Cynthia Erivo says trust with co-star Ariana Grande helped them tell ...

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SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

It's been three years since Cynthia Erivo was cast as Elphaba in the movie adaptation of "Wicked," the stage musical that's a prequel of sorts to "The Wizard Of Oz."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: PART 1")

CYNTHIA ERIVO: (As Elphaba, singing) I think I'll try defying gravity...

DETROW: Now the movie is out, and Erivo is the latest powerhouse to step into the role of Elphaba and make it her own.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: PART 1")

ERIVO: (As Elphaba, singing) It's me. So if you care to find me, look to the western sky.

DETROW: When we recently sat down to talk at NPR's New York bureau, Cynthia Erivo told me that filming "Defying Gravity," which she sings live as she's performing, was, of course, one of the most memorable days she experienced on set.

ERIVO: 'Cause this is the song that everyone knows when it comes to this piece. By the time I got to it, I had been shooting for over a year, and we had had a stop in between and then come back. That was the most surreal moment. After having done the entire movie and ending at this point with this song...

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: ...Felt like, whew, OK, this is the one. This is the big one.

DETROW: "Wicked" tells the story of how Elphaba goes from college student attending Shiz University to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. And one of the most pivotal parts of her journey is her roommate Glinda - with a guh (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKED: PART 1")

ARIANA GRANDE AND CYNTHIA ERIVO: (As Glinda and Elphaba, singing) Loathing - unadulterated loathing...

ARIANA GRANDE: (As Glinda, singing) ...For your face.

ERIVO: (As Elphaba, singing) Your voice.

GRANDE: (As Glinda, singing) Your clothing.

DETROW: They start out on a bad foot. Glinda publicly humiliates Elphaba at a school dance, but they break through the animosity and build a famous friendship, one Erivo and others have called a love story. And it all traces back to that one moment at the dance.

ERIVO: They meet each other probably at their worst and have to find a way to see each other. And that moment, I think, is an offering from Elphaba to Glinda to, one, see her and, two, just show up as herself and not be worried about everybody else around them. And there's an offering of forgiveness, and there's an offering to change. And when that offering is accepted, I think it's the first moment the two of them find a real friend.

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: And they sort of accept the offering of growing out of the thing that they've been in and growing into actual friendship and acceptance. Because of that really honest moment, I think that's the first time that the two of them are deeply, deeply honest with each other, even without saying anything.

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: I think it allows them to grow and become really good friends. Yeah.

DETROW: And I think one of the headlines of the press tour you're doing right now is just the way you and Ariana Grande have talked about...

ERIVO: Yeah.

DETROW: ...The way that the two of you developed a real close...

ERIVO: That's right.

DETROW: ...Lasting relationship filming this.

ERIVO: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think we both decided that we would be good to each other. We would take care of each other. We would make the space that we needed to feel safe within it. And I think it really allowed us to expand into this story. The more we felt safe, the easier it was to tell the story because there was an honest place to bring whatever you had that day. If I didn't have energy that day, then I could say, hey, today's a tired day.

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: Or if she didn't have energy, today's, like, a rough, tired day. OK, how can I help? How can she help? And it meant that we were always providing the thing that we needed in order to continue doing this piece - telling the story as well as we possibly could.

DETROW: I know we're talking about "Part 1" today...

ERIVO: Yes.

DETROW: ...But given all of that - given everything you've said...

ERIVO: Yeah.

DETROW: ...I'm really wondering what it was like to film that big, climactic song about that friendship, "For Good." That must have been a lot.

ERIVO: Ooh, yeah. That was a lot.

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: John Chu, our director, said that, at one point - I don't want to give too much away, but there's a point in the song when we filmed it where we can't see each other, but both of us are just broken.

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: He could see us, but we couldn't see each other, but the two of us have damn near the same reaction...

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: ...By the end of it. And it - that was a big one to film.

DETROW: Yeah.

ERIVO: That was a tough, very emotional, long moment - hard moment to film. Yeah.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DETROW: That was Cynthia Erivo, who stars as Elphaba in "Wicked: Part 1." You will have to wait for "Part 2" next year to hear her rendition of "For Good." But in the meantime, "Wicked: Part 1" is out now. You can also watch our full interview with Cynthia Erivo on NPR's YouTube page.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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