Behind the Scenes: The Green Magic of Transforming Elphaba in Wicked

Transforming Cynthia Erivo into Elphaba for the Wicked movies was a huge challenge for make-up artists Alice Jones and Olivia Jerrard. Every day, they spent three hours making sure Cynthia looked just right as the famous green witch. They used an air brush machine to paint her skin green, and they had to make sure the color looked natural on camera, even though it was very bright. The artists worked at Sky Studios Elstree and in Ivinghoe, starting their days as early as 3 a. m. to get everything ready before filming began.

One of the hardest parts was covering up Cynthia's tattoos and her 25 ear piercings. Instead of removing the piercings every day, which would have taken too long, Olivia used prosthetic ears to hide them. The make-up process also included layering different shades of green, applying a wig with tiny braids, and putting on long green and black nails. Sometimes, Cynthia had her make-up, wig, and nails done all at once, which the artists described as feeling like a game of twister.

The look of Elphaba changed between the two movies. In the first film, the make-up was lighter to show Elphaba's innocence. In the second, the make-up was darker to show her power and maturity. Cynthia was very involved in creating her character's look, choosing the braided wig and dramatic nails. Alice and Olivia said that Cynthia made Elphaba unique and iconic in her own way. The set was always busy, and the make-up team had to work quickly so they wouldn't slow down filming. Seeing fans react positively to their work made all the hard work worth it. The artists said that working on such a big movie in England was exciting, and they felt lucky to be part of it. They also enjoyed seeing how the sets, like Munchkinland and the Emerald City, were built so quickly. The make-up artists said that the sacrifices they made, like working long hours, felt meaningful when they saw how much fans loved the movie.