Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
#1Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:00pm
Since 2009 is over, I want to hear everyone's opinion on who is was the best and worst Elphaba of 2009. I wanna know your favorite and least favorite lead Elphaba, Elphaba s/b, and Elphaba u/s). Note it includes all productions
Some of the 2009 Elphies were:
Marcie Dodd, Nicole Parker, Dee Roscioli, Eden Espinosa, Teal Wicks, Vicki Noon, Julie Reiber, Jennifer Dinoia, Donna Vivino, Meredith Kaye Clark, Stephanie Torns, Angel Reda, Carrie Manalokas, Chelsea Krombach, Kerry Ellis, Alexa Khadime, Ashleigh Grey, Sabrina Carter, Anne Brummel
Updated On: 1/2/10 at 06:00 PM
snowskittle
Leading Actor Joined: 1/10/09
#2Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:22pm
And the reason for this post is.......?
These polls are pointless. People just vote for the one they've seen...or if they've seen multiples, often their first.
And why do you want to know the worst?
WishingOnlyWounds2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/25/08
#2Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:24pm
Oh, you're going to get so many nasty remarks for this, but being a Wicked fan... I'll play.
Favorite principle Elphaba: Kerry Ellis
Lease favorite: Teal Wicks
Favorite stand-by: Jemma Rix
Least favorite: Jennifer DiNoia
Favorite understudy: Viki Noon(although she is stand-by now)
Least favorite: Patrice Tipoki
2008: Feb. 18- Rent, Feb. 19- Curtains, April 18- Xanadu, April 22- Wicked, April 26- Legally Blonde, May 31- Wicked, June 13- The Little Mermaid, June 28- Wicked and Young Frankenstein, July 2- The Little Mermaid, July 6- A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde, August 16- Xanadu, September 13- Legally Blonde and 13, September 28- Xanadu and Spring Awakening, Oct. 12-GYPSY and [title of show], Oct. 19- Hairspray & Legally Blonde, Nov. 9- Wicked and 13, Dec. 14-13, Dec. 26- Billy Elliot, 2009: Jan 1- Shrek, Jan 2- 13 and Wicked, Jan 4- 13, Feb 17- In The Heights, Feb 19- Billy Elliot, Feb 22- Sweeney Todd (tour), March 28- Mary Poppins, April 4- Mamma Mia!, April 15- Jersey Boys (on tour), April 25- next to normal & 9 to 5
May 1- Billy Elliot, May 3- Spelling Bee (tour), May 8- Chicago, May 21- Wicked, June 6- Everyday Rapture, June 23- The Wiz, June 25- Hair July 15- Shrek, August 9- Wicked, September 7- Rock of Ages, October 11- Next To Normal, October 23- The Marvelous Wonderettes, November 7- Ragtime November 29- Dreamgirls, December 25- Billy Elliot, December 30- Finian's Rainbow, 2010: January 9- Bye Bye Birdie, January 16- Memphis February 17- The Phantom of The Opera, February 18- God of Carnage, March 7- Billy Elliot, March 31- American Idiot
Updated On: 1/2/10 at 06:24 PM
#3Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:54pm
Favorite Elphaba I've Seen Live: Donna Vivino
Favorite Elphaba I've Watched on YT: Eden Espinosa/Kerry Ellis
I don't want to name a least favorite because all of those women have worked too hard to have their work be diminished.
#5Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 6:58pm2009 is over. We're not allowed to post about it anymore.
#6Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:00pmEven if it's about the love between a green girl and a pink girl, Emcee?
#7Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:00pmJordan - is that Julia Murney and Kendra Kassebaum? Tough to tell from the angle
#8Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:02pmNo, thats promotional art done for an illegal middle school production in Mississippi last fall.
#9Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:03pmThe best Elphaba of 2009 by far is Willemijn Verkaik.
#10Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:08pmMy favorite was, to my surprise, Jennifer DiNoia, and my least favorite was Carrie Manalokas. Ironically, both standbys.
"It doesn't work when you lick it!"
rmusic11322
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/07
#11Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 7:56pmI can't really comment becuase I haven't seen Wicked in a while and I don't watch a lot of videos of them. But I do have to say that Nicole Parker is the most unexpected and surprising to play Elphaba. She is very good!
#12Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 9:51pm
No, thats promotional art done for an illegal middle school production in Mississippi last fall.
Thats disgusting...its vile and just wrong... A school performing Wicked Illegally!? How dare they..
"Everything in life, is only for now"
-Avenue Q
#13Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 9:56pm
Frankly, it's ridiculous that there have been that many Elphabas to perform through 2009. Says a whole lot about the demands of the show, the producer's careless attitude about grinding through performers and the nature of the role.
FWIW, I enjoyed Kerry Ellis (when she wasn't ill). I've seen her at full power on the West End and she was just thrilling. What they didn't allow her to do vocally during her Broadway run was disappointing... She's got serious pipes and uses them properly, unlike gals like Shoshana Bean.
BN
#14Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:04pm
Best: Kerry Ellis & Nicole Parker
Worst: Dee Ravioli
bwaylvsong
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/28/05
#15Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:06pmWhat wasn't Kerry "allowed" to do vocally?
#16Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:08pm
Benjamin, Bean has one of the best vocal techniques of anyone to play the role. Ellis shouted her way through the score. I don't know how you can compare Ellis, which was the most boring performance I've ever seen, to Bean, who could sing her way through the Yellow Pages and it would STILL wow a crowd.
However, Willemijn Verkaik takes the cake for the best Elphaba, at least vocally, ever. FLAWLESS.
I know, right?
#18Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:16pmEllis marked her way through the score. Which would you argue is worse?
I know, right?
#19Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:18pm
Thank you TheatreFan: Bean couldn't sing anything straight and had mucho vocal issues after her various stints in the show. She didn't support well enough and it hurt her voice. She said this point blank on one of the Rosie cruises when asked during a small group Q&A.
As for Ellis: In press interviews when back in the UK after her Broadway stint, she has said that the music director, as well as producers, asked her to tone down the growling, her UK accent (idiotic request, IMO) and stick to the score as much as possible. That, combined with her being sick for most of the run, didn't help US audiences see her unique spark.
YouTube her name. She's got an incredible voice. Her Royal Variety Performance 2008 (Wicked in Rock) was jaw-dropping and I DARE Sho Bean to even try that kind of live performance with that quality of tone, pitch and key.
BN
#20Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:24pm
No, riffing everything is worse.
I saw Kerry in her last week & she was out of this world. She still had a forced accent, which did not work, but very enjoyable none the less. Kerry's growl is amazing.
#21Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:28pm
Best: Julie Reiber
Worst: Nicole Parker and Chelsea Krombach
Updated On: 1/2/10 at 10:28 PM
eatlasagna
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#22Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:58pmi say this all the time about shoshana bean... but i think she's the only Elphaba that i've heard who sings the last night of Defying Gravity right.. as in she's the only one that makes it sound like it's not some damn Tarzan "aaaaah"...
#23Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/3/10 at 12:34amI much prefer the Tarzan yell. It's more in character than doing pointless riffs just for the hell of it, which was Shoshana's entire performance.
#24Best and Worst Elphaba of 2009
Posted: 1/3/10 at 12:54am
Best- Nicole Parker or Willemijn
Worst- Dee Roscioli
I've been watching some clips of Willemijn and am completely blown away. Also, though, is it more or when she flies does that lift go up REALLY fast. It looks way faster than the one they're using on Broadway.
Videos