On the back of her Australian visit to promote the worldwide smash-hit Wicked, Cynthia Erivo who plays Elphaba in Wicked stopped by Sesame Street to celebrate the diversity of difference, with her and Oscar the Grouch bonding over the colour green in their duet.
Cynthia and Oscar the Grouch sing a duet of a classic, “It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green,” originated by Kermit the Frog on both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show in 1970.
Elphaba in Wicked is famously green, just like Oscar, though Erivo appears as herself in this performance of the beloved song, which has been recorded over the years by Frank Sinatra (1971), Van Morrison (1973), Diana Ross (1974), Ray Charles (1975), Don Henley (1994) and Tony Bennett (1998).
In this version, Oscar — who seems to just want to fit in with the neighbourhood trash cans he frequents — sings, “It’s not easy bein’ green/ Having to spend each day the colour of the leaves/ When I think it could be nicer being grey or rust or puce/ Or something much less colourful like that.”
“Hold on,” Cynthia interrupts, cleverly pointing out, “Now, I know a thing or two about being green … And you should like — well, no, love — being green, Oscar.”
They then continue to sing, with the actress reminding Oscar to be proud of who you are, and then lends her stunning voice to the next verse, making all things green sound beautiful: “Because green is the colour of slime/ And green can be gross and mouldy-like/ And green can be smelly like a stinkweed, or angry like an alligator, or sour like a pickle.”
