Cynthia Erivo Dishes on ‘Wicked’ Audition and Debuts Elphaba’s Battle Cry

“Wicked” fans need to be tuning into “The Tonight Show” this week: The upcoming blockbuster’s star Cynthia Erivo stopped by the NBC late night show to talk about her audition process, show two clips from the movie and the behind-the-scenes special and — most excitingly of all — debut Elphaba’s iconic “Defying Gravity” battle cry.

During her interview with Jimmy Fallon, “The Color Purple” star revealed her audition for the movie was three hours long. That was especially grueling for Erivo because it came during the “craziest weekend.” The night before her audition, the Broadway star performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

“I was very ill by the end of it. I was in bed for the next week for like four days with 104 fever,” Erivo revealed. “I was done.”

As for her co-star, Erivo didn’t know that Ariana Grande was in talks to play her counterpart Galinda until the duo were actually working together. Erivo said the two had “instant chemistry.” “It was really easy,” she told Fallon, noting that their voices “worked together” when they practiced on the song “For Good.”

But Fallon wasn’t playing around with this particular interview. First, he showed his audience a clip of Erivo suspended on wires zooming around a soundstage and singing “Defying Gravity” at the top of her voice. That clip is part of “Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked,” a behind-the-scene special that will premiere on NBC next Tuesday. He also shared a quick clip of Erivo singing part of “The Wizard and I” in the movie.

However, his biggest surprise involved a live performance from Erivo. “Defying Gravity” — the signature song of “Wicked” that spotlight’s Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West — ends on a distinct series of notes. That segment of the song is often used in marketing for the musical, a snippet of music that Fallon labelled Elphaba’s “battle cry.”

“I did it slightly differently,” Erivo revealed.

The singer and actress then debuted her version of the battle cry in all of its musical glory. Earlier in the interview, Erivo also showed off her whistling skills. Watch the full interview above.