‘Live With Kelly and Mark’ Previews Post-Oscars Episode, Including Ambitious ‘Wicked’ Parody That Fooled Even Kelly Ripa’s Daughter (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Kelly Ripa makes for a pretty convincing Glinda. A few weeks ago the host was in costume as the “Wicked” character — as portrayed by Ariana Grande in the film — while taping the opening to the upcoming “Live with Kelly and Mark” post-Oscars episode. “The makeup and hair was so real that I FaceTimed Mark, and I FaceTimed my daughter and my daughter’s best friend, and fooled them,” Ripa told Variety. “They thought they were talking to Ariana Grande.

Then I opened my mouth, and their entire energy shifted. They were back to treating me like me. Ripa’s husband and co-host Mark Consuelos backed her up: “Yeah, we thought she was Ariana Grande!” (Scroll down to watch the full open.) Executive producer Michael Gelman said he was worried that Ripa’s transformation was almost too perfect: “At first I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness.

Kelly looks so good that people are going to think that it’s the real thing and not a takeoff,” he said. “But then you could tell that it’s Kelly.

Kelly and Mark both really hit it out of the park doing this. And our makeup and hair team and our producers, who edit that together with the green screens and special effects, it’s just huge.” Added Ripa: “It’s extraordinary, and I don’t like to sing our own praises, but it is inspired.