On March 2, Hollywood’s best and brightest gathered in the Dolby Theatre wearing their glitziest finery for the most important event in show business: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo singing “Defying Gravity” live onstage together for the first time. The backdrop to this monumental occasion was the 97th annual Academy Awards, which opened with a Musical Dorothy Gale Force Showdown. Grande wore a sparkly red gown evoking Dorothy’s ruby slippers, and sang maybe the most iconic song in film history, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Then, Erivo took the stage, singing the next-most-iconic Dorothy track, “Home” from The Wiz, a perfect song for the vocal stylings of Erivo.
But these two numbers — and perhaps 97 years of film history — were just leading up to “Defying Gravity” from Wicked: Part One. They did the “if we work in tandem” part together, before Grande stepped back for Erivo to let out her battle cry. You would think this was the musical high point of the evening … but wait until you see host Conan O’Brien’s “I Won’t Waste Time” song. There’s a sand worm playing the piano. I’d like to see Dr. Dillamond try to play the piano. Those hooves would be clompin’.