Nothing says "I love you," like a verse of "Happy Birthday!"
In a recent Saturday Night Live parody sketch of the movie musical Moulin Rouge, musical guest Ariana Grande and cast member Bowen Yang played Satine and Christian performing the "Elephant Love Medley." Framed as a PBS look-back at the film, cast member Mikey Day as documentarian "Ken Burnt" explains that the original medley was actually much longer than what ended up in the film, as director Baz Lurhmann wasn't sure what songs he'd be able to get the rights for. The evening's host Josh Brolin appears as Harold Zidler.
We got a little whiplash trying to identify each song as they changed so quickly—sometimes mid-syllable! But we did catch a little "Do Re Mi" and a final "Defying Gravity" battle cry—a nod to the upcoming movie adaptation of the hit Broadway show Wicked, which both Grande and Yang appear in. Grande will, of course, play Glinda, while Yang plays her friend Pfannee, a role not named in the stage version.
If this sketch is any indication, Grande and Yang are a great team and the set of Wicked must have been a blast. While we wait for the Part 1 release (November 27) of the Wicked film, we'd be happy to see them step into Moulin Rouge! on Broadway!