Kerry Ellis - The Idina Menzel Robot

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 1:09pm

Hello all.

Went to WICKED last night... family was in the city and my darling little niece wanted to go.

Anyway, I hadn't seen it since 2003 when it opened.

I loved everyone (especially Kendra!) and enjoyed Kerry Ellis to some extent.

But why the hell did she try to imitate Idina??? Her character's voice, acting choices, and prescence was all the EXACT SAME.

It bugged me a lot. Make it your own, Kerry Ellis!

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 1:32pm

She does...ex. growl at "Western sky" lol

Did she actually go on last night?

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 1:53pm

yes. Kerry and Kendra were on last night.

I wanted to like Kerry but her Elphaba was just too forced. She resembled Idina Menzel TOO MUCH.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 2:00pm

How can an actress copy the same "prescence" (presence, I've made the mistake before too) from another one?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 2:08pm

Yeah, she's not very good at all.

Julie Reiber is much better.

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 2:11pm

do you think julie will take over? when does her contract expire?

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 2:18pm

Unless she has drastically changed her performing style, I don't really see how you can say Kerry Ellis is imitating Idina Menzel to be honest. Care to elaborate?

For one, their voices are entirely different styles.

Their accents are clearly different.

Kerry, acting wise, is more subdued but at the same time, more pissed off.

Perhaps you mean Kerry is singing closer to the score, as Idina clearly did seeing as she originated?

[CHGriffiths]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 2:33pm

I HAVE to disagree, I saw Idina 3 times in London and Kerry 10 times, and found there performances COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! Over Kerry's year and bit in London she grew sooo much and hate to think she has now returned to her old habbits on Broadway! I found Kerry sang with much more depth and portrayed the character much better, however, you must remember, she was Idina's Understudy and took over from her, and they rehearsed to gether, of course she is going to pick up her style, but they are 100%$ completely individual peformers!

[Weez]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 2:37pm

Please to remember that 'Wicked' is a brand. If you give the audience an Elphaba that's completely different to what they're used to, they're going to be a little disgruntled. Did you perhaps consider that a director (yes, musicals have those; several, in fact, including a resident director who works with replacements) may have said "Kerry, do it like this; Broadway audiences will want you to do it like this, and you're not going to get adoration if you do it in a way that the screaming fangirls who pay both our wages don't like"?

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:01pm

So Weez, are you saying Elphaba has to be young and thin?

[Weez]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:04pm

Is that a common stage direction given out after the casting process has finished? O_O

I think I see where you're coming from with your delightful ramming of words into my mouth and pointing and screaming "LOOK! WEEZ IS SAYING *THIS*!", but I'm very much talking about the post-casting directing; y'know, the way a role is *performed*, not cast. :P

[jazzicat]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:40pm

Can I vomit now. Please? After Chess London all anyone could say was "OMG Kerry is so well-trained compared to raw and over-emotional Idina"... "Kerry wiped the floor with Idina, blah blah"... "Idina was miscast..Kerry was perfect." At the time the comments just pissed me off. She gave the role very litte depth and Idina was awesome, just so real and perfect in her imperfection.
So now this same pitch-perfect, well-trained, blonde, blue-eyed Brit is an "Idina robot." Gasp. She's not an "Idina-bot". She's JUST a robot--plain and simple.

Maybe, now that she is in a role such as Elphaba folks are starting to realize that she is simply not AS good. And since Idina created what most people think of as the quintessential "Elphaba" performance, what was deemed as being "training" in Chess was actually more robot-behavior.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:48pm

Sorry, Weez, I was referencing another long and involved thread which addressed that question(of old and fat) . I didn't mean anything, I was just joking.

[Weez]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 5:02pm

I try and avoid long and involved 'Wicked'-related threads; surely nothing good can come of them? I think I did get that it was a joke, but I didn't quite get what the joke was. I do now, so all is well!

[musicaltheatrefan3]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 6:16pm

TDH, I thought that you hated "Wicked." So, how could you "love everyone" in it?

[yukino]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 6:16pm

i have never seen kerry ellis as elphaba but i did see her in we will rock you and she was absolutely amazing. her voice, her acting everything.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 1:22am

toanythingtaboo - have you seen both Kerry and Idina do the role? They are SO similar... it's scary. The same words are spoken (as opposed to sung), the same riffs are added, the exact same speaking tone is induced, and the exact same acting choices are portrayed.

EMMA ZAKS - I do not hated "Wicked". I hate you. There is a difference!

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 1:37am

TDH, you have only seen Idina back in 2003. Kerry I'm sure only had only seen Idina in 2006. From what I've heard her 2003 & 2006 performances were drastically differently singing wise. How is is possible for Kerry to mimic Idina's 2003 performance without seeing it?

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 1:56am

Kerry Ellis was Idina Menzel last night. It scared me.

I can't believe nobody agrees with me on this! Except for jazzicat (thanks)

[iluvny04]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 10:44am

Kerry Ellis was Idina Menzel last night. It scared me.

I can't believe nobody agrees with me on this! Except for jazzicat (thanks)

Want to know why no one agrees with you, cause everyone(myself included) have seen Kerry and have seen no resemblence to Idina whatsoever. Sorry TooDarnHot, but it seems that you and jazzicat are in the minority here.

[A Fleur De Toi]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 10:45am

nah, both their elphabas are completely different.

Kerry's Elphaba seems pissed off, disgruntled and growling all the time. Her acting isn't as good as Idina's, her Elphaba comes across a little, well boring. Like you know, going through the motions at times. But her voice and diction is so much clearer than Idina's.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 2:30pm

TDH, yes I've seen both quite a few times.

The reasons you have given seem to come down to the fact Kerry Ellis sticks to the score/script...which obviously is going to have similarities to Idina's performance...well, because its based on how SHE did it to start with.

[CHGriffiths]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 5:40pm

I think the problem of most people on here, is that you have not seen Idina for 4/5 years, I saw Idina in London and then Kerry about a month later, and, ok, there are similarities, but that is all, but because there is key similarities which stick out in your head, you presume they play it all the same, when actually, your memory will be slightly lapsing, there ARE similarities, but at the end of the day, they are singing the same songs, to the same music, with the exactly the same direction, and were given those directions at the same time (Summer 2006 in London), so OF COURSE they are similar, but they are 100% individual, and portray there own versions of the character, Idina, much more innocent and mis-understood, and Kerry, Pissed off and has had enough of everyone! So PLEASE end this, because without watching them back to back, it is IMPOSSIBLE to analys or even pick out any similarities accuratley!

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 9:43pm

I must have missed something. Kerry sounding like Idina. I saw Kerry twice(Now I have never seen Idina since I only started watching the show since this year but I "seen" enough of her) and I think that they are nothing alike. Kerry's Elphie is more like Julie's Elphie(or is it the other way around) They are both angry and very dorky, nerdy Elphie's. Well that's my opinion of them.