Cynthia Erivo, who played Elphaba in Universal’s two-part film adaptation of Wicked, has crossed to the other side of Oz. Hosting Saturday Night Live UK on Saturday, October 24, the Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner played Glinda in a sketch called “Nigerian Wicked,” a parody of the musical in the style of a Nollywood film trailer.
Ayoade Bamgboye played Elphaba opposite Erivo, while Hammed Animashaun voiced the Wizard, here recast as the Wizard of LagOz. The indie rock band Blossoms were the episode’s musical guests, according to BroadwayWorld.
What happens in Cynthia Erivo’s Nigerian Wicked sketch?
As Variety reported, Erivo’s Glinda arrives in a blonde wig and a pink velour tracksuit for a deliberately lo-fi, melodramatic take on the story. The two witches set off to meet the Wizard, and where the musical lets the rivals air their mutual loathing in the song “What Is This Feeling,” this Glinda simply slaps Elphaba across the face. When they finally reach the Wizard, they discover that he is broke.
Why is Cynthia Erivo playing Glinda a treat for Wicked fans?
Erivo is closely tied to the green side of the story. She starred as Elphaba in director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, which opened on November 22, 2024, and in its second part, Wicked: For Good, which followed on November 21, 2025. BroadwayWorld notes that the first film became the highest-grossing movie based on a Broadway musical at the domestic box office. Erivo won a Grammy for “Defying Gravity” with Ariana Grande, who played Glinda in the films.
Playing the bubbly blonde for laughs, opposite a new green-skinned Elphaba, gave Erivo a chance to send up the role her co-star made famous on screen.
Where is Wicked playing on Broadway?
The original stage musical that inspired both films is still running on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre. It follows Elphaba and Glinda from their first meeting as students to a friendship tested by ambition, loyalty and public opinion. Read our full guide to Wicked on Broadway.
What else was in Cynthia Erivo’s SNL UK episode?
The episode, the sixth of the show’s second series on Sky One in the U.K., also featured Erivo’s opening monologue, a sketch called “The Cher Witch Project” and the comedy show’s own Weekend Update segment, according to the British Comedy Guide. The SNL UK cast includes Animashaun, Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring and George Fouracres, among others.
Photo at top: McKenzie Kurtz as Glinda, Alyssa Fox as Elphaba and the company of Wicked on Broadway in 2023. Photo: Joan Marcus.
About the author
Miles covers international and touring theater, including Broadway news, for The Broadway Guide.