Cynthia Erivo Shares Her Thoughts on Playing Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway

Cynthia Erivo in 2025; Erivo as Elphaba in a ‘Wicked: For Good’ scene.

Credit : Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

NEED TO KNOW

• Wicked: For Good star Cynthia Erivo recently discussed the possibility of reprising her role as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway.
• Her response garnered a heartfelt reaction from the hosts of The View.
• Erivo made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple in 2015, winning Best Actress in a Musical at the 2016 Tony Awards.

Cynthia Erivo addressed the future of her role as Elphaba, stating she is unlikely to reclaim the iconic broom and pointed hat after her performance in Wicked: For Good.

During an appearance on The View, Erivo was asked if she would consider taking on Elphaba again for Broadway’s stage production. The 38-year-old actress explained her reasoning.

“I feel like it would be a little selfish,” Erivo said. “We’ve been given such a gift with this [film] version, and everyone is seeing it. It’s in everybody’s houses right now, and people can go to the cinema and see it.”

She further elaborated, stating, “What’s wonderful about this particular film now is that I think it provides more room for other women to go do [the role on Broadway].”

Cynthia Erivo (right) with Idina Menzel, who originated the role of Elphaba in ‘Wicked’ on Broadway, at the Tony Awards in June 2024.

Theo Wargo/Getty

Erivo’s perspective that the film version of Wicked may encourage more women to take on the role of Elphaba earned warm nods from the hosts of The View.

“[It gives] someone else the opportunity,” Joy Behar responded, while Sunny Hostin remarked, “That is so generous, so generous.”

Behar added, “You’re not only wonderful — you’re a terrific person.”

Idina Menzel originated the role of Elphaba on Broadway in 2003, with numerous actresses stepping into the character’s shoes since then, including Stephanie J. Block, Shoshana Bean, Lindsay Mendez, and Jessica Vosk.

The current Elphaba is Lencia Kebede, who is noted for being the first Black actress to play the role full-time on Broadway, having debuted in March.

Lencia Kebede, the current Elphaba in ‘Wicked’ on Broadway, in November 2025.

John Nacion/Variety via Getty

Erivo, who debuted on Broadway as Celie in a revival of The Color Purple in 2015, won the award for Best Actress in a Musical at the 2016 Tony Awards.

In her upcoming work, Erivo will portray 23 characters in a one-woman play of Dracula in London’s West End.

“I’m f—— petrified. I really am. I’m very scared,” Erivo shared with her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey. “But I’m also like — I don’t know, is this sadistic of me — but I’m really excited about it as well. It’s absolutely nonsensical and insane.”

In addition to Dracula, Erivo is slated to work on Suzie Miller’s stage-to-screen adaptation of Prima Facie and Tomi Adeyemi’s cinematic rendition of Children of Blood and Bone, scheduled for release on January 15, 2027.