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Cynthia Erivo could finally start to receive the glory she deserves in her one-woman West End show Dracula following a disastrous Wicked press tour.
Since the release of Wicked in 2024 and its sequel last year, the actress, 39, and her co-star Ariana Grande, 32, have been lambasted with criticism over their behaviour during the promo bliz.
Cynthia, who starred as Elphaba, and Ariana, as Glinda, were snubbed of an Oscar nomination this season despite the rave reviews the movie has received.
The pair’s viral and overly affectionate press tour displays is allegedly why Oscar voters snubbed the pair after feeling ‘creeped out’.
In addition to their ‘cringeworthy’ red carpet moments, the actresses’ noticeable weight loss was called out by concerned fans.
After the actress’s movie success was overshadowed by press tour missteps, fears for Cynthia’s reputation heightened when the first few performances of her West End play were cancelled.
Thankfully, the play is set to debut this Saturday (February 7) at the Noel Coward Theatre, playing until May 31.
Cynthia is sinking her teeth into the role of Dracula and 22 other roles in a one-actor adaptation of Bram Stoker’s gothic novel.
Originally due to start on February 4, producers cancelled the first three nights of her one-woman play due to production delays.
The complicated technical nature of the production led to the initial preview cancellations, with communications to existing customers saying: ‘As Dracula moves through the final stages of preparation, the technical scale of the production has demanded additional time to ensure audiences experience this story exactly as it is intended.’
This isn’t be Cynthia’s first stint on the West End, having made her debut in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg back in 2011.
Speaking about her upcoming roles, the actress said: ‘Returning to the stage feels like a homecoming, one that I’ve been craving for a long time.
‘To do so with a story as rich, complex, and haunting as DRACULA offers a beautiful opportunity to delve into character, into myth, and into the heart of what makes us human.
‘From the moment I was asked, I could not get the role out of my mind. Kip’s vision is thrilling, terrifying, and deeply resonant, offering a chance to sit with not only the darkness in the world, but also the light we fight to hold onto.
‘It’s a rare gift for an actor to inhabit so many voices and perspectives in one piece, and I’m honoured to do it for West End audiences in this extraordinary production.
‘The prospect of doing this show scares me and I know it will be a huge challenge. This show will ask everything of me — and I’m ready to give it.’
Fury surrounding Ariana and Cynthia’s Oscar snub sparked one anonymous voter to reveal the reason behind it.
Oscar voters were allegedly put off by the pair’s overly affectionate press tour displays – according to News Nation.
‘The movie wasn’t that great. The two have amazing on-screen chemistry but spent most of the movie apart,’ the voter told the outlet’s Paula Froelich.
It was added: ‘I was also just completely turned off by their promotional performances. They creeped a lot of people out and in their rush to feel authentic, came off as cosplaying.’
Daily Mail has reached out to representatives from The Academy over these claims and has yet to hear back.
In November last year a fan ambushed the 7 Rings singer at the Singapore premiere of the film, prompting Cynthia to step in and act as her protector.
The man who charged at her was later identified as Johnson Wen, who goes by @PyjamaMann on Instagram.
Days before that Ariana and Cynthia were teased online for gushing over each other’s ‘auras.’
In Paris they were asked to describe each other’s ‘auras’ by an Elle magazine journalist.
Ariana said Cynthia’s was ‘yellow,’ like ‘sunshine.’ She added, ‘I think there’s also purple.’
Meanwhile, Cynthia said about her co-star: ‘I see, like a ciel blue, you know? Like aqua. And like, sunset-orange.’
Following the red carpet moment, one person wrote on Reddit, ‘I can’t go through this again,’ in reference to the movie stars’ previous ‘cringeworthy’ press run moments in 2024.
One of 2024’s most memorable interview highlights was when the Positions hitmaker clasped the Harriet star’s index finger in an emotional moment during an interview with journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist for Out Magazine.
During a sit-down, journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist told Erivo that she’d seen people online discussing the lyrics of Defying Gravity – the stirring ballad her character sings in Wicked – and ‘feeling power’ from it.
Cynthia was visibly moved by the revelation as she replied, ‘I didn’t know that was happening. That’s really powerful. That’s what I wanted.’
As she spoke, Ariana, who also got choked up over the comment, reached over and grabbed her friend’s pointer finger in a display of support.
Many people poked fun at the exchange on the internet, with one person asking on X, ‘What was this?’ while adding a screenshot of Ariana’s hand wrapped around Cynthia’s finger.
‘Is this a sketch comedy show or something?’ someone else wrote on the social media platform.
