Watching Jon M. Chu talk about his love for Wicked in a new sneak peek of the first part of the musical’s big-screen adaptation is enough to make the heart of any theater nerd grow tenfold. The happiness that beams from the In the Heights director as he talks about his latest project only further solidifies the proof that he was the right choice for such a gargantuan undertaking. Joined by other members of the cast and crew who are responsible for bringing the book-turned-musical-turned-film to an entirely new audience, the behind-the-scenes sneak peek is perfect for anyone counting down the days until the next trailer or who has the film’s release date of November 27 marked on their calendar.

Wicked finds itself alongside a sprawling catalog of Broadway productions like Rent, Dear Evan Hansen, and Spring Awakening, that audiences have found it so easy to slip themselves and their own stories into. This is precisely the feeling that co-leading lady, Cynthia Erivo brings to the table during the sneak peek, as she recounts feeling “really alive” the first time she saw the show in her 20s.

Flexing an experience that so many of us have only dreamed of, Erivo’s co-star, Ariana Grande reveals that she was lucky to see the original Broadway cast (Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and Norbert Leo Butz — oh my!) when she was just 10 years old. Like Chu and Erivo, Grande shares her personal connections to the stage show and what it was like undergoing the audition process to land the role of a lifetime. It’s hard not to smile throughout the sneak peek, which also features a slew of new glimpses of the film, as the helmer and his two stars are moved to tears as they celebrate their connection to Wicked.

What Is ‘Wicked’ About?

Acting as an off-shoot to the classic L. Frank Baum fantasy novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the Hollywood classic film that would follow it, Wicked is itself an adaptation of the Gregory Maguire book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The tale serves as an origin story about the titular witch who would go on to become the primary antagonist in The Wizard of Oz. It not only clarifies her backstory but also that of Glinda the Good and multiple other characters like the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. The original theatrical production boasted a call sheet filled with some of the biggest names to grace the stages of Broadway and was composed by the legendary Stephen Schwartz.

You can check out the Wicked: Part One sneak peek above.

via Collider