Wicked star Ariana Grande hosted SNL for the second time on Oct. 12. In her opening monologue, Grande performed a song featuring vocal impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and more, with Bowen Yang appearing in costume as ‘Glinda.’
“Thank you so much,” said Grande in the monologue. “I’m so happy to be back hosting. This year has been truly amazing. I got to play Glinda in the ‘Wicked’ movie. It’s awesome, because I’m such a theater kid. And it’s every theater kid’s dream to be Glinda or Elphaba. Well, it’s every theater kids dream to lose their virginity. But their second dream is of course to be in ‘Wicked.’”
“I just want to make one thing clear; I am just hosting. I’m not going to make this about me. I’m just going to have fun, take it easy, and keep it low key,” said Grande, before launching into a song detailing the ways she’s not going to sing, while simultaneously doing impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Gwen Stefani.
Cast member Bowen Yang then appeared on stage in costume as ‘Glinda’, to which Grande says that they’d cut the Wicked sketch. “Oh, that’s okay, I didn’t really want to do it anyway,” said Yang. Grande replied: “Great, and this isn’t a wand, it’s a flask,” pulling the top off the wand, then finishing the song with a kick line.
The episode is now available for streaming on Peacock.
About WICKED
The Wicked film adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. Joining them is Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard.
Marissa Bode will portray Nessarose, Elphaba’s younger sister. The cast of characters also includes Pfannee and ShenShen, two conniving compatriots of Glinda played by Emmy nominee Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Bronwyn James (Harlots), and a new character created for the film, Miss Coddle, played by Tony nominee Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman). Aaron Teoh joins as Avaric with Michael Carmichael as Nikidik. Emmy-Winner Peter Dinklage is set to play Dr. Dillamond in the film.
Part One of the film will be released on November 22, 2024, with the second part hitting theaters on November 26, 2025. Pre-save the official soundtrack here. Also, be sure to check out BroadwayWorld’s comprehensive guide to the Wicked movie!
