How Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s real-life friendship ‘fortified’ their work in ‘Wicked’

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande play best friends in “Wicked,” and the relationship has carried into their personal lives.

Since at least 2022, Erivo and Grande have gushed about the other, posed together on red carpets and showed off their real-life friendship.

“I think both of us also knew that we wanted more than just this working relationship; we wanted to build friendship, outside of it, which is what we have now,” Erivo said in a preview clip from her upcoming interview with Willie Geist on Sunday Sitdown, airing Nov. 10.

“Wicked” is a beloved Broadway musical inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”

In the musical, Elphaba develops a challenging, ever-evolving friendship with Glinda the Good Witch. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda when the Broadway musical debuted in 2003.

Given that friendship is the cornerstone of “Wicked,” Erivo and Grande have been developing their own outside of their characters.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande talk ‘every day’

On the SAG Awards red carpet in February 2022, Erivo told E’s Laverne Cox about how they have been preparing for the roles.

“Ariana and I have been meeting and chatting and talking and building our own relationship because we know that it’s a sisterhood and we want to be ready and prepared to be there for one another,” Erivo told Cox, per People.

The two “Wicked” stars have also been hanging out frequently. “It’s the most delightful thing ever,” Erivo said. “We sat for, like, three hours on the floor of my house and just chatted and talked about everything.”

Erivo told Geist in a preview from the Nov. 10 edition of Sunday Sitdown that she and Grande “agreed to come together and just be good for each other, to each other.”

Sometimes that would simply consist of texting each other, “I love you,” at the end of the day, Erivo said.

“We function like that every day now. I’ve already spoken to her today and already texted with her today,” she said. “We are really building and cultivating a real relationship outside of work. But because of that, our work, I think, was fortified because of it.”

A ‘Wicked’ Met Gala moment

Erivo and Grande posed together at the 2024 Met Gala red carpet with wickedly wonderful looks.

While holding hands and laughing intermittently, pictures captured Grande in an iridescent, strapless Loewe gown and Erivo in a two-piece Thom Browne gown donned with pink flower petals.

Cynthia Erivo called Ariana Grande the ‘sweetest’

Erivo carried a little bit of Grande’s Glinda the Good Witch with her when appearing on TODAY from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

When TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb asked about her relationship with Grande, Erivo pointed out a ring memento she was wearing in honor of Grande and her “Wicked” character, Glinda.

“I have my little pink ring on today,” she said at the time. “My Glinda.”

Erivo herself wore a green ensemble, seemingly a reference to her own character.

Sharing more about Grande, Erivo said: “She’s just one of the sweetest, kindest people I’ve ever met.”

“We’ve had such a wonderful time doing this together and we’ve had such an experience learning about each other, learning about what we need and supporting one another. She’s stuck with me,” she added.

Why Cynthia Erivo was most looking forward to singing this track from ‘Wicked’

On the 2022 Grammys red carpet, Erivo gave details about the highly anticipated project.

Erivo told E that for the audition, she had to sing all “the big ones” from the musical. Specifically, Elphaba’s powerful songs “The Wizard and I,” “Defying Gravity” and “For Good.”

But of all the songs, Erivo said she was most looking forward to singing the duet “For Good” with Grande.

The song speaks to Glinda and Elphaba’s strong, unexpected bond.

“When we get to sing that, it will be a very special moment for us,” Erivo said at the time.

“For Good” is expected to appear in “Wicked: Part 2,” set to premiere in November 2025. Part 1 of “Wicked” will hit theaters Nov. 22, 2024.