For those who are unaware, “Defying Gravity” is the Act 1 conclusion of the beloved musical “Wicked,” an anthem of empowerment and freedom that’s become one of theater’s greatest ballads and maybe one of the most challenging songs for any actress to sing. Cynthia Erivo , who plays Elphaba and sings the song in the long-awaited film adaptation, knew, on a technical level, this would be the most difficult part of taking on the role, but nonetheless knew how important it would be to get it right. While speaking at a recent Q&A at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles on Friday night, Erivo discussed the process of building her character towards “Defying Gravity,” but how her efforts were delayed by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“‘Defying Gravity’ was like a massive journey for me,” said Erivo. “I think from the very beginning, I kind of knew that I wanted Elphaba’s voice to grow. I like to make a big sound — Cynthia likes to make that sound.
I knew that Elphaba had to earn it. I knew that she didn’t know what that sound was yet and so it takes her a second to get to that point. It takes her a second to get to ‘Defying Gravity.
’ She has to learn a lot. She has to go through a lot before she can get to singing, ‘It’s me’ and telling people, ‘So if you care to find me, look to the western sky,’ it takes her a second before she can get to that. But the journey to get to the actual song was long and complicated because it wa.