Ethan Slater praises girlfriend Ariana Grande’s ‘Wicked’ performance: ‘She just is Glinda’

Official reviews of the movie musical Evil won’t be released until next week, but Ariana Grande is already receiving high praise from one fan: her boyfriend and co-star, Ethan Slater.

Broadway actor Slater portrays Boq — a fellow Shiz University student hopelessly in love with Grande’s character, Glinda — in the upcoming musical adaptation. Off-screen, the pair met and fell in love while filming the two-parter, and were first seen together in public in late 2023. At the time, Slater had just separated from his wife, Lilly Jay, with whom he has a relationship. child, while Grande had recently ended things with her husband, Dalton Gomez.

In an interview with People for their special Evil edition of the magazine, the star i SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical gushed over her girlfriend, saying: “One of the things that was really fun to watch is that she has a masterful grasp of comedy and she’s so funny and so physical and it never feels like a joke on top of the character . It always feels like it’s coming straight from Glinda.”

He added: “You get lost in the performance – she’s just Glinda. Even in the incredibly funny physical moments.”

Best known for her work in the pop space, with songs like “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Thank U, Next,” Grande first got her start in theater and television comedy. She appeared in the Broadway musical 13 as a teenager before going on to star in Nickelodeon sitcoms Victorious and Sam & Cat.

It’s not the first time Slater has opened up about Grande’s talents. IN an interview with Extra at the Los Angeles premiere of Evil earlier this month, Slater praised Grande and co-star Cynthia Erivo, who portrays the so-called Wicked Witch, Elphaba.

“They’re also just really connected actors and they’re really generous scene partners and getting to work with them was like a master class,” Slater said at the time. “I felt like I learned something every take from both of them.”

The feeling is mutual. Grande recently told Entertainment Tonight how thrilled she is that Slater is having his moment in the spotlight. “He’s always adorable and he’s so amazing in this movie, he’s such a great person. I’m so glad people are getting to know him,” she shared of Spam lottery performer. “My heart is very glad.”