'Wicked': Here's how those 'brilliant' and 'beautiful' movie cameos happened

Spoiler alert! We're discussing major details about the new “Wicked” movie (in theaters now).

They can’t all come and go by bubble.

Ever since there were rumblings of a “Wicked” movie more than a decade ago, fans have wondered how the show’s original Broadway stars, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, would factor into the film. Would they reprise their roles of Elphaba and Glinda? Could they be background actors? Or even voice the hoofed professor Dr. Dillamond?

The answer is so much better than all of the above. Late in the movie, sorcery students Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) are invited to the Emerald City, where they get swept up in the hoi polloi of the all-green metropolis. Midway through the song “One Short Day,” the wide-eyed witches buy tickets to the stage show "Wizomania," a sort of propaganda musical for the great and powerful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

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Who do Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth play in the ‘Wicked’ movie?

“One Short Day” is considerably expanded for the film version, as the Ozians perform a lavish number about the origins of a sacred text called the Grimmerie. According to an ancient prophecy, whoever can decipher the book’s magic spells will be the one to save Oz during its darkest hour. As “Wicked” fans already know, the only one who can actually read the spells is Elphaba and not the Wizard.

All of this information is melodiously delivered by Menzel and Chenoweth, who appear as the fabulous leading ladies of “Wizomania.” Initially, “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz and screenwriter Winnie Holzman considered having the actresses cameo as Elphaba or Glinda’s mothers.

But then, “as we were writing this portion of ‘One Short Day’ about the story of the Grimmerie, our brilliant director, Jon Chu, had this idea,” Schwartz recalls. “He was like, ‘You’re talking about these ancient, wise people. Why don’t you just have Kristin and Idina come and be the wise women of Oz?’ We were like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s brilliant.’ And then, of course, he did it in a wonderful way that was a tribute to how each of them were in the show.”

Midway through the song, Menzel works in Elphaba’s famous “Defying Gravity” riff, while Chenoweth hits one of Glinda’s iconic high notes. “ ‘One Short Day’ is just one big Easter egg after another,” Schwartz says.

Who else makes 'Wicked' cameos with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande?

In addition to Menzel and Chenoweth, theater fans may spot other beloved “Wicked” stage alums including Kerry Ellis and Dianne Pilkington. “There’s a lot of Elphabas and Glindas in there from the past, although you’ll have to go searching for them,” Chu teases.

Schwartz appears as an Emerald City guard who proclaims, “The Wizard will see you now!” Holzman also pops in during a crowd scene with a giant wig and says, "He must be a wizard!"

“You are such a good actress that you're unrecognizable,” Schwartz jokes. “And I'm such a bad actor that even if you stick a great big mustache on my face, everyone still knows it's me.”

Holzman says it was “a minor miracle” to get both Chenoweth and Menzel to the London set on the same day, as they were preparing for upcoming Broadway productions of “The Queen of Versailles” and “Redwood,” respectively. But it ultimately proved to be extremely emotional for everyone involved, watching as the “Wicked” veterans danced and sang alongside the next generation of witches.

“We cried through the whole night,” Schwartz says. “First of all, Ariana and Kristin are very close,” having met backstage at “Wicked” when Grande was just 10. “And then to see Idina and Cynthia together was very sentimental. It was beautiful."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Wicked' movie spoilers: Breaking down those 'sentimental' cameos