Ariana Grande hopes to do more musical theater following her work on “Wicked.”
Grande, 31, shared her desire to move away from pop stardom during an appearance on the “Las Culturistas” podcast Wednesday with her “Wicked” co-star Bowen Yang and his co-host Matt Rogers.
“It is my heart,” she said of musical theater. Grande stars as Glinda the Good Witch in the film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical. Before becoming a pop star, Grande got her start in “13: The Musical” before rising to stardom on Nickelodeon playing Cat Valentine on “Victorious.”
“I’m gonna say something so scary — it’s gonna scare the absolute s**t out of my fans and everyone, but I love them, and they’ll deal, and we’ll be here forever,” Grande said.
“I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise. But I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years.”
The “7 Rings” singer revealed that starring in “Wicked” helped her reconnect with her beginnings in theater. She also added that she loves comedy and finds it healing to find roles that take those parts of herself “and put them in little homes and characters and bits and voices and songs.”
“Whatever makes sense, or whatever roles we see fit, or where I could really do a good job or honor the material, I would really love to. I think it’s a lot better for me,” she explained while getting emotional.
“Wicked: Part One” hits theaters on Nov. 22, while the second installment, “Wicked: Part Two” is set to be released on Nov. 26, 2025.
