Cynthia Erivo was flying high, defying the societal norms of airplane culture, when she openly wept after finding out about her Best Actress nomination. While en route to Sundance, where Erivo is being honored with the festival’s Visionary Award, she caught the eye of the flight attendant onboard who brought her tissues. “It’s fine,” Erivo said jokingly, “I’ve got happy tears.”There’s much to celebrate in the land of Oz and Hollywood as Wicked soared its way to 10 total nominations, one of them including a Best Supporting Actress for co-star Ariana Grande. “I don’t know how to tackle this. The whole thing is madness and amazing. This is the most wonderful thing to have gone through and to experience. I’m just really pleased, it’s so cool.”

Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu follows the story of Elphaba (Erivo), a young woman misunderstood because...