Wicked director compares set to kindergarten and reveals the odd way the cast rehearsed: Pressures on

The “Wicked: For Good” set easily defied gravity.Just ask Jon M.Chu, who directed the two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked.”“It was like a kindergarten set all the time,” the director, 45, exclusively told The Post following Wicked Night on “Dancing With the Stars” on Tuesday night.“Everyone was playing.

I mean, Johnny [Bailey] and Ari [Grande] together is insane.Then you throw Bowen [Yang] in there and Cynthia [Erivo]!”Although Chu was popular amongst his cast, he sometimes felt like he “had to be a teacher.”“The spirit of the movie had to be like that,” he explained.

“And so we had to always play, and they had to trust that I would protect them in the edits.And I think that comes out of it.

So that was really fun.”“Wicked” stars Grande, 32, as Glinda the Good Witch, Erivo, 38, as Elphaba, Bailey, 37, as Prince Fiyero and Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard.It’s safe to say everyone was dancing through life — especially behind the scenes.“I loved their rehearsals because the pressure’s on,” Chu detailed.

“Everyone’s expecting a lot from Glinda and Elphaba.They’re so confident in what they do, but we are all scared because we’re taking on such beloved properties.”“But we would sit on the on the floor of my office to rehearse,” he continued.

“We wouldn’t be standing up.They loved the floor, they had to feel the ground.

So, we’d be there and we talk about every line — everything.We’d try different versions.

And working it out like that was really beautiful for us to find our way in to this Oz.“After “Wicked” hit theaters in Nov.2024, the pop culture phenomenon took off.Along with moviegoers turning screenings into massive singalongs, Grande and Erivo went viral for communicating through touch during their press tour.Chu, meanwhile, didn’t realize the film’s impact would stay for good.“I did not anticipate we’d be at ‘Dancing With the Stars’ having a Wicked ...