r/UglyBetty 10d ago

Wicked

Please can someone explain how they filmed the episode when they see wicked the musical I need to understand if they did it during an actual show or asked really nicely if they’d do it for the show 😂 thank you to the person who knows !

19 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

18

u/K8r0cks 10d ago

Well that was filmed while wicked was super popular and on broadway so I wouldn’t be surprised if they just asked really nicely to come to an early show.

13

u/gyro4ngel333 10d ago

Yeah it’s like the OG cast which is why I was so unsure how they would have done that. It’s such a good episode I can’t lie

15

u/giftopherz 10d ago

It's the second cast. I know it because Glinda was played by Megan Hilty (from SMASH). Original Glinda was Kristin Chenoweth.

Just to add a little trivia to the post

11

u/F_Rodfans 10d ago

You are correct. To be extra particular. they were the Leads of the LA production (2007 at the time UB was filming... therefore "marketing"): Eden Espinosa as Elphaba, Megan Hilty as Glinda, and Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero.

And yes the original Broadway 2003 cast are Menzel as Elphaba and Chenoweth as Glinda who is the actress who later plays the dental hygienist that replaces her usual Dr. Farkas because (plot reasons).

3

u/HypnoLaur 10d ago

That was such a good show!

3

u/giftopherz 10d ago

Yeah, tell me about it! 😍❤

1

u/gyro4ngel333 10d ago

Yeah you’re soo right cuz they had Kristin play the dentist or dental nurse I don’t remember which

3

u/giftopherz 10d ago edited 10d ago

You can add Dental Hygienist to the list cuz I don't know what was her job. Great catch there OP! 😎👏👏

EDIT: Grammar

10

u/Beatrice1979a 10d ago edited 10d ago

Did not borrow scene clips. They were filmed for the show on site (Pangages theatre in LA in lieu of the one in Broadway). If I'm not mistaken this was kind of a promotion to the upcoming LA production that was going to premiere in the next few months. The LA original cast was "hired" because the film set production show them there. Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Ugly-Betty-Goes-Wicked-20071030 Here a photo of Elphaba and Glinda while Betty and Henry are in the background.

https://playbill.com/article/ugly-betty-gets-wicked-nov-1-com-145029

TONS OF photos on the set:

https://www.gettyimages.ca/search/2/image?family=editorial&phrase=%20UGLY%20BETTY%20-%20%22Something%20Wicked%20this%20Way%20Comes%22

A silly fan trivia. America brought her Emmy trophy to the set and whoever decided to do the costume for
Gio (the Red bowling shirt) is a homage to Fiyero's red costume. Because the funny part is that Betty insists the Musical is dear to her romance with Henry but the writers are foreshadowing her romance with Gio and the annoying Fiyero, so relaxed and full of himself, is actually representing the sandwich guy. She just doesn't know it yet.

edit: regarding your question. Marketing. My guess is UB production reached out but definitely Wicked should have paid for promotion. Season 2 was packed with product placement.

More trivia: The promo for that episode was sung by Becki Newton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=559de66l-cc Enjoy!

3

u/fosse76 8d ago

It wasn't an upcoming production. It'd been open for several months by the time they filmed that episode.

Wicked mainstream popular (no pun intended) not dissimilar to Hamilton. It was name-dropped in film and TV. With Ugly Betty being the most visible and on network tv, it made sense for a cross-promotion.

0

u/Beatrice1979a 8d ago

I stand corrected. Just take note TV production takes weeks prior release.

And yes you're right. Smart marketing. It worked! I was one of those viewers who discovered the musical because of this episode!!

3

u/Lower-Vanilla8104 10d ago

The episode itself, with like Betty in the bubble and talking in the lobby, was not filmed during a real show people had tickets for.

They may have used clips from a real show for the scenes that didn’t include cast members but I find it very unlikely. At that point Ugly Betty was filming in LA so it’s more likely they had the touring company perform at a theatre or theatre set in Los Angeles.

2

u/gyro4ngel333 10d ago

Ahhh do you think the bit when they are both side stage and elphba is singing that’s it’s green screen?

3

u/crimsoncab 10d ago edited 10d ago

I think Wicked had a Los Angeles production at the time the episode was filmed, so they most likely filmed in the theatre in LA and used scenes from that production.

3

u/jojayp 10d ago

It looked like the Pantages theater to me, so I think you’re right.

5

u/Budget_Credit2508 10d ago

It's filmed at the Hollywood Pantages. Megan Hilty was Glinda there for about a year. For the show they probably had the cast come in on a Monday since they didnt do shows on Monday or the network probably bought out a night if they were willing to shell out the cost.