Eric Liebowitz/NBCTonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT, NBC airs A Very Wicked Halloween, featuring top artists saluting the 15th anniversary of the hit Broadway musical Wicked. They include original Wicked stars Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, plus Pentatonix, Ariana Grande, and Adam Lambert, who was in both the show’s first touring company and its L.A. production.
A Wizard of Oz prequel, Wicked tells the story of the future Wicked Witch of the West: green-skinned Elphaba, who is bullied and misunderstood. She becomes rivals, and then friends, with the popular Galinda, the future Good Witch of the North. Idina and Adam say Wicked’s continued popularity is due to its universal themes.
“I think it taps into everyone’s little place inside them where they feel misunderstood or alienated in some way,” says Idina, who played Elphaba. “And they see people up there on stage that learn how to embrace that and celebrate that in themselves, and it’s inspiring.”
“Acceptance is something that, in the last 20 years, we’ve really become a little more aware of,” Adam adds. “We’ve become more aware of bullying…[and] accepting people’s differences, and the show really embraces these things.”
Idina says Wicked “just taught me so much about myself,” noting, “Elphaba and [I] were…mirroring each other in their experience of having to overcome insecurities and become more fearless.”
Tonight, Adam performs “As Long as You’re Mine;” Ariana sings “The Wizard and I;” Idina sings “Defying Gravity” and Kristen Chenoweth, who played Galdina, sings “Popular.”
“It’s very moving to look back on something that I was a part of creating. I feel a lot of pride,” says Idina. “To…these people singing along with me to this music… it’s a constant reminder of how incredibly lucky I am that I’ve been a part of this beautiful show.”
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