Erivo plays Elphaba in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the musical which has been breaking records at the box office. Fans singing along during screenings of the film has sparked an online debate about audience conduct in theaters. Some theater managers have requested moviegoers stay mum through the show.

“But we were never going for a witchy look,” she added about the making of Erivo’s character. “We were making it very real, very timeless and very connected to everybody. We weren’t going for the prosthetic fantasy version at all. Jon [M. Chu] always wanted everything real.”