Cynthia Erivo’s two favourite movie musicals: “It’s just beautiful”
If you’ve logged onto any social media platform even just once in the past year, there’s a chance you’ve seen a video of Cynthia Erivo, her long-nailed hands grasping Ariana Grande’s as they sit in solidarity with each other to promote Wicked, and shortly after, its sequel, Wicked: For Good.
With unending comment threads theorising what really went down during filming to make the pair act as though they’ve been trauma-bonded, paired with a barrage of memes featuring Erivo tapping her shaved head or looking shocked, it’s easy to forget what a talented and accomplished performer the actor has always been.
She might be best known as Elphaba, but Erivo is just an Oscar short of being an Egot winner, having found significant acclaim across theatre, music, television, and cinema, but theatre was always her first love, with the early years of her career taking her to the West End and beyond, where she has performed in musicals like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Sister Act, and The Color Purple.
It’s only natural, then, that she would bring these musical talents to the big screen, proving herself to be an unforgettable star as the green-skinned Wicked Witch in Jon M Chu’s two-part cinematic extravaganza, providing an empathic look at the character’s life.
However, it was the impact of several musicals which inspired her to pursue such a career, and in conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, she once picked out the two she considers her favourites. In particular, she notes the influence of an 1980s musical in making her feel as though her dreams were not unthinkable.
Discussing 1989’s Polly, directed by Debbie Allen, Erivo said, “The original was called Pollyanna, and then they did a remake of the film, called Polly, and it had Phylicia Rashad in it. It was probably one of the first musical films I had ever seen that was fully… Pretty much almost fully cast of Black men and women and children.”
This was a turning point for a young Erivo, who noted, “I think it was one of the reasons I was like, ‘Oh, I can do musicals. I can be in them. This is cool’. And I love the music. I still remember the songs, and it’s been a while since I’ve watched it. I have the VHS of it. I don’t even know if they do it on DVD. I don’t know if you can even get it on iTunes. But I loved it.”
The made-for-television movie didn’t exactly go down as a classic, but Erivo will never forget the impact it had on her growing up, with its infectious musical numbers and powerful depiction of a young girl living in Alabama during the era of segregation, as did a Judy Garland classic: it would be criminal for her not to include something featuring the iconic The Wizard of Oz star.
“The 1954 version of A Star Is Born. Judy Garland in that role is unbelievable. She is heartbreaking, and that scene where she sings ‘The Man Who Got Away’… Just so gorgeous. It’s at that time in her life where really the role could’ve been reversed between her and her partner. It glazes heartbreak over the whole entire thing. It’s just beautiful, and she’s beautiful in it,” she gushed.
The first version of A Star is Born came in 1937 with Janet Gaynor in the leading role, but it has endured through three remakes, including Garland’s beloved version, a 1976 interpretation with Barbra Streisand, and most recently, an adaptation starring Lady Gaga. Erivo will always love Garland’s best, though, because she really was a true hero of the musical genre.
