Emma Hunton left Wicked? — Page 2

Idina wore her voice out before one full year with Wicked. She wasn't near her best form vocally when the cast changed in 2004 and, while she made progress before her time in London, it was still a bit iffy.

Obviously she's made a great deal of improvement since then, but when she did damage just like a lot of the Elphabas. Eden got shrill and Shoshana was ALL over the place (I believe even straining her vocal chords during her last few weeks on Broadway?).

I know some actresses got an alternate but I'm wondering too why there isn't a set standard.

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I might be mistaken, but I was pretty sure that the Elphaba standby on broadway usually performs at least once a week, usually one of the 2 Saturday shows? At least they did in the fall.

I believe the only productions to have a set "alternate" schedule was the Mexico Production, the German/Dutch productions and I think the Korean/Japanese productions. Every other production seem to have the standby go on whenever needed instead. I think its absurd. If you look at the Elphaba's from those productions, they benefited greatly from an alternate. There is no question that the role is vocally demanding, but physically too. The actress has to be onstage for roughly 90-95% of the show, wear a 30 lbs. dress for an entire act, run around backstage and fall to the floor numerous times and be surrounded by fog for two of her most vocally demanding songs.

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Yup. They basically have set days they go on and then perform when the lead is sick.

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Jemma Rix in the Australian production generally does 6 out of 8 shows a week. It isn't set in stone as to when her alternate goes on, but it's generally Wednesday matinee, and one of the Sunday shows. This is a good example of how only doing six a week instead of 8 is better for the voice. Jemma hardly misses a show and has been playing the role almost non-stop for about seven years.

Saw Emmy Raver-Lampman last night. Although not a big fan of Wicked - and not familiar with other actresses takes, I thought Emmy was excellent. I hope to see her in more as her career continues.

I saw Wicked, for my only time, several years ago in the back of the mezzanine at the Pantages and didn't come away with a strong opinion either way. I was able to sit towards the front in the orchestra last night and liked the show better than I recall my first time through. However the enormity of Wicked's success remains a mystery for me...

By the way, the Pantages was near sold out. According to Ticketmaster, I think 16 seats were unsold several hours prior to showtime. Pretty amazing for a Tuesday night well into the run.

Absolutely agree that there should be altrnate Elphabas. Jackie Burns was one of my favourite Elphabas and then she got sick towards the end of her run and couldnt finish, such a shame. But it seems she has recovered well.

Saw Jenni in London several times and she smashed it, one of the best Elphabas out there.

Voice changes during pregnancy usually correct after birth (e.g. Kristen Bell had to re-record parts of Frozen). Not changing back is rare and more likely to be a disorder. Voice changes in women happen during menstrual cycle, middle-age pre-menopausal, and post-menopause.

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After seeing Idina in IF/THEN on Valentine's day, I think she is one of the few artists out there who can give a beautiful performance both vocally and acting wise. Her presence onstage is dynamite, and part of that is because her voice is not the most "perfect" voice.
Back to Emma. She has not tweeted much else other then that everything is fine so I'm not sure what is keeping her from performing her full contract. I do hope she comes back sometime.

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