To close out the year, World Cafe shares some of their personal favorite music-related moments.
Wicked
‘I’m telling a silent story’: Paul Tazewell on ‘Wicked’ and the magic of costume design
The Oscar-winning costume designer has been enchanted by Oz and Munchkinland for most of his life. He created more than 1,000 looks for Wicked: For Good — including Elphaba’s “sex cardigan.”
What do actual witches think of ‘Wicked’?
Mostly they’re charmed. Some witches we talked to couldn’t wait for the new Wicked release. But some worry that the films have helped move the secret, spiritual art of witchcraft into the mainstream.
‘What you see is really me,’ says ‘Wicked’ star Cynthia Erivo
Erivo says she found parallels between her life and the experience of her Wicked character, Elphaba. Her new memoir is called Simply More: A Book for Anyone who Has Been Told They’re Too Much.
‘SNL’ castmember Bowen Yang shares a piece of ‘cultural contraband’ from his youth
Growing up with immigrant parents, first in Canada and then in the U.S., Yang was “obsessed” with pop culture and Saturday Night Live. Now he’s up for an Emmy for his performances on the venerated sketch series.
New books this week: Yoko, Elphaba, Amanda Knox and lost connections
This week’s new releases include a memoir from Amanda Knox reflecting on her murder case and exoneration, a biography of Yoko Ono, new fiction from Column McCann, and the latest Wicked book Elphie.
Ariana Grande says ‘Wicked’ was a gift — and is proud to be in the ‘beautiful coven’
As a kid, Grande loved singing karaoke with her family. “I looked up to Whitney and Mariah and Celine endlessly,” she says. “I think that’s a large part of the reason why I learned to sing.”
In ‘Wicked: Part I’, Cynthia Erivo defies gravity — and convention — as Elphaba
Cynthia Erivo says being different had “something to do with” her role as Elphaba in ‘Wicked: Part 1.’
A ‘Wicked’ mistake: Mattel apologizes for printing a porn site on its doll packaging
Mattel is pulling its Wicked dolls from some store shelves because of a misprint directing shoppers to a pornographic site. Meanwhile, resellers are listing the products on eBay for up to $500.


