below). <\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline was in the audience, so we\u2019ve compiled a few of the best behind-the-scenes moments from the taping that didn\u2019t make it to air.<\/p>\n

\n\tA lengthy standing ovation for Marissa Bode when she spoke of \u201cpower hungry dictators\u201d in her \u201cDefying Gravity\u201d introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tPerhaps the most glaring omission from the broadcast special was a lengthy standing ovation during Bode\u2019s introduction for \u201cDefying Gravity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWicked is filled with so many incredible songs, but there is one that stands out. It\u2019s connected with so many people from all over the world. I\u2019m talking of course about Defying Gravity. The song is an ode to authenticity and about believing yourself no matter what obstacles the world puts in your way,\u201d she says in the final version of the special, before tossing to Erivo\u2019s performance. <\/p>\n

\n\tBut that\u2019s not quite how it went down in person. In the full intro, Bode spoke of how the song is also about toppling \u201cpower hungry dictators,\u201d and the phrase seemingly struck a chord with the audience, as she was cut off for a significant period of time by a thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the crowd. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s hard to say exactly how long it went on for, since NBC didn\u2019t allow any tech devices (including smart watches) into the venue, but it did force her to completely pause mid-sentence and wait for the crowd to regroup before continuing her lines.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019ll let you fill in the blanks on what that was about, but clearly the NBCUniversal team didn\u2019t want to ruffle any feathers, because it\u2019s essentially entirely cut out of the special. <\/p>\n

\n\tWicked and Wicked: For Good choreographer Chris Scott gets the audience involved in the opening number<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tJust like the film and the stage show, Wicked: One Wonderful Night opened with a rendition of \u201cNo One Mourns The Wicked.\u201d The performance involves the audience, which chimed in during the bombastic \u201cGood news! She\u2019s dead!\u201d proclamation at the beginning as well as with some fun choreography involving small bouquets of flowers later in the song. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat you didn\u2019t see was Scott taking the stage before the taping officially got underway to teach the audience the choreography. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt took a few tries, but eventually the lower level audience got the hang of waving their flowers in the air as Grande sang, \u201cAnd goodness knows, the wicked\u2019s lives are lonely. Goodness knows, the wicked die alone. It just shows, when you\u2019re wicked, you\u2019re left only on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPut your body into it!\u201d Scott told the crowd as they practiced their best flower flicks.<\/p>\n

\n\tPerformances that were taped more than once<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSimilar to late night shows and other live events that are filmed prior to their TV airing, the Wicked: One Wonderful Night taping was shot somewhat out of order, and several moments were filmed multiple times to fix mistakes and, sometimes, just for posterity\u2019s sake. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere were several songs that the cast performed more than once, including Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum\u2019s rendition of \u201cThe Wizard and I\u201d and Erivo and Grande\u2019s \u201cWhat Is This Feeling?\u201d duet. <\/p>\n

\n\tFor the latter, production opted to switch up the song\u2019s ending for a cheekier response to Elphaba\u2019s attempt to scare Glinda. Grande exasperatingly responding to Erivo\u2019s \u201cBoo!\u201d with \u201cAlright, I get it.\u201d For the record, they did film it the second time through with the traditional ending where Glinda yelps after she\u2019s startled, though.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDefying Gravity,\u201d arguably one of the most magical moments of the show since Erivo flew around the Dolby Theatre during the climax of the song, was actually performed thrice. The first go-round did not feature Erivo on the rig as she began at the top of the stage and made her way down. After she finished the song, she was then attached to the rig to perform it two more times, likely so they could edit the entire thing seamlessly together in post-production. Movie magic!<\/p>\n

\n\tErivo and Grande also ran back their rendition of \u201cGet Happy\/Happy Days Are Here Again,\u201d but not because they messed anything up. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe don\u2019t want to go yet,\u201d Ariana said to the crowd after they sang through it once, before closing out the taping with one more run through.<\/p>\n

\n\tGroans from the audience every time the cast filmed the intro for something we didn\u2019t get to see <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWhile it certainly felt like audiences got to be in \u201cThe Room Where It Happened\u201d for this special night, we did not get to see everything in advance \u2014 much to the audience\u2019s chagrin. The cast filmed introductions for several parts of the special during that taping that would not be officially unveiled until the broadcasting airing on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat includes most of the interviews and sneak peeks from the upcoming film, as well as one of the most anticipated performances, Erivo and Grande\u2019s version of \u201cFor Good.\u201d There was good reason for that, since NBC made that moment even more heartfelt by filming it at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City, where the musical has been performed since it opened on Broadway in 2003. The pair were also joined by the original Glinda and Elphaba, Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who adjusted the lyrics to the third verse of the song to sing of \u201cpassing the torch\u201d to their film counterparts. So all in all, it was a pretty incredible moment that was rightfully reserved for the broadcast airing. <\/p>\n

\n\tThat didn\u2019t stop the moans and groans from the audience, though, who were at the edge of their seat as Bowen Yang and Ethan Slater filmed the intro only to learn that they\u2019d have to wait a good six weeks to actually see the performance.<\/p>\n

\n\tA \u201cHot To Go!\u201d dance party<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tChappell Roan, what are you doing here? In between performances, while the crew was breaking down and setting up on stage, there was a lovely MC keeping the crowd entertained. In addition to costume contests, hair toss competitions, and other crowd engagements, there were more than a few audience-led song and dance parties throughout the night. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe crowd got excited to hear \u201cSoda Pop\u201d from Kpop Demon Hunters as well as \u201cPink Pony Club\u201d from Roan, but things got really lively when \u201cHot To Go!\u201d emerged from the speakers. Nearly the entire Dolby Theatre was on their feet for that one as the MC led them through the \u201cYMCA\u201d-style dance. <\/p>\n

\n\tAriana Grande popping her head out to acknowledge the audience singing \u201cthank u, next\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAnother fun music moment happened when one of Grande\u2019s own songs played between performances. Her 2019 single \u201cthank u, next\u201d elicited quite a reaction from the crowd, and since nearly everyone knew the words, the sound traveled all the way to Grande herself backstage. And what do you know? She popped her head out to smile and acknowledge the love before rushing back to prepare for the next set.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from NBC\u2018s broadcast special Wicked: One Wonderful Night. In anticipation of Wicked:…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":362231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,1030,67,132,68,17498,148123,175727],"class_list":{"0":"post-362230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-nbc","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-wicked","14":"tag-wicked-for-good","15":"tag-wicked-one-wonderful-night"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115508600557286544","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}