In a musical theater twist we never saw coming, we were just reminded that Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph has a very special connection to a well-loved musical.
The Emmy Award nominee was on hand to celebrate the fourth annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 19, and she spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about what movie she was excited to see before the year ends. This led Sheryl to passionately talk about her excitement about the upcoming Wicked movie, out in theaters on November 22, 2024. But as she talked about how thrilled she was for the upcoming musical movie adaptation, she revealed that she had been in the Broadway show portraying an essential character to the story of how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West.
"OK, I'm waiting for Wicked. I really am," she told the outlet in a clip posted on TikTok. "Having done Wicked on Broadway, playing Madame Morrible, I'm very excited to see Wicked."
Upon learning Sheryl's surprise tidbit about her connection to Wicked, it didn't take long for folks to comment their thoughts on the subject.
"Oh I bet she was so good, she's an amazing singer," one person wrote in the comments. "I didn't know she was in it 😭😭😭😭," another cried. "She should have been in the movie," a different follower added.
For fans who may not know, Playbill reported Sheryl portrayed the headmistress at Shiz University on Broadway from November 2016 until May 2017. She also documented her time working on the popular musical in the form of an eight-episode vlog series for Broadway.com, which was aptly called Call Me Madame: Backstage at 'Wicked.' And if that wasn't enough for you, Essence revealed Sheryl made Broadway history as the first Black actress to portray the role on the Great White Way since its 2003 debut.
It's also cool to note Sheryl's career on the Broadway stage started back in 1980, when she was in the Broadway production of Reggae. She later portrayed Deena Jones in the original musical Dreamgirls and was nominated for a Best Actress in a Musical at the 1982 Tony Awards. She also would grace the stage in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002) and produce the plays Thoughts of a Colored Man (2021) and Ohio State Murders (2022).
We can't wait to hear Sheryl's thoughts on the movie!
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
