Transcript

How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home'

From Variety · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 17 min · 2,391 words · 35 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home'", an episode of Variety published January 13, 2026 (17 min, about 2,391 words). It mentions 6 people, works and ideas, including Steven Schwartz, Ariana Grande, Wicked, No Place Like Home, Girl in the Bubble.

What this episode is about

The discussion focuses on the creative process behind the songs "The Girl in the Bubble" and "No Place Like Home" from the film adaptation of *Wicked*. Key points include the evolution of Glenda's character, the transition to a more orchestral sound in the second half of the story, and the influence of film director John Chu on the visual representation and arrangement of the music.

Key takeaways

  • Ariana Grande is Glinda incarnate—more than a role, it's a soulful internalization worthy of a Broadway badge.
  • Crafting 'Girl in the Bubble' reveals that character arcs aren't just scripted—they're also sonically orchestrated for depth.
  • The transformation from stage to screen proves that even the wisest of witches can't escape the perils of 'staged' theatrics.
  • Orchestration evolution reminds us: as characters evolve, so must their soundscape—it's not just music; it's narrative enhancement.
  • Even rough voice memos evolve into cinematic gold, showing that magic often starts with imperfections swirling in the air.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 3:00: Wicked, Girl in the Bubble, John Chu, Ariana Grande
  2. – 6:00: Ariana Grande
  3. – 9:00: Steven Schwartz, Ariana Grande
  4. – 12:00: No Place Like Home, Ariana Grande, Steven Schwartz, Girl in the Bubble
  5. – 16:49: Wicked, No Place Like Home

Notable quotes from "How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home'"

  • The, idea, to, do, Girl, in, the, Bubble, didn't actually come from John. It came as an impulse once we knew that we were doing two movies and that the arc of Glenda's story was going to be bigger than it is.
    about Girl in the Bubble · at
  • Sent it in. What I'm playing on the piano essentially gets transcribed so other people can play it. And then I sat down with Ariana and figured the key out and figured out what…
    about Steven Schwartz · at
  • Ariana heard it and she said, No, I don't want to do that. I want to be much closer to the original because I don't want people to feel, oh, this is Ariana Grande now playing…
    about Ariana Grande · at
  • When, you, feel, you, can't, fight, anymore, that's when you tell yourself there's no place like home. [singing] So that's that's the thing that I apologetically send in to everybody.
    about No Place Like Home · at
  • And now it includes the people who worked on the film and it's just expands and expands for Wicked the musical on stage and now Wicked the musicals in with the two films to become part of that ongoing legacy is an honor.
    about Wicked · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Steven Schwartz — Person · Referenced creator (composer/lyricist) and key speaker in the clip · 2 mentions · first at
    He is identified as the composer/lyricist of Wicked and discusses writing and shaping new songs for the film adaptation, including working with Ariana Grande and Cynthia.
  • Ariana Grande — Person · Referenced performer (actor/singer) and key subject of discussion · 5 mentions · first at
    Discussed as embodying Glinda for the film, recording vocals, and intentionally avoiding bringing her pop-star persona into the character performance.
  • John Chu — Person · Referenced director/filmmaker influencing musical staging · 2 mentions · first at
    Credited with a major contribution via the way he filmed/staged a musical sequence, which then drove arrangement/orchestration decisions.
    And just being oblivious to what's going on below her. Therefore, it needed to be sung about. John Chu's big contribution came in the sort of brilliant way that he filmed it. I…

Books & papers

  • Wicked — Book · Referenced work · 3 mentions · first at
    The musical 'Wicked' is the basis for the discussion about its adaptation into films and the creation of new songs.

Products & tech

  • No Place Like Home — Product · Case study · 5 mentions · first at
    A new song written for the film adaptation of 'Wicked', discussed in detail regarding its creation and evolution.
  • Girl in the Bubble — Product · Case study · 3 mentions · first at
    Another new song for the 'Wicked' film adaptation, highlighted for its creative process and technical execution.

Full transcript with timestamps

I think Ariana is always Glenda. Ariana found a way to internalize that character. Can we play that section in my demo? [singing]

Hi,, I'm, Steven, Schwarz, and, I, am, the composer and lyricist of Wicked for Good. Hi, I'm Steven Omis. I'm the executive music producer and conductor of Wicked for Good. This is Neil Shaw who's going to be playing things back for us on the computer.

The, idea, to, do, Girl, in, the, Bubble, didn't actually come from John. It came as an impulse once we knew that we were doing two movies and that the arc of Glenda's story was going to be bigger than it is in the show and events that happen offstage in the show were going to be on screen. It seemed clear that the big turning point for the character where she comes to the realization that she just can't go on floating above events and just being oblivious to what's going on below her. Therefore, it needed to be sung about. John Chu's big contribution came in the sort of brilliant way that he filmed it. I still don't actually know how technically [snorts] he did what he did and he won't tell me. But that led to some decisions that Steven and I and our music team made about the the arrangement and the orchestration but the actual writing of the song um just preceded all of that. The second

half of Wicked on Stage is much more orchestral driven. it has a much more intense orchestral sound compared to the the first half of of the show. Uh just the way that the the songs and the story and the characters evolved. So I think that once we knew exactly where these songs were going to be, it was really about kind of finding the overall orchestral sound for how we wanted to drive the songs and how we wanted to tell the story.

No, place, like, home, went, through, a, whole journey. many paths in terms both of what content is actually going to wind up in the movie. There was a whole intro that didn't get into the movie. There was a whole tag that didn't get into the movie and that we discovered over time and orchestrally. What's the feel of this? How pop is it? We went through a bunch of different stages. Girl in the Bubble was pretty defined from the beginning. Really all that changed from the demo that I sent in was there was there was an intro that we did shoot and record and then ultimately found the song played better without it and there was a lyric change in one verse. But essentially the demo that I recorded is is what we used. [singing]

Shiny, bubble., The, original, idea, was, that this angry chant of the all the the the enraged Oz populace saying go and find the witch and hunt her down and kill her is happening outside the window and Glenda has witnessed this and of course they're talking about her friend that she loves and she is trying to shut it out. So, I just want to say like this is my terrible out of tune voice memo that we always start with

the, raw, material very, very, raw., So,, everybody, just, has, to forgive the bad singing.

So,, this, is, the, angry, Oz, populace outside and now this is Glenda. That, was, the, original, idea., But, when, we saw it on screen, first of all, it felt stagy. It felt like the kind of thing that would work in a stage musical, but it felt contrived on screen. Why don't we play the the first verse just so

of, you? Yeah,, I, think, because, then, people, will hear what has to be fixed by having an actual singer like Ariana Grande.

Look, there's [singing] that beautiful girl with a beautiful [singing and music] life. Such a beautiful life built of lies. This is how I work. I write the song in my little at my piano in in my um music room in um up in Connecticut and then I literally put my phone in front of me and play it and sing it usually a little bit flat like that because I don't have autotune. No autotune.

Um, and, then, we, work, from, that., When, we saw the scene in the movie and saw sort of John's brilliant staging, there were moments that had more motion to them than maybe what we anticipated, but certainly then were reflected in the accomp in the accompaniment of the music. [singing]

So,, can, you, play, that, without, the, vocal? It's it's it's the eighth notes on the harp we we added to to so that there was motion. I don't know if you can hear that that way. Can we bring the harp up

so that there was motion? Originally it was just kind of har not quite glistes but um sprays that supported it and then I and I'm not hearing it here but I thought we added keyboard too.

We, did., Yeah., And, [clears throat], so was, that, mine?, Did, I, add, it, or, did, you?

Yeah. And then I, you know, played just just to help boost the the harp eighth notes so you could feel when she's running up the stairs that that there's some motion in it. This voice memo demo I know because it says so on my phone. I recorded on April 14th, 2022. Sent it in. What I'm playing on the piano essentially gets transcribed so other people can play it. And then I sat down with Ariana and figured the key out and figured out what felt comfortable for her. And then we went into rehearsals for the film uh for films, I should say.

Uh, in, September, of, 22. So, this, was, probably, shot, in, like, early 23. So, it's, almost, a, year, after, the, the, song gets written and and sent in. Stevens rehearsed it with Ariana. She pre-records it even though in

like, a, rehearsal, recording, so, that, we, so so that we all you know agreed on the shape and the the overall flow of everything and make sure that it all

even, though, she, she, sings, I, guess, all, of it is live right um because she can what they play on the stage on the the scoring so what what would you call the sound stage where she's shooting it she has an in ear that she's singing to since they're capturing vocally what she's doing live can't have the orchestra playing on the set or even a keyboard player there. Basically, it has to be silent except for her voice, but she's got it in her ear. Once we saw a cut, uh then we were able to do our work as far as building the orchestration and building building the arrangement. Now we had to then go back and refit the orchestration to to the cut of the film.

That didn't happen until this past July. Yeah., when, we, had, the, when, we, finally had had an 85 piece orchestra in the studio where we're recording, you know this big lush orchestration and re realizing, oh, now that we have actually 50 violins, you know, playing, we now are missing all of this this motion and all this extra stuff.

Ariana, and, Cynthia, both, are, excellent actresses. They're of course worldclass singers, but they're also worldclass actresses. And so for both of them, it's the storytelling. I think Ariana is always Glenda. Ariana found a way to internalize that character. Can we play that section in my demo and then play what Ariana did? I think they're pretty damn close. and blind. [singing]

Yeah., I, mean, to, me, it, just, sounds, like the character of Glenda singing what I wrote. I don't hear sudden presence of Ariana Grande in this. In fact, there were not so much in this film, but when we recorded Popular for the first film when we did Popular and we'd done a kind of slightly different rhythm track that we thought might just be interesting and Ariana heard it and she said, "No, I I don't want to do that. I want to be much closer to the original because I don't want people to feel, oh, this is Ariana Grande now playing Glenda. I wanted to be Glenda." So she was really conscious and very strict about

very, protective, of, the, character, trying very consciously not to inject her own persona into the character.

Just, [singing] like home. So, now we're going to pivot to talk about the other new song, No Place Like Home, which actually occurs much earlier in the movie than Girl in the Bubble but was written later. It was written for a sequence that does not occur in the Broadway show, which is that Alphaba discovers that the animals of Oz are escaping, just leaving Oz behind, and she tries to persuade them to stay and fight for their homeland. It felt as if again that that needed to be a song. Obviously once that storytelling idea is there, the title No Place Like Home becomes inevitable if you're writing about Oz. I wrote a few earlier versions of it, but the version that is relatively close to what wound up in the movie was written, it says on my phone June 20th, 2022 when I when I sent it in again, me singing flat.

When, you, feel, you, can't, fight, anymore, that's when you tell yourself there's no place like home. [singing] So that's that's the thing that I apologetically send in to everybody.

But, already, you, can, hear, how, how, it evolved so much more for for for the film as far as right where we started playing when when when Stephen started to sing that moment in the film for Cynthia is much more driving. It has much more of an intensity.

So, then, again, it, gets, transcribed. Steven takes it. It works with Cynthia on it. And then, you know, I I I think with this one, it really interestingly the discoveries came later and later for it because we we had a version, right where where the animals were singing a lot more as well. The animals were part of it and the animals were were responding to her and singing.

She's, trying, to, get, them, to, sing, with her. Yeah., And, that, didn't, make, it, to filming. And don't forget, when they shot Cynthia singing this song, all of those animals are computerenerated. So she was all by herself just exuding this incredible passion and and incredible um drive. It's actually extraordinary.

The, brass, come, on, the [singing] home. So, that, little, that's, Jeff, at, Majian came up with that. I had said to him once we get into this, I feel like brass needs to come in. Something kind of noble and anthemic. Originally, that was like much fuller and much louder. But then when we saw the picture, what's happening at that section is that there were two little bluebirds and we were like, well, it just can't be that big. So, we thought we were going to see like a pride of, you know, tigers or something. And then there were these two little birds, but we still wanted the nobility of that sound. All those orchestrational decisions get made based on what what you're seeing on screen.

And of course, the the cut is changing constantly. And one element of that was at the very end where Cynthia did this cool thing where she sang all different sort of riffs on the title line. At one point, it cuts and you see the flying monkeys come in. And so we wanted within the orchestration to have the the monkey theme, which is this um kind of 16th note thing that goes this is what it was and was about to be in the movie and on the soundtrack album just the just the strings which are is very cool and very Jeff Atmian to use strings as a rhythm.

But now play just that with Cynthia's vocal but not with the piano track. [singing]

It, felt, because, Cynthia, has, such, soul and power in this kind of lowend part of her voice. It just felt well it's a little unsupported. It feels a little thin underneath her. And so at the last minute when we were mixing, I remembered from my very very original demo that kind of low-end piano and I just ran into the studio and played a piano track along with it. When you feel you can't fight anymore, just [singing] there's no place like home.

Cynthia, particularly, because, she's, got this extraordinary vocal instrument that can do anything. She would try different riffs in different places and if she'd done all of them, it would have been just ornamentation. But then Steven and I with Cynthia would select, okay, this one feels really organic and really feels like part of the storytelling. Let's keep that one, but don't do this one over here. And all those sorts of choices were made because we had such gifted artists to work with. [singing]

So, that's, the, So, I, that's, what, I, wrote. Right. also written. Now, she's, this, is [singing] like

we're, all, kind, of, in, denial, that, it's over as far as finishing both films because it was such a joyous and beautiful process for all of us. I mean

there's, like, a, whole, wicked, family, that from all the people who have done the show over the years all over the world and now it includes the people who who worked on the film and it's just expands and expands for Wicked the musical on stage and now Wicked the musicals in with the two films to become part of that ongoing legacy is an honor.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home'"?

Steven Schwartz (Host), Steven Omis (Guest), Neil Shaw (Guest).

What is "How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home'" about?

The discussion focuses on the creative process behind the songs "The Girl in the Bubble" and "No Place Like Home" from the film adaptation of *Wicked*. Key points include the evolution of Glenda's character, the transition to a more orchestral sound in the second half of the story, and the influence of film director John Chu on the visual representation and arrangement of the music.

What is mentioned in this Variety episode?

6 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Steven Schwartz, Ariana Grande, Wicked, No Place Like Home, Girl in the Bubble, John Chu. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "How 'Wicked: For Good' Composer Wrote 'The Girl in the Bubble' & 'No Place Like Home'"?

The episode runs 17 min; the transcript is about 2,391 words in 35 timestamped sections.

More from Variety

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 25, 2026.