When it comes to Elphaba's casting, it has to be an actor who cannot only sing, but sing the HECK outta the score. I high doubt that Jennifer Lawrence would suddenly be able to belt out No Good Deed. The same even goes for Anne Hathaway. As much as I dislike Lea Michelle's acting, the role would have to go to someone like her. A trained singer/belter who has acting abilities.
As for Ariana as Elphaba, here's some problems with that.
1) Ariana will look 17 for a few years. She hasn't really aged a day since she was in her early teens. For Glinda, that's great. Glinda is supposed to be the preppy blonde college girl with a flawless complexion. Elphaba (and I could be wrong) was supposed to look more mature.
2) Vocally speaking, even with a belt, Ariana has a lighter sounding voice. Her sound isn't as intense as I feel Elphaba's need to be. However, for Glinda, her voice is spot on. And even though she's not the best at comedy, I feel she'd have better success tackling Glinda than she would Elphaba.
As for her statement about not wanting to act much, I think there's several things behind that. For starters, she's only ever done TV shows aimed at 12 and under. As an artist wanting to expand her audience, appearing on Sam & Cat isn't going to help. I could be wrong, but being offered to play the lead role in one of the biggest and most awaited movie musicals in sometime is VERY different than being asked to renew a contract on Sam & Cat for another year. Wicked could help her massively in expanding her horizons and taking that next step she's needing right now. Sam & Cat will keep her from moving forward.
Updated On: 6/28/14 at 01:09 PM
