“The birds sang with me” Cynthia Erivo’s Wicked set stories

I'm amazed that I haven't at least used my laugh for some sound effects in Wicked

How do you know we haven't? Already. I'm delighted to say we have Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, the stars of Wicked, which is the best film ever to be released

Honestly, I have been waxing lyrical about this movie all week. I have felt I was so emotional during it

It just, it brought back, I don't know, memories of friendships, lost and forgotten that you just sort of tear at your heart

It made you howl with laughter at one minute. It's just got everything

Obviously, the singing, the dancing, everything. Thank you. It should be sponsored by Kleenex

Next time, next time. We've got another one coming. I know, because every interview I've read, Cynthia, of you and Ariana

it just says that you just end up in tears all the time. We do. And I think it's because people have come in with such energy

and their responses, their emotional responses come into the room with them

And this is the first time we've been able to really talk about it. So I think that we're both sort of reliving and rehashing

all the things that we've been through and the journey we've been on. So we can't help it

We get very emotional about it. Yeah, which I don't blame you because obviously you went through COVID

you went through strikes. There was all kinds of obstacles to overcome to make this movie

In fact, the very last song was filmed after the strike. So we were meant to finish and we couldn't

We ended up stopping and then six months later finished with that

And is it true that when you found out that you were doing it on a Zoom call, is that when you found out that you got the roles

Is that right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was here in London. It was 1 a.m. and I got a call for something else

They made me think it was about something completely different. And then my team likes dramatics

So they tried to surprise me about something else completely. And then by the end of it, I was weeping, crying

I not surprised because you thought that you would never be considered for a role like this Yeah no I didn think that at all Why I just didn think it was it such a huge project and like I had never been considered for anything that big before

so I figured it wouldn't come my way, even though there's, like, a part of me that was, like

willing and wishing that it would happen. So I just thought, well, it's not going to come my way

A lot of tears? A lot of tears. Jonathan, same for you? Yeah. Not as many

Well, you know, they did the same for me on a Zoom call when I found out I got the job, and I think the fact that it hasn't made

the footage hasn't made its way on the internet shows that my British response was like, okay, fantastic

And they just said, the producers were like, we just want to just check and talk to you about dancing

And then suddenly it was a gate crash with Ari and Cynthia. I mean, cheers

You mentioned dancing there, Jonathan. I did hear that you and Jeff Goldblum

are saying that you were both ballet dancers in another life. Yeah, we are

I mean, who knew that I had... I may believe you. I'm not so sure about Jeff

I'm not sure. I can see he's got a beautiful arch in that toe. I'm sorry, what

I wonder what you're going to say then. Beautiful nudge. I was going to say he's got really good buns

That's what I was going to say. He's got tight little buns. He can crack a nut with his hudge

Yeah. We've got quite a lot in common, as it turns out. One of the biggest pleasures of the press tour is that, you know

me and Jeff actually don't have any scenes together in the first film. We do in the second. But we've sat next to each other for, you know, the last month

and it's been an absolute joy. But Amanda, listen, you know how to sing and dance

Well, thanks. Thanks for even remembering. and this is where you're going to be on a Zoom call

and you're going to be told that you're going to be in part two I'm amazed that they haven't at least used my laugh

for some sound effects how do you know we haven't? already this movie is huge

and so big I just want to know more and more and more about the film

like for instance nine million I think it's nine million tulips were actually planted

for this movie that's the kind of detail we're talking about I love that you know that

I know! Oh my gosh. I didn't read it at all. No. But the detail, and we've watched a video of you, Cynthia, doing all your..

I want to talk to you. Tom Cruise is on the phone He on the phone He is worried He is worried We have watched and watched and watched all your brimstick action Your singing the training for it the acting whilst you doing all of that

That is so stressful on your body. And you must have had to learn to sing in a completely different way

How was that? It was really crazy. So I had to train first to make sure my body knew what it was doing

whilst I was in the harness and the wires. and so we learned very early on and did training very early on

to make sure that I could be comfortable flying and then my wonderful vocal coach Anteo Bocet came on board

and was with me every single step of the way to make sure that I could because essentially you have to retrain your body to sing

in a completely different way because you're putting the breath in a different place

you're using your diaphragm differently because we were in corsets as well so corsets and wires and harnesses

it just compresses all the air you can't use your body the way you would

if you were just standing singing. So we had to find a way to put the breath higher up

but still have enough to make those sounds. And at first, you feel like you're flailing all over the place

You have no idea where anything is making sound from. You have no idea how it's working

And then eventually you start to find how it works and how to put it all together

And I had a lot of support. and I'm really, really pleased that I was able to do it

and needed to because I really wanted to make sure that everything felt authentic

So the flying felt real, that the singing felt real, that it all came from somewhere

So it wasn't just me standing on the ground and singing. I really wanted to... It's not that at all

Well, it's not that at all. And also, it's just everything else. Everything else attached to the film

There's hardly any CGI in it, which is so refreshing these days and so brilliant

The craftsmanship, the train. I mean, everything is unbelievable. If you watch the credits at the end of the film, there are hundreds and hundreds of people who worked

And so this is cinema at its best where, you know, we're leaning on it

I heard about this part where you were singing you were hitting those high notes you were nailing those high notes And is it true that as you were hitting those high notes there were certain animals that were singing in the background Is that a true story I just thought oh no that that scene from Shrek

It is a true story. It's very strange. So we were, a couple of songs, so there's a place

one of the scenes is set in the Enchanted Forest and we have an Enchanted Forest built, so it was real

But there's real biochemistry in there. It says there's plants that are real and it's wonderful

So birds made homes in our set. So when I would sing, they would start singing

No. Yeah. It is my strength. So when it happened the first time, I thought it was like a sound

I thought Simon had like played something. I thought someone was playing a track

So I thought it was like not real. And then I would stop and they would stop

So then I would, then we would sing again and then the birds would sing again

and we were like oh my goodness there are birds in here

they're living in here and they're singing it's like they're responding it's very strange

yeah it does speak to Cynthia Reeves very very strange very lovely though yeah

you know Simon was like but also I need to capture the sound

so can the birds stop singing now can you call their agents please

this needs to be clean please thanks that was lovely yeah part two

done and dusted done and dusted whoa Yes, it's going to be released on the 21st of November, 2025

I know, and I will be there. Probably in green latex. I wore green latex to the premiere

Please. I was in it for this premiere. But when I got home, it was..

I mean, we're all liquefied. I think I lost half a stone watching you on Monday in the premiere

But it was worth every drop. Oh, my goodness. Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey

Thank you so much. We're so thrilled to have you here. Thank you so much

Thank you. This is hard