Are Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the movie ‘Wicked’?

Warning: This story contains major spoilers for “Wicked”.

“Wicked” officially hit theaters on Nov. 22, more than 21 years after the Broadway musical of the same name opened at the Gershwin Theatre.

With its premiere, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have stepped into the shoes of Broadway stars Idina Menzel, who originated the role of Elphaba, and Kristin Chenoweth, Glinda – and they received their blessing both on and off the screen.

Chenoweth and Menzel attended the premiere of the film on November 9 in Los Angeles, posing side by side with Grande and Erivo.

So, after years of speculation about how and if Menzel and Chenoweth would be involved in the production, the film’s release confirms that the actors are making cameos in the adaptation.

Chenoweth and Menzel’s cameo involves a few bars of new music written by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of the Broadway musical, and a sweet moment between Elphaba, Glinda and the actors who originally played them.

And for the “Wicked” superfans, there are also nods to two key figures behind the musical.

“It was a really, really special day for us because it felt like we were knighted by the queens,” Erivo told TODAY’s Willie Geist. “They have been so wonderful and supportive. So many words of wisdom. So many words of encouragement and on a constant basis.

“I got three video messages from Kristin and a bunch of different voice messages from Idina,” she added.

Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth’s ‘Wicked’ Cameo, Explained

Menzel and Chenoweth’s cameo occurs towards the end of the film, during Glinda and Elphaba’s memorable duet, “A Short Day,” which follows the friends as they visit the Emerald City for the first time to meet the wizard.

During the song, Elphaba and Glinda stop for a play called Wizomania, which gives a glossy and glittering retelling of how the Wizard managed to take power in Oz.

That moment is expanded upon in the 2024 film with a new song and dance performed by two members of an Emerald City theater group playing Oz’s Wise Ones.

The two Wise Ones are played by Menzel and Chenoweth. Each gets their moment in the spotlight, singing about a prophecy involving the Grimmerie, a book of spells.

According to the song, the sages wrote down their spells in the Grimmerie using a “strange and secret language.” But a prophecy predicts that after their deaths, in “Oz’s darkest hour”, a powerful figure will lead Oz, distinguished by their ability to read the Grimmerie.

At the end of the Wise Ones’ song, that figure is revealed to be the Wizard of Oz (although the ending of “Wicked: Part 1” questions his authenticity).

At the end of the cameo, Chenoweth and Menzel stand next to Grande and Erivo, respectively, looking lovingly at the actors playing the role they originated. Menzel even fixes the hat Erivo wears as Elphaba.

Schwartz tells TODAY.com that they had “all kinds of ideas” about how Chenoweth and Menzel could be in the film.

“We obviously wanted to honor Kristin and Idina by having them in the film,” he says.

Some of these ideas included Chenoweth playing Glinda’s mother, or Chenoweth and Menzel appearing as teachers at Shiz University, the fictional college where Glinda and Elphaba meet.

At the same time, Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book for the “Wicked” musical and the screenplay for the 2024 movie, were already working on expanding the song “One Short Day.”

“We wanted to expand on ‘One Short Day’ to show more of the propaganda that the wizard was spreading and really better understand this magical book — the Grimmerie, what is it? Because it figures so prominently in the plot,” says Schwartz.

It was none other than director Jon M. Chu who connected the dots between Menzel and Chenoweth and the “One Short Day” expansion, Schwartz says.

“‘Why don’t we just make them two wise women from Oz and it could be Kristin and Idina?'” Schwartz recalls Chu saying.

“And then, of course, we were able to tailor the number to pay homage to Easter eggs for their performances on the show,” adds Schwartz.

Easter egg in an Easter egg

In addition to recognizing Chenoweth and Menzel, fans of “Wicked” will also likely see certain moments of their performance as nods to their legacy as Glinda and Elphaba.

During the vocal arrangement written for them, both Menzel and Chenoweth hit some of their signature notes. Menzel sings the signature “Oh!” riff heard at at the end of “Defying Gravity”.

Meanwhile, “Kristin has to do her soprano,” says Schwartz. “She hits a high D flat.”

The two Wise Ones also seem to have a bit of a rivalry, “satirising the press at the time when they were trying to make (Chenoweth and Menzel) rivals,” Schwartz adds. (For a bit of “Wicked” history, both Menzel and Chenoweth were nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical at the 2004 Tonys, which Menzel won.)

“There’s a wonderful moment where Ariana is about to hit a high note and Kristin puts her hand over her mouth,” Schwartz adds.

The whole track is “a big Easter egg,” says Schwartz.

Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s cameos in ‘Wicked’

Schwartz and Holzman even appear in the scene.

Holzman appears in the scene as one of the citizens of Emerald City watching the Wizomania performance. Towards the end of the Wise Men’s Song, an image of the Wizard landing in Oz and apparently reading the Grimmerie plays out in the sky.

Holzman’s character points to the picture and says, “He can read it. He must be… a wizard!”

Then, at the very end of “One Short Day,” Schwartz appears as one of the wizard’s palace guards. As Elphaba and Glinda show their invitation, Schwartz’s character squints down at the piece of paper from a watchtower. He breaks into a smile and memorably yells, “The wizard wants to see you now!”

Filming “One Short Day” and being part of a scene that had Chenoweth, Grande, Menzel and Erivo all together was “emotional,” Holzman says.

“It was like, ‘Pinch me, is this really happening?'” says Holzman. “The four women are very extraordinary women and artists, and they deeply admire and respect each other.”