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Ariana Grande uses her full name — Ariana Grande-Butera (Grande from her mother Joan Grande and Butera from her father Edward Butera) — in the credits for Wicked, in which she co-stars along Cynthia Erivo as Glinda. So, why does Ari ditch her stage name for this blockbuster film? The singer/actress opens up about the decision in a new interview.
During an appearance on "The Streaming Service with Justin Hill," Ariana said of using her government name, "Technically, it's my little girl name. Technically it's little Ari's name."
She added, "But, no, I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me. I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba and, you know, that was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old — and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full circle and it just felt like something I wanted to do."
Just a week ago, at a Wicked premiere, in which some of the Broadway cast were in attendance like Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, Ariana said of taking on the role of Glinda, "I'm so deeply grateful to be your movie Glinda and to stand alongside the most utterly astoundafying movie Elphaba @cynthiaerivo. My heart is very overwhelmed this morning and grateful to our Broadway family. it’s an honor to share Oz with you all forevermore."
Wicked is set to hit theaters on November 22nd.