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Ariana Grande Proposed Judy Garland Duet for “Wicked: One Wonderful Night” Special

Executive producer Ben Winston, known for his work on specials such as "The Late Late Show" and "The Grammy Awards," faced the challenge of honoring "Wicked" in "Wicked: One Wonderful Night." Ariana Grande even suggested a Judy Garland duet

Variety Music·Jun 15, 2026·via Variety Music

Ariana Grande Proposed Judy Garland Duet for “Wicked: One Wonderful Night” Special

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Jun 15, 2026 1:19pm PT

Ariana Grande Pitched Judy Garland ‘Get Happy/Happy Days’ Duet on ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night’ Over Zoom

By Jazz Tangcay

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Jazz Tangcay

Artisans Editor

@jazzt

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Executive producer Ben Winston is no stranger to producing variety specials. He counts “The Late Late Show,” “The Grammy Awards,” and more among his credits. When it came to bringing “ Wicked : One Wonderful Night” to audiences, his biggest concern was: “How do we do justice to this thing?”

Winston was speaking at an FYC event on the Universal lot in early June in a conversation moderated by the film’s director Jon M. Chu. Winston explained that the solution was a simple one: relying on the traditional, old-school variety show formula. “What we tried to do is just make it a real variety special in the best way,” he said. That meant weaving in comedy sketches, musical performances and choreography as well as clips that audiences had never seen before.