Posted: 7/17/20 at 7:32am
Wondering if anybody has any specific information about this (video, info about how the costumes are laid out backstage). It's the fastest quick change I can think of on Broadway (other than perhaps Glinda changing at the top of Dear Old Shiz) and it just fascinates me how quickly it's done! Anyone with any more information would be greatly appreciated!!
Posted: 7/17/20 at 5:47pm
I believe the women playing Glinda and Elphaba have their own dressers,who assist them with costume changes. At least Idina and Kristin did.
Posted: 7/17/20 at 6:22pm
Posted: 7/17/20 at 6:35pm
It's about 15 seconds - the shortest quickchange in Wicked, but there are others I'm sure that are shorter in other shows. I'd imagine both performers have at least 2 dressers each on them, and everything is velcroed (there isn't time for snaps or zippers). The change would be made in the upstage right wing as there isn't time to get to a booth.
Posted: 7/17/20 at 7:02pm
Watching this video the two ladies are probably stripping as soon as they are out of the sight lines and most likely have two dressers and a hair person each to put on the wigs and hats. Dresses are usually some of the easiest costumes to change into, they’re typically puddled on the floor and the actor steps into them, the dresser (or dressers depending on how fast the change is) pull the costume up and fastens it and BOOM, pretty much done.
Updated On: 7/17/20 at 07:02 PM
Posted: 7/17/20 at 7:11pm
I've definitely seen an actor talk about this quick-change, though I don't recall whom to be able to refer you back to it, I'm sorry to say.
But I do vividly recall whoever it was saying it is an intense change and sometimes someone bobbles something and throws off the routine causing the actor to be late back on stage. It's my favorite thing to watch for when I see the show in-person because they said it happened to them with some frequency.
And I've definitely seen one or the other sprint onto the stage to catch up or start singing before they're back in view and it makes me chuckle.
Posted: 7/17/20 at 7:54pm
Tag said: "It's about 15 seconds"
FWIW, the number I've heard is 20 seconds, but it might depend on the production/actor, or even vary from performance to performance.
It's been a while since I've read Felicia Ricci's book about being the Elphaba standby, so I don't remember if she talked about this. But it's the kind of thing she covered in her memoir (I've recommended her memoir "Unnaturally Green" a few times before - I really love it, though I'm also biased because I saw the SF production of Wicked several times, including with Ricci as Elphaba).
As for whether it's the shortest quick change, it sort of depends on what you count. A lot of quick-changes can be accomplished in a split second if it's just a tear-away costume. Or just a few seconds onstage like the transforming costumes in Cinderella. But is it the shortest amount of time relative to the complexity of the quick-change? Maybe, but it's hard to measure that without a way to measure how complex other quick changes are.
But suffice ti to say: it's impressive!
