Lea Salonga as Elphaba?- Page 2

[Derek]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 10:33pm

I think she has a very "classical" broadway voice. I dont see her as Elphaba though, but I would like to see her come back to Broadway. I think/hope Eden will be the next Elphaba. It would def. make crowds happy. By the time Shoshana leaves, Eden will have probably left Brooklyn and hopefully will return. She will sooner or later...i hope :). Anyway, I love Lea, she is and sounds beautiful.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/3/05 at 11:56pm

In the Les Miserables in concert DVD what did Lea did that she couldn't sing well???? All I hear was "On my Own" and she rocked.....was it in some of the other stuff she sang???? Also, what exactly can she not do??? What exactly is a belter, if she is not one???? Like is Patti LuPone one? If she isn't a belter what is she????

[Justice]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 8:38am

The only part Lea could actually play in this show is Nessarose. She is a Soprano with a high belt. Therefore, her voice is not in the correct range to play either Elphie or Glinda.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 8:42am

Jesus H Chr*st...do we need yet ANOTHER frigging Wicked thread???

[Jwei123]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 8:48am

I love Lea, and if she were cast, I would go see it to support her. The girl is incredibly talented, and I have no doubt that she'd do an amazing job with it...

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:18am

What did she do as Eponine that didn't work? She didn't belt, and she didn't sound like the character. Period. I never said she couldn't sing. Her tone, while lovely, is far too pretty for the role, her over-enunciation and exact on-the-beat pounding of every note robbed the role of any of its usual emotional impact. She sounds nothing like any other Eponine that I've seen or heard (in over 22 cast recordings and from seeing the show over 30 times in the past 17 years)...the only reason she got that role was because she was Lea Salonga.

Again, I am a fan of hers...just not as Eponine. And CERTAINLY not as a potential Elphaba. Updated On: 2/4/05 at 11:18 AM

[Sant]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:26am

Lea Salonga as Elphaba?? Nooooo! Her belt isn't strong enough to pull off Defying Gravity or even The Wizard And I. Acting-wise I'm sure she'd be able to pull it off, but her voice... I think she'd make a great Nessarose though!

[stagehand]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:26am

MYB: You are an idiot! She IS Eponine...She IS Kim.....THere is NOBODY that can play these parts as well as her. She has an INCREDIBLE belt.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:36am

Okay, if you don't think she could do Elphaba, she could do Glinda, their are several songs that Chenoweth sang in an operatic soprano voice, so I'm sure Lea could handle that.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:40am

Someone mentioned "The Story Goes On."
Just wanted to point out that it's actually higher than "Defying Gravity" (it tops out at a G, which is incredibly crazy to belt).
For that matter, I'm not wedded to Elphaba REQUIRING a rock/pop belt. I think it would work just fine as a Broadway legit/pop voice and would probably bring very different emotion to the role as opposed to the "listen to my grungy voice" sound we're getting on Broadway in increasing amounts.

[bwayfan215]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:47am

Liz Callaway would be a better Elphie vocally.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:50am

It will never happen. She can't belt like that.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 12:02pm

Well, what can she do????? I seriously doubt that she would do Nessarose....with her status I doubt she would take that role with sing in one song.

[cathyhyatt]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 12:25pm

i f'in love lea so much...shes amazing...but i dont think she has the voice or the look to play elphaba.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 12:31pm

the look to play elphaba????? Race isn't important for that role cause you just get painted green, also Elphaba doesn't have to be an ingenue(although Lea is very pretty). What about her look isn't right.

On a different note, I'm watching my Les Miserables in Concert(mine has these stupid Chinese Mandarin symbols you have to click off), and I can see what some of you mean....like when she sing "everyword that he say's is a dagger in me." Still, I think with Eponine she did a nice job. BTW, what year was that filmed?

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 12:54pm

"stagehand: MYB: You are an idiot! She IS Eponine...She IS Kim.....THere is NOBODY that can play these parts as well as her. She has an INCREDIBLE belt."

Name-calling because of difference of opinion? Nice. What are you...like, 14?

I said nothing about her as Kim, and I'm happy you like her version of what you consider a belt. If you've read the the rest of the posts on this thread, you can see that I'm by far NOT the only one who thinks Lea as Elphaba is a ridiculous idea -- specifically because of her belting abilities.

I'm sorry to destroy your narrow little view of the role of Eponine. REALLY. It's OK if you like her. Lot's of other people do too. And lots don't. No big deal.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 12:55pm

"Well, what can she do?????"

How about not do it at all! There is clearly nothing in the show for her.

They would probably cast a pop star to do it before they will cast her.

[bwayfan215]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 1:01pm

Don't forgetm, Elphaba is supposed to be a hag, not beautiful, but green. ANyone of any shape and size with a great voice can play this role.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:02pm

I meant....what other roles on Broadway would be good for her?

[bjivie2]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:06pm

First of all, Lea recently recorded the first non-OBC recording of "For Good" with fellow Kim Jen Paz (who is currently on the national tour of Saigon). Lea sang the Elphaba part and sounded great. Granted, that song doesn't go as high as Defying Gravity or No Good Deed, but she sounds great.

I think we need to remember that many times people will change the keys for stars when they come in. Look at Aida when they brought in Toni Braxton. The producers of Wicked even changed the keys for Joey McIntyre when he came in as Fiyero. As long as they think someone is right for the role, they'll tailor it to them vocally.

Now, I'm not saying that she would be amazing. I don't know how good she would be, because I'm really not that familiar with her. I do disagree, though, with the idea that Elphaba can be sung as a legit musical theatre voice. All her songs were written to be Stephen Schwartz belted power songs. To do them in a legit voice would be the weirdest thing in the world, as that voice wouldn't match the melody or the orchestrations of any of her songs.

Lastly, if someone can sing high in their legit voice (i.e. Tuptim in King and I), that doesn't mean that they can belt high.

[keggss23]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:27pm

I love Lea Salonga, her voice is so crystal clear. She was incredible in Miss Saigon and Flower Drum Song, but Lea as Elphaba? No way. Her voice is so wrong for the part. The part of Elphaba requires more of a rock belt. Lea's belt isn't anywhere near strong enough to pull it off. I think her belt (or lack there of) is the most evident in Les Miz. Sure, they could probably change keys for her if they ever cast her as Elphaba, but even if they did that, her belt still wouldn't be strong enough. She might want to play it, but she is just not the right type.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:30pm

Does she have a website??? Is that where people have seen that she is interested in Elphaba and Kate Monster??

Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:36pm

Lea has some good cds out.

[sassypanz]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:44pm

She is a far too sweet girl for elphaba. Just listen to her sing in Mulan.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:51pm

As for her taking apart for the racist part of Avenue Q if she were Kate Monster.....I've always viewd the actors who had the puppets as secondary. Meaning, yeah I would pay attention to them, but I would see the puppets too, since that is the character. I don't think it's the same for those who don't use puppets, Gary Coleman, ect. So anyways, I don't really think that would be a problem and there would be no talk of her not being able to handle the music.....we'd have to hear say some "bad" words and do things those innocent girls she's done haven't done.....at least on stage.