Cynthia Erivo, who depicts Elphaba—the Wicked Witch of the West—has reflected on the themes of Wicked.
While having a conversation with All Things Considered host Scott Detrow at the New York studio of NPR, Erivo took into account the movie’s theme, “us vs. them.”
The host declared that Wicked has a strong theme and threw a question at her, asking, “Have you given thought to how relevant that is in this particular moment in time?
Replying to Detrow’s question, Erivo quipped, “Yeah, and it keeps coming up about how relevant it is right now.”
“I don’t think that ever changes. I think that it stays relevant. I think we keep being reminded of it,” the Genius actress mentioned.
Erivo then went on to highlight that “we’re still shunning certain people” and added, “We’re still not making space for people.”
However, she noted by saying, “But there is room to change. There is room for empathy; there is room for growth.”
“I do think it’s always going to be relevant. I think it was relevant when The Wizard of Oz came out, and I think it’s relevant right now,” Erivo concluded by referring to Margaret Hamilton’s role in The Wizard of Oz, which inspired her to play Elphaba.
For the unversed, in the 1939 film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel, Hamilton also went green for her character, which was a significant part of her identity that eventually made her an outcast among her acquaintances.
The late actress also used the famous cackle, black dress, and pointed hat to complete the witch’s look, but one small, special detail really impressed Erivo.
Giving an interview to Entertainment Weekly, the Roar star revealed, “I didn’t realise until I went back. But I always go back to this image of the black and white [silhouette] where she’s got her claws. It’s the first time I realised, ‘Oh, she has nails. That’s something I can pull into the look of her.'”
Notably, Erivo even posted a carousel of images to show her green manicure on Instagram, which she captioned, “[a green heart emoji] EMERALD CITY CHIC for OZ by @rosedoesmynails @OPI.”
It is essential to mention that Wicked has been released in cinemas all across the United States today, November 22.
