Cynthia Erivo Casts a Spell: How Her Elphaba Changed ‘Wicked’ for Good

TheWrap magazine: The Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winning entertainer reaches new heights in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Broadway’s beloved trip to Oz

Cythia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo for TheWrap (G L Askew II)

At the age of 37,  Cynthia Erivo has already had a richly varied career, winning a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy and channeling Harriet Tubman in “Harriet” and Aretha Franklin in “Genius: Aretha.”

So why does it seem as if she might have been born to play the iconic Wicked Witch of the West in “Wicked,” Jon M. Chu’s musical movie adaptation of author Gregory Maguire’s 1995 “Wizard of Oz” prequel novel and its 2003 Broadway musical? 

As Elphaba, the name the witch had before she became known simply as wicked, Erivo uses the film to take a dramatic turn that has landed her both at the top of the box-office charts and in the awards picture. Beyond

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