What The Ladies From The Original Broadway Cast Of Wicked Look Like Today

Long before Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took on the iconic roles of Glinda and Elphaba, there was Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. They originally starred in "Wicked" when it debuted on Broadway in 2003, making green skin, the bouncy hit "Popular," and the chill-inducing "Defying Gravity" part of pop culture. Fast forward to 2024, and the film version shattered box office records and introduced a wider audience to all things "Wicked." From Ariana Grande's red-carpet outfits that screamed Glinda to OPI's "Wicked" nail polish collection that we tried, the world caught "Wicked" fever. And there was even an homage to the original stars, as Chenoweth and Menzel had cameos as singers in Oz in the film adaptation.

While the duo don't appear in the sequel, "Wicked: For Good," we can still hold a candle for the sensational stage stars, along with Michelle Federer, who played Nessarose, as we look back at what the ladies from the original broadway cast looked like then and now.

Idina Menzel's path toward being dubbed the "Queen of Broadway" began in 1996 when she was cast as Maureen in "Rent." For the role, which earned her a Tony nomination, she wore her brown hair voluminous and curly. When she took on the role of Elphaba eight years later, she wore her brunette locks beneath a long brown-black wig, to complement the now-iconic green face and body paint. For Menzel's most notable role, we don't actually see her at all: She's the voice of Elsa and "Let It Go" in Disney's "Frozen" franchise.

In 2025, she returned to Broadway in "Redwood" (which closed in May of that same year), wearing her signature brown hair parted in the center and curled. She has also attended other public events wearing it long and sleek, as she did when she performed at the Stand Up For Heroes Benefit in New York City in November 2025 looking sensational at age 54.

By the time Kristin Chenoweth played the role of Glinda in "Wicked," she had already won a Tony award. The play's writer Stephen Schwartz actually had her in mind when he was writing the musical. And somehow the idea of Glinda pink matches with her perfectly, even though the original stage-Glinda wore blue. Chenoweth often amplifies her bubbly personality by wearing pink, including the top she wore with a pink sequin heart on it for "The Music Man" premiere in 2003. She coordinated it with fuchsia lipstick, one of the best lipstick colors to wear with an ultra-femme pink outfit.

In 2025, at age 57, she returned to Broadway, this time starring in "Queen of Versailles," which has her in pink sequins yet again. She posed backstage at the show in November, showing that she still gives pink-obsessed Ariana Grande a run for her money.

Playing the role of Elphaba's younger sister Nessarose was Michelle Federer's Broadway debut. Other than kickstarting her career at a major level, being part of the "Wicked" cast also introduced her to her husband Norbert Leo Butz, who played the role of Fiyero, later taken on for the film by People's 2025 Sexiest Man Alive, Jonathan Bailey. In an Instagram tribute, Butz wrote of meeting his wife on set, "For me, that show was all about this amazing woman, the OG Nessarose, #michellefederer Yes I fell hard for the Wicked Witch of the East, the tragically beautiful Nessa."

After "Wicked," Federer went on to star in other plays and play bit parts in movies and TV shows. She showed a penchant for wearing jewel tones on the red carpet, being a fan of minimal makeup, and letting her long brown hair wave gently. From the 2003 opening night of "Wicked" through to the latest snaps of her taken in April 2025, we can see that Federer has aged beautifully.