LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande say they appreciated the way Wicked: For Good, in theaters Friday, questions what good and evil really mean. The film encompasses Act 2 of the stage musical Wicked, based on the Gregory Maguire novel.
Erivo, 38, returns to play Elphaba, a student at Oz's Shiz University who discovered at the end of last year's Wicked: Part 1 that she can cast spells and fly. Elphaba refuses to go along with the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible's (Michelle Yeoh) plan to turn Oz against animals, leading her to become an outcast.
In a recent Zoom press conference, Erivo said Wicked: For Good shows how people in power can manipulate what others view as good and evil. For example, the Wizard and Morrible brand Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.
"Perception is everything," Erivo said. "What we see as good, and what we see as evil can be warped and shifted, depending on who we are looking at, and through what eyes, through what lens we're looking through."
Erivo added that Morrible and the Wizard shift the blame onto the animals of Oz and Elphaba. The Wizard has no magic but uses tricks and sleight of hand to maintain his power.
