Cynthia Erivo says her 'heart broke open' while filming pivotal song for Wicked movie

In a rare dispatch from the land of Oz, Cynthia Erivo reflects on filming a pivotal Elphaba musical number from the upcoming Wicked movie adaptation.

The Tony Award winner, who stars as the Wicked Witch of the West in Jon M. Chu's two-part movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, revealed in an Instagram post that she was overcome with emotion after filming "I'm Not That Girl." The ballad is performed during the first act of the stage production, Elphaba wistfully singing about how popular classmate Fiyero will never reciprocate her feelings for him.

"I realize I've said very little about my experience on Wicked and that's mainly because I've been keeping my head down and mining this beautifully complex being that is Elphaba, and it's really hard to put into words," Erivo begins her post. "It is day 111 and yesterday we finished filming 'I'm Not That Girl.'" When she came to the end of the sequence, "My heart broke open and tears fell," she added, noting that "this happens OFTEN."

"I thought of us, the ones who often feel like they're on the outside," she said. "The ones who don't know that their differences, oddities, quirks are what make them beautiful and special. The ones who, for some reason, believe they can't be loved and I felt proud to sing a song that might speak to those feelings. I am endlessly grateful to be working with some of the most beautiful souls on the planet and I'm already grieving for the day our little bubble must come to an end."

"I desperately hope that when you finally see this film, you'll see you, you'll see me, you'll see Jon and Ari and our hearts laid bare," she adds of her director and her costar Ariana Grande, who plays the Good Witch Glinda opposite her Elphaba.

Signing the caption "your Elphie," Erivo concluded, "I hope all the bumps and scrapes and scars that you've picked up along the way, get a little healing when you finally relax in a theater with a snack a drink and hopefully, friends you bring or friends you find when you're there."

Erivo shared her reflection alongside a photo of her emerald green nails resting atop the script for Wicked: Part Two: For Good, indicating that production is well underway.

A prequel to The Wizard of Oz, Wicked tells the story of Elphaba and Glinda as unlikely friends turned enemies. The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madam Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, and Bowen Yang as Pfannee, among others. Part One will debut Nov. 27, followed by Part Two on Dec. 25.

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