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4th grader wows 'Wicked' star with rendition of 'Defying Gravity'

Even if you've never seen the movie Wicked, you've heard Cynthia Erivo's rendition of the hit song, "Defying Gravity." When the first part of Wicked hit theaters in November 2024, the song quickly became the song of the season. Fans were blown away by Erivo's performance as Elphaba and her knockout vocals. Now, as the Wicked stars and fanbase celebrate the forthcoming release of part two, Wicked: For Good, one pint-sized fan decided to perform the song for her school talent show.

Ava Dargin, a fourth grader from Detroit, Michigan, went viral after her mom uploaded a video of the little girl singing "Defying Gravity" at her school talent show. It would seem Ava was channeling Cynthia Erivo, because such a big voice came from such a tiny body. To no one's surprise, the little girl won first place. Social media viewers were in awe of the little singer's talent, and so were various news outlets. It was The Today Show, thoughthat made Ava's dream come true. She got to meet the Wicked star in person before Erivo performed new music for the show's summer concert series.

@ravinlemar_ And Another One !!!!!! I’m so proud of my babygirl 💕🎶⭐️. #fyp#cynthiaerivo #daas #singing #explorepage #defyinggravity #viralvideo #talentshow ♬ original sound - Ravin Glass

It was clear that Ava was a little starstruck, as evidenced by her not really knowing what to say to the singer even when prompted with appropriate questions she could ask. She quietly smiled up at Erivo, but all the shyness went out the window when Carson Daly suggests she sing a little bit from the song. This suggestion prompted Erivo to go a bit into protective mode by saying the request was putting the young girl on the spot. But it seems that singing is where Ava feels most comfortable because it didn't take any further prompting for her to belt out a line from the song.

Such a powerful voice coming out of a child so small had everyone watching in awe, including Erivo who admits, "I've got goosebumps!" Imagine being the little girl who sings a song so well that you gave the actual singer of the song goosebumps. That had to be a surreal experience for Ava whose classmates wouldn't believe if it hadn't been recorded in front of a national audience.

People are blown away by the little girl's big voice, leaving comments of praise and admiration for the family to read. One said, "Girl. whew. I'm crying! she did so good! Bravo baby! you keep defying gravity!"

Another can't get over Ava's breath control, writing, "The control she has over her oxygen, and vocals is crazy at her age!!!!"

"Girl she has me BAWLING like I’m watching Cynthia Erivo herself… she’s FABULOUS!!!" someone says.

"Just saw her on someone’s page. She is absolutely talented!! Her voice is so amazing and strong! I just know u cried! lol she’s a star. I hope Cynthia sees this," another person chimes in.

"The stage presence isn't being talked about enough bc aside from that beautiful talent she is very composed and uses her facial expressions perfectly. She needs to be on a stage or set," one person admires.

"She is clearly such a sweet girl! I've never been more proud of a complete stranger. you go girl! following and cheering you on from Toledo OH sis," someone else says.

Pop Culture

Definitive proof that 'Ted Lasso' is a real-world retelling of 'The Wizard of Oz'

Brett Goldstein recently revealed which characters represent the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion—and it's not who some fans expected.

Image credits: Public domain

Rearrange the syllables in "Dorothy" and you get "Theodore."

Ever since author L. Frank Baum first took us to the Emerald City in 1900, "The Wizard of Oz" has been the inspiration of countless stories, spin-offs, sequels, adaptations and other creative works. We got the soulful energy of "The Wiz," the thought-provoking origin story of "Wicked," the animated oddity of "Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz" and more. But one that people might not immediately recognize is the Emmy-winning series "Ted Lasso."

That's right, "Ted Lasso," the feel-good series about an inspirational American-football-turned-British-football coach, is actually an adaptation-of-sorts of "The Wizard of Oz." Of course, the penultimate "Ted Lasso" episode contained all kinds of direct references to the Land of Oz, including Ted's mother, Dottie (ahem, Dorothy), coming to visit, the "Wizard of Oz" themed pinball machine, the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in a movie scene the team is watching, Ted finding a single yellow Lego brick under the sofa, a tie-dyed t-shirt worn by Roy that's alludes to the yellow brick road in the original film and more. But it's not just that one episode that points to "The Wizard of Oz."

Brett Goldstein's commentary challenges some fan theories about how "Ted Lasso" characters line up with "The Wizard of Oz"

Sleuthy fans have long theorized that the whole series is a retelling of the Oz story, with certain "Ted Lasso" characters representing Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard and more. Opinions on who's who have varied, but Brett Goldstein, who plays the ever-gruff Roy Kent, revealed in an interview that the "Wizard of Oz" was indeed a big inspiration for the show and even specified how a few of the characters from the film and the series line up.

"Oh yeah, there's loads and loads of The Wizard of Oz in Ted Lasso," Goldstein told Entertainment Weekly. "I'm the Tin Man," he says, referring to his character on the show, Roy Kent. "Ted is Dorothy, Rebecca's the Lion, and the Scarecrow is Jamie."

Goldstein's revelation puts to rest some online debates in which people have speculated that Nate was supposed to be the Cowardly Lion and Rebecca was Glinda the Good Witch. Knowing that Rebecca was meant to be the Lion, perhaps Keeley was meant to be Glinda? Some see Rupert as the Wizard, while others say he's the Wicked Witch of the West. Then again, Nate could be the Wicked Witch (going to coach for West Ham). Or perhaps it's not all so cut and dry, and some of the characters are reflected in more than one person.

At any rate, in addition to the one episode that directly alluded to it, there are loads of Easter eggs dropped throughout the series that show how "The Wizard of Oz" played a major role in "Ted Lasso" characters arcs and storylines.

A non-exhaustive list of "Wizard of Oz" references in "Ted Lasso":

- Ted is short for Theodore. If you rearrange the syllables of Theodore, you get "Dorothy."

- Ted comes from Kansas and even says "I got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" upon his and Coach Beard's in the U.K.

- Ted left his ex-wife Michelle and son Henry back in the states. Michelle = "M" as in Auntie Em, and of course, Uncle Henry.

- Ted frequently wears red Nikes, like his own ruby slippers.

- In addition to Ted's red sneakers, Rebecca donned Louboutin heels with their signature ruby red soles.

- Ted's perfectly rectangular shortbread cookies seem an awful lot like yellow bricks.

- Roy has stiff joints, rarely smiles and doesn't say a lot, like the Tin Man before Dorothy oiled him.

- Jamie starts off the series as a dolt—albeit a beautiful one—but grows more thoughtful over time, like the Scarecrow.

- Rebecca's power pose where she makes herself big looks an awful lot like the Cowardly Lion trying to appear scary when he first appears in "The Wizard of Oz." She definitely grew in courage to take on her powerful ex-husband.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

- Coach Beard, Ted's loyal ride-or-die companion, is most definitely Toto.

- Dr. Sharon Fieldstone rode her bike around being mean to people, just like the grumpy neighbor in Kansas, who turned out to be the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz. Some people have theorized that Dr. Fieldstone represents The Great and Powerful Oz, seemingly a magician who can fix anything (or anyone) but very much a human once the curtain is pulled back.

- Ted clicked the heels of his red sneakers together while dancing in the finale.

- "There's no place like home" appeared on the soccer pitch ad space.

Undoubtedly, there are more nods to Oz in the show, and superfans will likely continue making their arguments for which characters represent whom in the series and why. But thanks to Brett Goldstein, we now we know for sure that the "Wizard of Oz" parallels were intentional, much to the delight of all who love both the movie and the TV series.

Popular

'Wicked' is becoming a political Rorschach test and so many people are missing the point

Watching “Wicked” through a partisan lens is inherently problematic.

Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande plays Glinda in Jon M. Chu's "Wicked" adaptation.

Like millions of others, I recently watched Jon M. Chu's long-awaited movie adaptation of "Wicked," a musical prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" that offers an origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West. Plenty has been said about the film—the performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the stunning sets, the fun choreography, the questionable lighting— but I'm much more intrigued by people's strangely partisan responses to the story.

As we walked out of the movie theater, someone commented on how "timely" the story was, "considering everything happening in the current political climate." I assumed I knew what they meant, but after reading scores of reactions to the film, I realized I had no clue. People watching the exact same film are walking away with very different ideas about who the characters and the plot represent, with some seeing Donald Trump in the Wizard (a charlatan who feigns being great and powerful) and some seeing him in Elphaba (a misunderstood outsider challenging the establishment).

Unsurprisingly, people seem to be viewing it through polarized partisan lenses, and hoo boy, does that color what they are seeing.

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How are people walking out of "Wicked" with totally opposite political interpretations?

There's no question that the story of "Wicked" is political, tackling fascism, populism, charlatanism, scapegoating and manipulation of the masses. The protagonist, Elphaba, is someone who has been "othered," a victim of prejudice and propaganda, who sees the pathetic reality of "the man behind the curtain" and courageously thwarts his plot to make himself more powerful. What and who the storyline and characters represent in our "current political climate" is open to interpretation, however, and people are coming to polar opposite conclusions.

You know the famous Rorschach inkblot test used to analyze how people interpret what they're seeing? "Wicked" appears to be a film version of that for American politics.

Partisan lenses cause people to oversimplify a story that is purposefully complex

Everything stemming from those opposing interpretations colors how people view the rest of the film, with both sides insisting they have rock solid evidence for their viewpoint. However, the partisan lenses that lead people to feel more certain that their side is the right side—the "good" side—entirely misses the point.

Rorschach inkblotThe first inkblot in the Rorschach test.Public domain

The show explores multiple themes, but the biggie is that “good” and “evil” are complex and nuanced concepts. What appears to be evil or good is influenced by people's motivations, perceptions, prejudices, relationships, self-interest, propaganda, power, sense of the greater good, etc. The deep dive into the complexity of how those things influence what—and whom—we view as good or evil is what makes the show so beautifully compelling. The three times I saw "Wicked" on stage, I came away delightfully awed by how it made me question my biases and beliefs.

If you walk out of "Wicked" more certain about your worldview, you're missing the point.

The point of "Wicked" is that good vs. evil narratives are overly simplistic. Not only is everyone capable of good and evil, but having the full context is vital in determining what is actually good or evil—and even then, it's not always clear. As we will see in Part 2, even Glinda's opening question, "Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" proves to be overly simplistic because sometimes what is "wicked" is in the eye of the beholder. Ultimately, the show implores us to question what we believe about others and recognize how easy it is to be influenced by propaganda and fear-mongering. We aren't meant to come away more certain of our views.

That's not to say there aren't objectively good or evil actions or that some people don't indulge their evil tendencies more than their good. But there's a lot more gray area than our black-and-white public discourse, with its viral soundbites and hot takes and incentivized sensationalism, acknowledges.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Prejudice makes us easy to control

Another big takeaway from "Wicked" is that people in positions of power will exploit our prejudices and manipulate our perceptions of good and evil to achieve their purposes. That's a message for all of us, not just for the people we believe are being deluded by populist politicians or unscrupulous media outlets. If anyone of any political persuasion walks out of “Wicked” thinking, “That's right! THOSE people are being duped by propaganda from evil leaders masquerading as great and powerful,” without recognizing how they themselves might just be in the same boat, they’ve missed the point. If people walk out more confident that their political side is "good" and the other side is "evil," no matter what side of the spectrum they’re on, they’ve also missed the point.

"Wicked" asks us to untangle ourselves from the prejudices and biases that make us easy to manipulate, and that starts with seeing the inherent potential for good and evil that we all share. If we continue to toss nuance and complexity out the window in favor of simplistic narratives about one another, if we refuse to try to acknowledge that we might not be as right as we think we are and others might not be as wrong as we think they are, we might as well just be flying monkeys.

The North Carolinians trying to take down their state's new anti-LGBT "bathroom law" just got a huge assist from Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist of the Broadway smash-hit "Wicked."

I got you. GIF from "Wicked."


The law, which was passed in response to Charlotte's LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance, revokes that statute and forces transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex as assigned at birth.

Schwartz, who also wrote music and lyrics for "Pippin" and "Godspell," has declared his entire catalog off-limits to theaters in the state until the law is repealed.


Stephen Schwartz. Photo by Rommel Demano/Getty Images.

He's also urging his fellow Broadway writers and producers to join him.

...and it's pretty hard to argue with the case he makes in a letter obtained by BroadwayWorld.com:

"To my fellow theatre writers and producers: As you no doubt know, the state of North Carolina has recently passed a reprehensible and discriminatory law. I feel that it is very important that any state that passes such a law suffer economic and cultural consequences, partly because it is deserved and partly to discourage other states from following suit.

Therefore, I and my collaborators are acting to deny the right to any theatre or organization based in North Carolina to produce any of our shows. We have informed our licensing organizations and touring producers of this, and I'm happy to say have met with compliance and approval from them.

In the 1970s, I, along with many other writers and artists, participated in a similar action against apartheid in South Africa, and as you know, this eventually proved to be very effective.

If you are in agreement, you may want to join me in refusing to license our properties to, or permit productions of our work by, theaters and organizations in North Carolina until this heinous legislation is repealed.

Thank you for considering this,

Stephen Schwartz"

Schwartz is far from alone in his plans to boycott the state now that HB2 is law.

Dozens of furniture buyers have announced plans to skip the High Point Market, a biannual trade show that brings more than $5 billion in revenue into North Carolina.

PepsiCo is one of a number of companies that have spoken out against the law. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

In addition, many businesses that have large footprints in the state, including American Airlines, Lowe's, and PayPal, have spoken out against the law. On Saturday, The Charlotte Observer reported that the CEO of PepsiCo had contacted Governor Pat McCrory to call for the law's repeal.

One thing's for sure: The North Carolina state legislators who passed the law are getting more than they bargained for.

...including a well-deserved kiss-off from witches of Oz:

GIF from "Wicked."

And like Glinda (Galinda?), a lot of North Carolinians couldn't be happier.