One grande Ariana to go, hold the spotlight

After wrapping her Eternal Sunshine tour earlier this month, Ariana Grande is taking some time to step out of the spotlight. What is an Arianator to do? Fortunately, The Rise & Rise of Ariana Grande, a tribute book released this summer, is here, and we’re page-flipping for a fix of the pop star.

Written by Emily Zemler, the “unofficial and unauthorized” book may not offer anything wildly revelatory about the Wicked star. Still, at 240 pages with plenty of color photography, it has enough to carry fans until she resurfaces, hopefully at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27 (she’s nominated for eight VMAs).

From Boca Raton to Oz

Grande’s theater roots run deep, with a few buzzy connections making current headlines. Grande appeared on Broadway only once, in 2008’s short-lived 13, but six years earlier, she stormed the stage in the title role in Boca Raton’s Little Palm Family Theatre’s production of Annie. The hit musical returns to Broadway next season for its 50th anniversary, directed by Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!).

A year later, Grande played Dorothy in the community theater’s production of The Wizard of Oz, which set the stage for a full-circle Wicked moment 21 years later.

Grande saw Wicked at 10, and the spell was cast. She wanted to play Glinda. As her recording career took off, a film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical had its own starts and stops. But when word came that the project was finally greenlit, Grande forged full speed ahead.

“The really great ones work their asses off, but she wore me down—and I mean that delightfully,” acting coach Nancy Banks told The Hollywood Reporter.

“I have never wanted something as badly as I did this,” Grande said on the Zach Sang Show. “I had to completely erase pop star Ari.”

An excerpt from "The Rise & Rise of Ariana Grande." — An excerpt from “The Rise & Rise of Ariana Grande.” (Courtesy of Cassell)

Collectively, Wicked and Wicked: For Good grossed nearly $1.3 billion. Fans of the franchise have a new literary installment to look forward to. Gregory Maguire’s Galinda: A Charmed Childhood releases Sept. 29 and reveals Glinda the Good’s origin story.

As for Grande, even the Grimmerie doesn’t know when she’ll return to the stage. The buzzy London revival of Sunday in the Park With George with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey collapsed after she, then Bailey, exited. (Fortunately, a fantastic Chicago production just extended through Nov. 29.)

In 2024, Grande told Vanity Fair, “The back-and-forth throughout the course of my career has been really hard to navigate mentally.” We’re wishing her a much-needed rest and eagerly await what’s next over the rainbow, including her role in Focker-in-Law, opening Nov. 25.