The big-screen adaptation of “Wicked,” starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the famed young witches Elphaba and Glinda, is filled with all sorts of easter eggs and nods to the hit Broadway musical as well as “The Wizard of Oz.” But one detail of the film caught the eye of Grande’s fanbase in particular.
The Universal movie, directed by Jon M. Chu, began screening for press, critics and influencers last month, and as audience members shared their rave reviews and first reactions on social media, fans quickly noticed that Grande is billed “Ariana Grande-Butera” in the film’s end credits.
It doesn’t take more than cursory Google search to educate the uninitiated, but Grande-Butera is the Grammy-winning superstar’s birth name. (Grande was born June 26, 1993, in Boca Raton, Fla., to businesswoman Joan Grande and graphic designer Edward Butera.) Still, it’s a conspicuous addition since Grande has never used her full name professionally.
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As the “Wicked” world press tour kicked off on Sunday in Australia, Grande was asked about the credit during an interview for “The Streaming Service” podcast (hosted by entertainment reporter Justin Hill).
“I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me. I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways, through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba,” Grande explained, glancing at Erivo, who was seated next to her. “And, you know, that was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old. And it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full circle, and it just felt like something I wanted to do.”
Grande kicked off her career as a teenager, starring in the 2008 musical “13” before becoming a household name as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” and “Sam and Cat.” Grande parlayed those early successes to become one of the bestselling music artists of all time — a pop music career marked by nine Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits and two Grammy wins (from 15 nominations), among other accolades.
In addition to music, Grande has continued to pursue acting, appearing in films like 2016’s “Zoolander 2” and 2021’s “Don’t Look Up,” as well as lending her voice to animated movies such as “Snowflake, the White Gorilla” (2013) and “Sing” (2016). “Wicked” marks Grande’s most significant acting role, but it’s not her first Broadway-inspired performance. She also played Penny Pingleton in the NBC TV broadcast of “Hairspray Live!” in 2016, which also starred Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda in “Wicked” on Broadway.
But, Grande’s decision to use both her mother and father’s last names for the film is significant as she and Butera have had periods of estrangement over the years since her parents’ divorce. However, she and her dad have since reconciled, with Butera joining Ariana and Joan Grande on the red carpet at the 2020 Grammys.
As Grande noted, “Wicked” opened on Broadway in 2003 and went on to win 10 Tony Awards, including the prize for best musical. Grande began pursuing the role of Glinda in the film adaptation when she turned 20 in 2013.
“It was literally 10 years of being like, ‘Knock, knock, any developments? Is there an audition coming this year, or next year? I would like to start preparing today,’” she told Vanity Fair, admitting to playfully “stalking” the film’s producer Marc Platt for updates on the movie, before winning the role of a lifetime in 2021.
“My first day on set for ‘Wicked’ was the most emotional day of my life,” Grande told Variety’s Marc Malkin at the Met Gala earlier this year. “All I remember was holding hands with Cynthia and Jon and crying. And [Jon] saying, ‘Welcome to “Wicked.”‘”
“Wicked” hits theaters on Nov. 22.
