Ariana Grande is headed to Oz.
The pop star has been cast as Glinda in the film adaptation of Wicked, the musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz. She announced the news on Instagram Thursday evening.
“Thank goodness,” she wrote, sharing ecstatic photos of her reaction to the casting.
Grande’s good witch will be joined by Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. In the Heights director Jon M. Chu leads the big screen adaption, while Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music to the original Broadway show, returns with Winnie Holzman to adapt the screenplay.
Though Grande’s become a world-renowned singer in recent years, she got her start as an actress, first on Broadway in the musical 13 and later as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon hit Victorious. In fact, Grande also has experience singing Wicked songs before a live audience; as part of a special celebration the show’s 15th anniversary, Grande sang “The Wizard I.”
Grande’s latest album is 2020’s Positions. More recently, she guested on Doja Cat’s album Planet Her. She’s also set to appear in Adam McKay’s black comedy Don’t Look Up, out in December.
