home/movie/2024/defying gravity the curtain rises on wicked
Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked
TV-G
Documentary
8.4/10(9 ratings)
A behind-the-scenes look at the highly-anticipated two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.
11-16-2024
43 min
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Main Cast
Movie Details
Production Info
Director:
Julia Knowles
Production:
Monkey
Key Crew
Executive Producer:
Rob Bagshaw
Executive Producer:
Andy Charles Smith
Head of Production:
Emily Rai
Production Manager:
Charlotte Hardway
Camera Operator:
Adam Barnes
Locations and Languages
Country:
GB
Filming:
GB
Languages:
en
Main Cast
Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Erivo (/əˈriːvoʊ/ ə-REE-voh; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. She has received several accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. She is one of only a few artists to have received nominations for the EGOT.
Erivo made her West End debut in the stage musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2011). She later made her Broadway debut playing Celie, a woman suffering abuse in the Deep South, in the musical revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017. Her work earned her the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. She expanded to films in 2018 with the crime films Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up," which gained her a nomination for Best Original Song. She has since starred as Elphaba in the musical fantasy film Wicked (2024).
On television, she played Holly Gibney in the HBO crime drama miniseries The Outsider (2020) and Aretha Franklin in National Geographic's anthology series Genius: Aretha (2021), the latter of which earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. As a singer, she has released singles as well as her solo album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1 (2021).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Cynthia Erivo, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, she is noted for her four-octave vocal range and her signature use of the whistle register. Her personal life and music have been the subject of widespread media attention. Grande has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, one Bambi Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, nine MTV Video Music Awards, and 30 Guinness World Records. Grande began her music career at age 15 in 2008 Broadway musical 13. She rose to fame for playing Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–2013) and Sam & Cat (2013–2014). Grande signed with Republic Records in 2011 after label executives viewed YouTube videos of her covering songs. Her 1950s doo-wop-influenced pop and R&B debut album, Yours Truly (2013), topped the US Billboard 200, while it is the lead single, "The Way", reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100. She continued to explore pop and R&B in her second and third studio albums, My Everything (2014) and Dangerous Woman (2016). Dangerous Woman became her first of four consecutive number-one albums in the UK. Personal struggles influenced her trap-infused fourth and fifth studio albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019). Sweetener won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, and Thank U, Next broke the record for the largest streaming week for a pop album and was nominated for Album of the Year. The singles "Thank U, Next", "7 Rings", and "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" made Grande the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Hot 100 simultaneously and the first woman to succeed herself at the top of the UK Singles Chart. In 2020 Ariana collaborate on "Rain on Me" with Lady Gaga who win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Grande expanded on the trap genre with her sixth studio album, Positions (2020), which both the album and its title track debuted at number one in the UK and the US. Her collaborations with The Weeknd on the remixes of "Save Your Tears" and "Die For You" garnered her sixth and seventh US number-one singles, respectively. In 2024, she earned another two number one singles with the high anticipated releases of “Yes And?” & We Can’t Be Friends both on her 7th studio Album “Eternal Sunshine.” She also made her acting return playing Glinda in the broadway adaptation of Wicked: Wicked Part 1.
Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng (born Yeoh Choo Kheng; 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early films in Hong Kong, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own stunts, such as Yes, Madam (1985), Magnificent Warriors (1987), Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), The Heroic Trio (1993), and Holy Weapon (1993).
After moving to the United States, Yeoh gained recognition for starring in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in Ang Lee's martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. For her role as an overwhelmed mother navigating the multiverse in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Asian woman to win the award. Yeoh won a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award as well. Her performance also garnered her nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award, among other accolades.
Yeoh's other notable works include Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Sunshine (2007), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), Reign of Assassins (2010), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and The Lady (2011), where she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi. She played supporting roles in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Last Christmas (2019), the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Gunpowder Milkshake (2021), Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), The School for Good and Evil (2022), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023), A Haunting in Venice (2023), Wicked: Part One and Two (2024 and 2025), and Avatar 3 and its sequels (2025 onwards).
In television, Yeoh has starred in Marco Polo (2014-2016), Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2020), The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022), American Born Chinese (2023) and The Brothers Sun (2024).
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as Jurassic Park (1993) and Independence Day (1996), as well as their respective sequels, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and Independence Day: Resurgence (2016).
Goldblum also starred in films including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Big Chill (1983), and Into the Night (1985), before coming to wider attention as Seth Brundle in The Fly (1986), which earned him a Saturn Award for Best Actor. His other films include The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), The Tall Guy (1989), Deep Cover (1992), Powder (1995), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Cats & Dogs (2001), Igby Goes Down (2002), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Adam Resurrected (2008), Le Week-End (2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
Goldblum has also starred in several TV series, including the eighth and ninth seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Zack Nichols. He directed the short film Little Surprises, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Description above is from the Wikipedia article Jeff Goldblum, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on stage and screen. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Bailey began his career as a child actor in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, and by eight, he was performing as Gavroche in a West End production of Les Misérables. He has since starred in contemporary plays such as South Downs in 2012, The York Realist in 2018, and Cock in 2022; in classical plays like the Royal National Theatre's Othello in 2013 and Chichester Festival Theatre's King Lear in 2017; as well as in musicals, namely the London revival of The Last Five Years in 2016 and the West End gender-swapped revival of Company, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2019.
On screen, Bailey starred in the action-adventure series Leonardo (2011–2012) and the musical-comedy Groove High (2012–2013) before becoming known for his roles in the crime drama Broadchurch (2013–2015), the satire W1A (2014–2017), and the comedy Crashing (2016). He gained international recognition for his starring role in the Regency romance series Bridgerton (2020–present). Bailey's role in the romantic drama miniseries Fellow Travelers (2023) won him a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He has since played Fiyero in the musical fantasy film Wicked (2024).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jonathan Bailey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Ethan Samuel Slater (born June 2, 1992) is an American actor, singer, writer, and composer known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the musical of the same name, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award in 2018.
He most recently played the Historian, Prince Herbert, and others in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot at the St. James Theatre. On screen, he appeared in a few guest roles in various television series before landing his first major film role as Boq in the two-part film adaptation of Wicked (2024-2025).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ethan Slater, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Peter Dinklage is an American actor. Since his breakout role in The Station Agent (2003), he has appeared in numerous films and theatre plays. Since 2011, Dinklage has portrayed Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones. For this he won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2011. Peter Hayden Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey, to Diane (Hayden), an elementary school teacher, and John Carl Dinklage, an insurance salesman. He is of German, Irish, and English descent. In 1991, he received a degree in drama from Bennington College and began his career. His exquisite theatre work that expresses brilliantly the unique range of his acting qualities, includes remarkable performances full of profoundness, charisma, intelligence, sensation and insights in plays such as "The Killing Act", "Imperfect Love", Ivan Turgenev's "A Month in the Country" as well as the title roles in William Shakespeare's "Richard III" and in Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya". Peter Dinklage received acclaim for his first film, Living in Oblivion (1995), where he played an actor frustrated with the limited and caricatured roles offered to actors who have dwarfism. In 2003, he starred in The Station Agent (2003), written and directed by Tom McCarthy. The movie received critical praise as well as Peter Dinklage's work including nominations such as for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the "Screen Actors Guild" and Best Male Lead at the "Film Independent Spirit Awards". One of his next roles has been the one of Miles Finch, an acclaimed children's book author, in Elf (2003). Sob Suspeita (2006), the original English Death at a Funeral (2007), its American remake Death at a Funeral (2010), Penelope (2006), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) are also included in his brilliant work concerning feature films. His fine work in television also includes shows such as Entourage (2004), Life as We Know It (2004), Threshold (2005) and Nip/Tuck (2003). In 2011, the primary role of Tyrion Lannister, a man of sharp wit and bright spirit, in Game of Thrones (2011), was incarnated with unique greatness in Dinklage's unparalleled performance. The series is an adaptation of author George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and his work has received widespread praise, highlighted by his receiving the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards (2011), The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards (2015) and The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards (2018), as well as The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012) for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film. In 2012, Dinklage voiced Captain Gutt in Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). In 2014, he starred in the comedy horror film Knights of Badassdom (2013) and portrayed Bolivar Trask in the superhero film X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). In 2016, Dinklage provided the voice of The Mighty Eagle in The Angry Birds Movie (2016).
Marissa Bode is a disabled actress based in Los Angeles. Marissa has been acting since the age of eight in a number of plays and musicals. "Little Shop of Horrors", "The Diviners", "Peter Pan" and "Mary Poppins" are just a few notable performances. She also has training in the arts and studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. In addition, Marissa's self written, self directed, self produced short film "You're Adorable" was previously accepted into the 2021 Wisconsin Film Festival.
Bowen Yang (born November 6, 1990) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer. Yang was hired to join the writing staff of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in September 2018, ahead of its 44th season, and a year later was promoted to on-air cast status for SNL's 45th season. He made history becoming the first SNL featured player to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2021. He was promoted to repertory status before the 47th season.
Yang has appeared in the television series Girls5Eva, Ziwe, and The Other Two and is a cast member on Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens. He is also known for his appearances in the LGBTQ romantic comedies Fire Island and Bros, both released in 2022. He co-hosts a comedy pop-culture podcast, Las Culturistas, with Matt Rogers. In January 2019, he was named to Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bowen Yang, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Keala Settle (born November 5, 1975) is an American actress and singer. Settle originated the role of Norma Valverde in Hands on a Hardbody, which ran on Broadway in 2013 and was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 2016 she was in the original Broadway cast of Waitress, portraying Becky. In 2017, she portrayed Lettie Lutz, a bearded lady, in the musical film The Greatest Showman. The song "This Is Me" from the film, principally sung by Settle, won the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Keala Settle, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Bronwyn James (born 1994) is a British actress. She has appeared in television shows such as Wild Bill, Ghosts, Outlander, and Harlots.
James attended CAPA College, a performing arts school in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
In 2015, James graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts with a Bachelor of Arts degree in acting. That same year, she made her professional debut, originating the role of Shirley in the Martin McDonagh play Hangmen.
James had a recurring role as Fanny Lambert in the ITV Encore series Harlots from 2017 to 2019. She made her feature film debut in the 2017 drama Apostasy, directed by Daniel Kokotajlo. In 2018-2020, James appeared in the film Peterloo and the television series The ABC Murders, Sandylands, Ghosts, Outlander, and Call the Midwife.
James also starred in a lead role opposite Rob Lowe in Wild Bill in 2019. Her next film roles were in the 2021 period dramas The Dig and The Colour Room. She had recurring roles on Cheaters and Lockwood & Co. in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
In December 2022, James was cast as ShenShen, a friend of Glinda, in the film adaptation of the Stephen Schwartz musical Wicked. Her role in the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon as Ruffnut Thorston was announced in 2024.
She is currently represented by Piers Nimmo Management and Authentic Management.
In 2023, James married Katherine-Alice, founder of the Yorkshire-based nonprofit Hearts Collective, which promotes accessibility in the arts.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bronwyn James, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, one of the first films by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993, and of the film adaptation of the stage musical Wicked, consisting of Wicked (2024) and Wicked: Part Two (2025).
The films that he has directed often include musical elements, including the dance films Step Up 2: The Streets (2008) and Step Up 3D (2010), the musicals Jem and the Holograms (2015) and In the Heights (2021), and the live concert films Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011) and Justin Bieber's Believe (2013). Chu is an alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jon M. Chu, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Stephen Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998, music and lyrics), Enchanted (2007), and Disenchanted (2022).
Schwartz has earned numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He has received nominations for six Tony Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award. He received the Tony Award's Isabelle Stevenson Award in 2015.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Stephen Schwartz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Winnie Holzman is an American playwright, screenwriter, actor, and producer. She is best known for writing the book of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked and for creating the television series My So-Called Life. She also co-wrote the screenplays for the upcoming two-part movie versions of Wicked. Holzman's other television work includes the series Thirtysomething and Once and Again. Her other stage work includes short plays (in which she appeared with her actor husband, Paul Dooley) and the full-length drama, Choice.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Winnie Holzman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Marc E. Platt (born April 14, 1957) is an American producer who has worked in film, theatre, and television. He has received numerous accolades, including two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Marc Platt (producer), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Nathan Crowley (born 28 February 1966) is an English production designer and a former art director, who is best known for his collaborations with Christopher Nolan. He was nominated six times for an Academy Award for Best Production Design for The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017), First Man (2018), and Tenet (2020).
For The Prestige, he was nominated with set decorator Julie Ochipinti; for The Dark Knight, he was nominated with set decorator Peter Lando; for Interstellar and Dunkirk, he was nominated with set decorator Gary Fettis; and for First Man and Tenet, he was nominated with set decorator Kathy Lucas. Crowley was also nominated five times for the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design for Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), Dunkirk (2017), and First Man (2018).
Crowley grew up in Islington, North London. His father and grandfather were both architects. Crowley attended Leighton Park School. After completing a foundation year at the Sir John Cass School of Art, he went on to graduate from Brighton Polytechnic (now the University of Brighton) with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Three-dimensional design. He initially worked odd jobs in architecture.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Nathan Crowley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
