Cynthia Erivo Breaks Down Surprising Students at Wicked Performance

Cynthia Erivo took time out of her busy promo blitz for Wicked: For Good to surprise pupils at her former school this week.

The stage and screen star interrupted a performance from students at La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls’ School in Clapham Park, London before singing a duet with them.

During the surprise organised by Greg James and his Radio 1 team, Cynthia broke down in tears as she sat and listened to the group of teenage girls singing Wicked hit For Good. 

She admitted that being back at her secondary school, where she performed in a number of stage productions, was ‘very overwhelming.’

‘I went to this school and left over 20 years ago so to come back and listen to you singing that song is really wonderful,’ she gushed. ‘Well done everyone, it’s so nice to see you all and be back here.’

Her voice breaking, Cynthia told the equally emotional students: ‘I’m just really glad to have heard that. I’m not OK at all!’

The star then took questions from the teenagers, giving them advice to ‘pursue what you love.’ 

‘I was right where you were, literally. I had some really wonderful teachers who helped and guided. Don’t be afraid of dreaming of those things and don’t be afraid of the hard work,’ she told them.

Asked by one fan when she knew she wanted to perform for a living, Cynthia admitted: ‘I knew when I was five-years-old, there was something I just knew about singing, what it felt like to sing, what it felt like to connect and what it felt like to perform which I’ve always loved. That never changed.’

‘When I was five I was asked to sing Silent Night at the nativity play, I don’t know why they asked me to sing, I was playing a shepherd.’

‘But something about the way people reacted sparked a bit of joy. And I loved the fact that something I did made people happy.’

Cynthia was born in south London to Nigerian parents who had fled the aftermath of the Biafran war.

Her parents split up when Cynthia and her sister Stephanie were young, with her father later disowning both his daughters at a tube station when the star was 16. 

Discussing their final exchange, Erivo – unveiled as the latest GQ Men Of The Year cover star this week – recalled:  ‘”This will be the last time I ever see you,” he said. Just like that.

‘I just didn’t see it coming. I guess you wouldn’t, would you?’ 

The actress subsequently lost all contact with her biological father and admits she knows nothing about his life, vocation, relationships or religious leanings. 

Nor does she have a contact number, but Erivo admits she’s reminded of him whenever she looks in a mirror or sees a picture of herself, because they share the same facial features – notably a distinctive gap between their two front teeth.   

‘It’s a supreme joke,’ she told GQ. ‘It’s a joke from the universe to remind me how human I am. 

‘I used to hear him all the time – he had a lovely voice. And so I think that’s where my voice comes from, which is so annoying and crazy, but… fine. It is what it is. 

‘It’s what the universe does. This is the lemon. Make lemonade.’ 

She was raised by her mother Edith, a nurse, who Cynthia went on to name her production company after in tribute to her hard work as a single parent. 

It was at her all-girls Catholic school that Cynthia realised her talent for singing thanks to the acclaimed music department. 

Wicked: For Good opens in cinemas worldwide this week, a year on from the huge box office and awards season success of the first movie.