Ariana Grande Still Remembers the 'Magical Body Wash' Kristin Chenoweth Gifted Her 20 Years Ago atWicked(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana Grandehad a “magical” early encounter withKristin Chenoweth.

About two decades before playing bubbly Glinda the Good Witch in the movie musicalWicked(in theaters Nov. 22), Grande, 31, met the role’s Broadway originator backstage.

Chenoweth, 56, gave the then-10-year-old “a little magical body wash” and “a little wand,” the singer-actress tells PEOPLE. “I think it was magical because look at where we are now!”

“I loved it so much,” says Grande of seeing the Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman musical and meeting the “kind” original cast members backstage with her grandmother in 2003. “My chemistry as a person permanently altered,” she says, adding that she separates life into “two chapters: before and after seeingWicked.”

Kristin Chenoweth and Ariana Grande on Oct. 28.Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty

Body wash and a wand aren’t the only things the “Yes, And?” singer remembers from the formative experience. Chenoweth’s “dog peed on the couch and I helped her clean it up,” she recalls.

Jonathan Bailey, who plays Winkie prince Fiyero in Chu’s films, chimes in to inquire about the body wash: “Didn’t you have one of those on set?”

“The pee?” quips Grande.

Ariana Granda and Cynthia Erivo in ‘Wicked’.Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

She clarifies that she did keep another memento from 20 years ago, a lip gloss from Stila Cosmetics’ collaboration with theWickedmusical. “Can’t be good to use,” she says. “It’s got to be poison. It’s old, but I did have it with me for a little extra magic.”

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Bailey, who launched his acting career on stages in his native England as a child, tells PEOPLE that he also saw Menzel play Elphaba, in London. “I was a massive, massive fan as well,” says the actor, 36. “It was incredible. I remember the orchestration — the music, I think, was the thing that I kept coming back to.”

Grande, who made her Broadway debut in the musical13in 2008, hasremained closewith Chenoweth, especially during theWickedmovie auditionprocess.

Speaking to PEOPLE in October, Chenoweth said she “couldn’t be more excited for” Grande. “She’s wickedly funny, a fantastic actor and she’s going to get the opportunity to show it in this part.”

Wicked: Part Oneis in theaters Nov. 22, withPart Twoslated for Nov. 26, 2025. Go behind the scenes ofWickedwith PEOPLE’s new special issue, availablehere.

source: people.com