Cynthia Erivo on Bringing Black Queerness to ‘Wicked’s Elphaba

As audiences continue holding space for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” Wicked star Cynthia Erivo is making sure that they understand the intention of her green-skinned heroine.

On Tuesday (Nov. 26), Erivo spoke with Variety about the creation of her version of the iconic character, saying that she wanted her Elphaba to be intrinsically similar to the actress underneath the makeup and wigs. “I didn’t want to remove myself from Elphaba,” she said. “I wanted to connect the two.”

Part of that connection came in the designing of the character’s new hair, which Erivo says was very much the point — where the stage version of the show typically portrays Elphaba with long, wavy black hair, Erivo’s Elphaba sports off-black microbraids, which the actress wanted as a nod to “what was underneath the green as well.”

When asked about what it meant for her to have the most-viewed interpretation of this character being played by a Black queer woman, Erivo called it “awesome” and said that she felt she had been “given this incredible gift” when it comes to the character. “[Her] raison d’etre is to show that all of your difference is what makes you special,” she said. “You can soar above anyone’s expectations, that you can be everything you’re meant to be, and that the search to finding that can be hard, but when it happens, it can be really freeing.”

She added that she wanted to dedicate the character to anyone who has felt ostracized by the world. “I hope it’s a bit of a love letter to everyone who feels different, who feels out of place, to all of the Black women who have walked into rooms and felt like they haven’t been welcomed,” she said. “To anyone who’s walked into a room and felt like they haven’t been welcomed. I am really glad to be the conduit through which this character has been brought to the world.”

Watch clips from Erivo’s interview with Variety below: