{"id":2218,"date":"2026-06-15T20:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T20:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2218"},"modified":"2026-06-15T20:36:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T20:36:58","slug":"ariana-grande-pitched-judy-garland-get-happy-happy-days-duet-on-wicked-one-wonderful-night-over-zoom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2218","title":{"rendered":"Ariana Grande Pitched Judy Garland \u2018Get Happy\/Happy Days\u2019 Duet on \u2018Wicked: One Wonderful Night\u2019 Over Zoom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tExecutive producer Ben Winston is no stranger to producing variety specials. He counts \u201cThe Late Late Show,\u201d \u201cThe Grammy Awards,\u201d and more among his credits. When it came to bringing \u201cWicked: One Wonderful Night\u201d to audiences, his biggest concern was: \u201cHow do we do justice to this thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tWinston was speaking at an FYC event on the Universal lot in early June in a conversation moderated by the film\u2019s director Jon M. Chu. Winston explained that the solution was a simple one: relying on the traditional, old-school variety show formula. \u201cWhat we tried to do is just make it a real variety special in the best way,\u201d he said. That meant weaving in comedy sketches, musical performances and choreography as well as clips that audiences had never seen before.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe team really just tried to make a real, old-school variety special that people would remember for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe special aired just before the second film, \u201cWicked: For Good,\u201d was released in cinemas, and featured live performances of al features live performances of \u201cPopular,\u201d \u201cDefying Gravity,\u201d and a performance of \u201cThank Goodness.\u201d Winston revealed there wasn\u2019t much time to rehearse the musical numbers. \u201cWe only had the theater for two days,\u201d he said, referring to the Dolby Theater.<\/p>\n

\n\tWinston and Chu were joined by choreographer Christopher Scott, who pointed out that Michelle Yeoh, who plays Madame Morrible, doesn\u2019t dance in the film. However, with the special, he had an opportunity to create a short number that encapsulated the weather-manipulating powers of her character and incorporated movements inspired by her martial arts background. Scott shared, \u201cIt was a challenging choreography moment. We had very little time because we had three days.\u201d To make it work, Scott visited Yeoh at her hotel to rehearse the movements with her. \u201cShe turned it on, and she did it. She added this wink, which nobody told her to do, but it was Michelle Yeoh at her finest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cFor Good\u201d number reunited Erivo and Grande with the Broadway show\u2019s original leads, Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth (both of whom make a special appearance in \u201cWicked: Part One\u201d). Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz wrote a new bridge.<\/p>\n

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\n\tWinston also recalled meeting with Grande over Zoom. When Grande asked him how he planned to end the show, he admitted he told her, \u201c\u2018I don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t really thought about it.\u2019\u201d He goes on to say, Grande pitched him the idea of singing a rendition of \u201cGet Happy\/Happy Days Are Here Again.\u201d He said, \u201cShe immediately pitched it, and she texted the video. We watched it together at the same time, and I was like, \u2018This is amazing. What a great message to end it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMusic director Stephen Oremus added, \u201c\u2026to end with such a hopeful, beautiful thing and such an iconic duet between two iconic singers.\u201d Grande and Erivo did have concerns as it was being pieced together. Oremus said, \u201cWe reconstructed the entire arrangement that Judy and Margaret did note by note, and it was really just so emotional and so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe continued, \u201cIt took everyone out in such a positive, beautiful way. To have something refreshing that wasn\u2019t from \u2018Wicked\u2019 was connected in some way with the whole Judy Garland of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs \u201cWicked: One Wonderful Night\u201d vies for Emmy consideration in multiple categories, it would become one of the first IP\u2019s in 2000 to win an Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Grammy award.<\/p>\n

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Ariana Grande pitched Judy Garland “Get Happy” duet on \u2018Wicked: One Wonderful Night\u2019 over Zoom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1410,1883],"class_list":["post-2218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-ariana-grande-2","tag-wicked"],"yoast_head":"\nAriana Grande Pitched Judy Garland \u2018Get Happy\/Happy Days\u2019 Duet on \u2018Wicked: One Wonderful Night\u2019 Over Zoom - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2218\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ariana Grande Pitched Judy Garland \u2018Get Happy\/Happy Days\u2019 Duet on \u2018Wicked: One Wonderful Night\u2019 Over Zoom - 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