Ariana Grande Still Remembers the ‘Magical Body Wash’ Kristin Chenoweth Gave Her 20 Years Ago on ‘Wicked’ (Exclusive)

Body wash, a wand and dog piss: Ariana Grande takes PEOPLE back to the first time she met Broadway’s Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth

Ariana Grande had a “magical” early meeting with Kristin Chenoweth.

About two decades before he played bubbly Glinda the Good Witch in the movie musical Evil (in theaters Nov. 22), Grande, 31, met the role’s Broadway originator backstage.

Chenoweth, 56, gave the then 10-year-old “a little magic body wash” and “a little wand,” the singer-actress tells PEOPLE. “I think it was magical, because look where we are now!”

Directed by Jon M. Chu and adapted from the hit Broadway musical that originally featured Chenoweth and Idina Menzelthe two Evil movie (Second part to be released in 2025) stars Grande alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Oz’s future Wicked Witch of the West.

Related: Original Evil Starring Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel Pose with Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo at LA Film Premiere

“I loved it so much,” Grande says of seeing the Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman musical and meeting the “friendly” original cast members backstage with her grandmother in 2003. “My chemistry as a person changed permanently,” she says, adding, that she divides life into “two chapters: before and after seeing Evil.”

Body wash and a wand aren’t the only things, “Yeah, and?” the singer remembers from the formative experience. Chenoweth’s “dog peed on the couch and I helped her clean it up,” she recalls.

Jonathan Baileywho plays Winkie Prince Fiyero in Chu’s film, calls in to ask about the body wash: “Don’t you have one of those on set?”

“Pee?” laughs Grande.

She clarifies that she has saved another memory from 20 years ago, a lip gloss from Stila Cosmetics’ collaboration with Evil musical. “It can’t be good to use,” she says. “It must be poison. It’s old, but I brought it with me for a little extra magic.”

Never miss a story – sign up PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to keep you updated on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Bailey, who started her acting career on stages in her native England as a child, tells PEOPLE that she also saw Menzel play Elphaba in London. “I was also a massive, massive fan,” says the actor, 36. “It was incredible. I remember the orchestration — the music, I think, was the thing I kept coming back to.”

Related: Evil Hailed as a ‘masterpiece’ in Glowing First Reactions: ‘You Will Be Gagged Beyond Belief’

Grande, who made her Broadway debut in the musical 13 in 2008, has remained close with Chenoweth, especially during Evil film audition treat.

Speaking to PEOPLE in October, Chenoweth said she “Couldn’t be more excited about” Grande. “She’s great fun, a great actress, and she’ll get the chance to show that in this part.”

Wicked: First part is in the cinema 22 November with Second part scheduled for November 26, 2025. Go behind the scenes at Evil with PEOPLE’s new special issue, available here.