Kerry Ellis on Broadway

[MichaelUK92]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 1:00pm

How was she on Broadway as "Elphaba"?

Compared to other performers, how did she compare?

Comments and experiences welcomed!

Thanks in advance.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 1:01pm

I enjoyed her, but it was also my first time live.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 1:05pm

I saw her final performance on Broadway and was blown away, that said not all her performances were like that. She was very ill at the start of her run and never really got time to rest and recover. She had her good and bad shows. But, the performance I was at she knocked it out of the park.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 1:49pm

Kerry Ellis is queen of the growl.

Not really relevant to this topic at all...

[inick122492]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:04pm

I love her vioce, its just a delight to hear with all its strength but her acting when I saw her was quite... um... unsatisfying for Wicked. I feel she was either bored or tired.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:05pm

I was VERY underwhelmed by her performance. And keep in mind I ended up seeing her a couple of times and each time felt the same way. I do think that her being sick in the beginning of her run and not having that much time between working in London and in New York did get in the way of things. I had heard her sing The Wizard and I a few times on various West End Live concert videos that I had found on Youtube. And, judging by those I thought that I was going to be in for a real treat. However, when I did see her live, I was very disappointed.

The only time I was not disappointed during her run was when I walked into the theatre after getting a ticket and found out that kerry was out and that Julie Reiber was in. I was VERY much blown away by her performance and felt as if that made up for the couple of dreadful Kerry performances I had to sit through.

[Mel089]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:10pm

awful simply terrible Updated On: 5/23/09 at 02:10 PM

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:11pm

I just think her dismal Broadway run was a combo of not having enough recovery time from the London-to-NYC lag, as well as being vocally tired. Anyone who saw her do the West End knew she put 110% into the show every night: Coming to Broadway, I heard that was seriously throttled in terms of what she could and couldn't do vocally by the music director.

To say she had an uneven run in NYC is putting it lightly. I saw her four times while she was here in the states and each performance was worlds different. Some days she sang the show exactly as written, not putting any kind of personal spin on it. On other performances, she'd knocked it out of the park, showing exactly why she's been considered one of the best out there.

Right now, I think she's simply tired of doing Wicked, so it was probably a good thing she stepped down from the role. With her kind of talent, it's only a matter of time before she's approached with another, hopefully leading-original cast, kind of role.



BN

[winston89]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:14pm

BenjaminNicholas2, Your right that she wasn't used to a whole new list of things that she could and couldn't do with the musical director. In London the MD was very strict about keeping the song sung the way it was written without a lot of room for extra riffs. On Broadway it has been the total opposite of that. On Broadway she was allowed to do extra riffs etc if she had wanted to. The musical directors in the Broadway production aren't that strict about that sort of thing like they are in London.

[Amaranth9]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:38pm

Yeah, I don't know why people think that she was limited on Broadway in terms of riffs and things like that. I mean, this is where Shoshana Bean was Elphaba, too. I think all of the U.S. companies are pretty lenient on riffs. I think the accent was really the only limitation for Kerry.

I personally find Ms. Ellis' signature growl to be overly long and annoying. It jars me out of the song. Her acting in this role has been underwhelming overall to me as well, despite some bright performances. She has a powerful voice and is clearly talented, but I did not find her to be as amazing as so many claim. At least not yet. I would be interested to see what she does next.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:53pm

I wish they would have let her keep her accent.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 3:16pm

She could have kept it, that was a personal choice from what I've heard.

[bubbleblonde]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 3:22pm

She was weak and nasal. Much better in London.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 3:28pm

I heard the accent was the producers choice.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 3:42pm

The accent WAS NOT her choice: She was asked by the producers to change it, as they thought it would confuse the audience and take away from the story.

IMO, she's more comfortable singing/speaking with the accent. A more comfortable performer is a better performer. If they'd have given her more time to perfect an American dialect, she may have given a more nuanced performance (as she did on the West End).

I hate that I'm championing Ellis so much here, but I really do think she's got an incredible talent. Aside from Wicked, she's shown herself to be VERY versatile. What I like most about Ellis is that she's able to get an incredible sound without insane contortion. Sure, she can riff the hell out of a run, but she's also able to just hit a solid note, hold it with control and finish it out beautifully. When healthy, she gives some of the most effortless performances I've ever seen from a singer.

And FYI, it was LONDON that allowed her to riff all she wanted. When she came to Broadway, they asked her to sing it by the book, for both her own vocal health and their preference.



BN

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 3:44pm

Kerry riffed a lot when I saw her, and I mean a lot! Including her signature "Things I've Never Felt" riff. =]

[winston89]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 4:00pm

Maybe they asked her to sing it by the book because she was not feeling well and they didn't want to have her mess up her voice or potentially cause permanent damage. I have read from other places that the West End musical directors for Wicked are pretty strict about singing the songs the way that the score is written. I know for a fact that Ellis is not the only Elphaba to do so and that had she wanted to she could have been more open to riffing in different parts of the show etc. Like I said, I think that she didn't do that because it was clear that during her run her voice was not at its best and that her doing extra riffs could have damaged it further. Who knows.

I do understand that the accent was a direction for the producers as to not confuse the audience. However what I don't understand is this, When Idina started the London production they didn't have her use an English accent and there was no confusion or people scratching their heads to figure out what it was that was going on with the character. I don't understand why it would have worked with one production but wouldn't have worked with another.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 4:45pm

I feel bad bashing performers and I apologize if I sound nasty here, but I really dislike Kerry. She is probably one of my least favorite Elphabas, if not my very least favorite. She has a very nasally voice. Her acting was terrible. She would say her lines and pause in awkward places. I really can't think of anything I actually liked about her performance. I know people say, oh well she was much better in London and was only bad on Broadway and was sick, but from I've "seen" of her London performances too I can't imagine liking her still.
Updated On: 5/23/09 at 04:45 PM

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 6:05pm

So, you haven't seen Ellis perform on the West End?

How then can you totally judge her style when what you saw was a non-healthy version of a usually fantastic performer? I don't think it's fair for you to just write her off as unlikable.

As I've said before, listen to her renditions of songs in Wicked In Rock. There's no other actress who's played Elphie in the past who could do them that kind of justice. Ellis's ability to sing the hell out of a song is incredible.



BN

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 6:12pm

I happen to like Kerry but you can't judge from a professional recording as they are tweaked for perfection most of the time.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 6:17pm

Kerry performing her Rock version of Defying Gravity at the Royal Variety performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtN6_N7Hoe0

[legally_popular]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 6:24pm

Oh yeah, I do love her Wicked in Rock CD. Guess that's one thing I like about her.

And unless she really was sick the ENTIRE time she was here on Broadway, the sick excuse doesn't apply to EVERY performance.

[bubbleblonde]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 6:55pm

She wasn't sick, but her voice was strained the entire time. She'd overworked it earlier in the year. Toward the end of her London run she was missing multiple shows every week and missed almost all the shows leading up to her last including her last matinee performance before heading to broadway. Having no break inbetween London and Broadway meant it continued over there.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 9:51pm

BenjaminNicholas2,

It is London and not Broadway where they are very strict about the whole riffing thing. Had Ellis not had apparent vocal trouble then she would have had more freedom to do what she wanted in that respect on Broadway. I have heard stories of other London Elphaba's having to sing the score the way it was written while there have been other Broadway Elphaba's who have had more freedom of choice when it came to things like riffing etc.

I do find it sad that they never gave her any time to rest. From what I understand she also didn't have that much time to adjust and get over her jet lag that she had. And, having been to Europe from NYC on two different times jetlag can really whip you out and bring you down for the count for a couple of days.

I do think that it was a good idea to bring her over to Broadway. However, I do think that her Broadway stint happened at a bad time.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 5/23/09 at 9:58pm

I believe it was Kerry who initially wanted a transfer. I heard that she asked for "Change of venue" in her contract. Or maybe it was part of the Idina trade, I'm not sure.