Tony winner Cynthia Erivo has unveiled a striking new performance of Wicked’s No Good Deed alongside newly retired American Ballet Theatre ballerina Misty Copeland, delivering a live, cinematic fusion of powerhouse vocals and precision dance that spotlights both artists at the height of their craft.
Debuting Friday, November 14, the collaborative video reimagines Elphaba’s tempestuous act-two anthem as an intimate dialogue between music and movement. It’s a bold, elegant take that arrives just as excitement builds for Wicked: For Good, the second installment of the two-part event film.
A Cinematic Duet Of Voice And Movement
The video opens in a chandelier-lit room, with Erivo and Copeland standing several feet apart. A luminous string arrangement introduces the familiar melody as Erivo’s voice cuts through with clarity and control, channeling the character’s turmoil and resolve. As the vocal line swells, Copeland’s choreography mirrors the song’s emotional arc, all fluent lines and grounded power.
With each verse, the distance between the two artists shrinks. Erivo steps closer, and Copeland responds in kind, their conversation unfolding without words. The staging is deliberate and restrained, emphasizing the precision of each breath, note, and movement.
According to a press release, the piece was recorded live and designed to “unite two artistic luminaries in perfect sync — a cinematic fusion of music and movement that embodies grace, strength, and transformation.” It’s a departure from the Wicked: For Good version audiences will hear in theaters, emphasizing a raw, present-tense intensity.
Erivo’s interpretation navigates No Good Deed’s surging dynamics with an almost chamber-like intimacy, while Copeland’s grounded, sculptural phrasing traces the music’s edges. The result feels less like an add-on and more like a distilled companion piece to one of Wicked’s most demanding numbers.
The closing image lands with quiet force: after Erivo’s last sustained notes, the pair take hands and strike a mirrored pose, each facing outward, before embracing and sharing a warm smile. It’s a graceful coda to a performance centered on trust and shared storytelling.
Fans Celebrate A Powerful Collaboration
Within hours, the comments section flooded with praise for the cross-disciplinary showcase. “You got these two masters of their craft in one room?!” one viewer wrote, while another called it “a masterpiece” and said they “can’t wait to hear it again once the soundtrack is out.” A third fan summed it up simply: “The most perfect duet.”
Erivo echoed that collaborative spirit when she shared the video on Instagram. “Sometimes different forms of art collide to create one!” she wrote. “I make music with my voice and @mistyonpointe used it to paint pictures with her body. Thank you @cosmopolitan for bringing us together.”
The duet also reunites the pair nearly a decade after their 2016 performance of Summertime from Porgy and Bess, a moment that similarly spotlighted their shared affinity for storytelling through line and breath. Here, the Wicked staple offers a new canvas, with Erivo’s crystalline tone and Copeland’s authoritative lines operating as two facets of the same emotional statement.
It’s a collaboration that underscores how well Erivo’s theatrical intensity dovetails with Copeland’s lyric athleticism. Even in a stripped-back setting, the staging and execution feel thoroughly considered, balancing stillness with resolve and making space for each artist to command her own frame.
What It Means For Wicked: For Good
No Good Deed is one of Wicked’s defining numbers, an explosive turning point that pushes Elphaba to the brink. Erivo, who leads the Wicked film adaptation, uses this reimagined performance to showcase the dramatic range and technical stamina the song demands, while the live arrangement highlights her ability to shape the role’s volatility with precision.
The timing is no accident. The video arrives as Universal’s Wicked: For Good heads to theaters November 21, continuing the story introduced in director Jon M. Chu’s first film. While this rendition is expressly different from what audiences will hear on the big screen, its focus on immediacy and transformation neatly complements the series’ themes.
Erivo stars in the two-part adaptation alongside a starry ensemble, including Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh. Together, the cast brings modern sheen to a musical that has defined a generation on Broadway, with No Good Deed standing as a litmus test for any Elphaba.
By framing the song as a duet of disciplines, the new video underscores Wicked’s broader appeal: it’s a story as much about identity and agency as it is about spectacle. Erivo’s phrasing and Copeland’s kinetics turn those ideas into motion, illuminating the character’s evolution without relying on spectacle-driven scale.
As a piece of standalone filmmaking, the short leans into clarity over extravagance. The lighting is warm, the camera patient, and the choreography unfussy yet expansive. Every choice serves the music’s tension and release, and every beat centers the artists themselves.
For longtime fans of Wicked, the performance offers a fresh lens on a beloved track. For newcomers, it’s a distilled invitation into the musical’s emotional core—and a reminder of what makes these artists singular. Live, unadorned, and fully in sync, Erivo and Copeland make a familiar anthem feel newly urgent.
With Wicked: For Good on the horizon, this collaboration functions as both a celebration and a promise. It doesn’t preview the film so much as it spotlights the caliber of artistry driving it, setting the stage for a big-screen continuation that has plenty to live up to—and the talent to meet the moment.
