‘Wicked’ stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande open Oscars 2025 with a high-flying medley

nypost.com:

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande brought their characters — and their tunes — from the hit movie musical to life at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.Erivo and Grande — nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively — performed a medley of tunes from across the “Wizard of Oz” universe to open Hollywood’s biggest night.First Grande, decked out in a ruby red gown, sang “Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.” Then, Erivo, dressed in a white gown with adornments, belted out “Home” from “The Wiz” stage and screen adaptations.

And the two divas brought it home with a showstopping rendition of “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked.”Follow The Post’s live updates from the Oscars 2025 for winners, red carpet pics and moreIt was a theater kid fantasy that brought a little bit of the Tonys to the Oscars.Second only to the 13 nods for “Emilia Pérez,” “Wicked” landed 10 Oscar nominations, tying with “The Brutalist.” In addition to Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, the movie is up for Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score.However, none of the film’s tunes were eligible for Best Original Song since they were written by Stephen Schwartz for the stage production that opened on Broadway in 2003.And in a change from years past, none of this year’s Best Original Song nominees will be performed during the awards ceremony.But “Wicked” gave the show a broom-flying boost to start the night.