Playing Both Glinda and Elphaba

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 1:51pm

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/168719-Louise-Dearman-a-Former-Glinda-Will-Be-Elphaba-in-Londons-Wicked

Apparently, Louise Dearman, an English actress, will become the first actress to play both leads when she takes over the role of Elphaba in the West End production.

Can anyone think of any Broadway actresses who might be able to pull this off?

I thought Annaleigh Ashford might be able to
Allie Mauzey might be an interesting one as well

I think it's a lot harder for me to envision a lot of the past Elphabas as Glinda, to be honest.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 1:55pm

Christina DeCicco could probably pull off Elphaba.

[philly03]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 1:57pm

Louise Dearman has a killer voice - I was always surprised she was Glinda (sans the blonde part).

I agree though about Christina DeCicco - Louise Dearman actually was Eva on the UK revival tour as well.

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 1:58pm

Wasn't there a rumour a few years back Kendra was to play Elphaba at some point?

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:00pm

Megan Hilty could sing the heck out of Elphaba! Rachel Potter too... Updated On: 8/3/12 at 02:00 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:03pm

I'm thinking Rachel Potter should play Elphaba. She'd be amazing.

I strongly disagree that Alli Mauzey could play Elphaba though. I don't even like her as Glinda very much, and I really can't see her as Elphaba.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:05pm

Beyonce thinks she could play both roles.

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:15pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzbhgqgGKyY&feature=related

[wicked1492]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:18pm

I've done both. My vocal chords are still in tact. Whatev.

[TheLadyoftheWood]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:23pm

Have to disagree about Megan Hilty. She is struggling in that video to sing the song. I love her voice but it would be ruined if she tried screaming Elphaba. She has a great belt but the E's and F's that Elphaba has to sing would not sit well on her voice. In Thank Goodness she sings in her head voice in a lot of places because it sounds better in her head voice rather than her belt which is very strong but sometimes can sound abrasive. I love love love me some Megan Hilty but she could not do the role 8 times a week.

[wicked1492]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:25pm

TheLadyOfTheWood: SHE WAS IN TECH. Tech is exhausting and we're lucky that she even had the strength to perform this since tech is so draining. LEEVE IVY ALONEEE.

[TheLadyoftheWood]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:30pm

I heard that somehow there were peanuts found in her salad that night? I think it was Shoshana! She knows Ivy has a peanut allergy!

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:35pm

Carmen Cusack has played Christine in Phantom, so she can probably pull off Glinda.

[carolineorchange21]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 2:39pm

I believe Kristy Cates stood by or understudied G(a)linda at a point during the Chicago engagement of Wicked before she took over as the green girl - not sure if she ever went on as the 'good' witch.

Damn, she was a great Elphaba.

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 3:08pm

Slighty off-topic but Shoshana sounds great in that video.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 3:13pm

"I believe Kristy Cates stood by or understudied G(a)linda at a point during the Chicago engagement of Wicked before she took over as the green girl - not sure if she ever went on as the 'good' witch."

Kristy never covered Glinda in Chicago. She was the original Elphaba understudy on Broadway, stood by and played Elphaba in Chicago and briefly filled in on tour, but never covered Glinda.

[carolineorchange21]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 3:35pm

My mistake - I could have sworn there was a lead who understudied the opposite role prior to taking over. It may have been the other way around: actress covered both but later played Glinda.

[PositivelyEmerald]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 3:35pm

Louise sings a bit of Elphaba's part in Defying Gravity here with Rachel Tucker. Its from Jest End in London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLXgryHYg0k


And for those who haven't seen it yet, Rachel Potter singing Defying Gravity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgUurEJ2oYY

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 3:52pm

I think Teal Wicks might be a candidate.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 4:22pm

Shoshana sounds more like she could play both roles than Megan does. I'll bet that Eden could also handle Glinda as well.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 5:02pm

This doesn't surprise me. Louise Dearman is one of those people who can sing almost anything. Shoshana is like that too in her own way. Her Glinda sounds better than some of the women who play the role full time. I believe that Chelsea Krombach was almost offered to understudy both Glinda, and Elphaba. She ended up only covering Elphaba though.

I hope this does not start a trend with this show. I could see Jeanna de Waal, and Christina Decicco as Elphaba and Donna Vivino, and Vicki Noon as Glinda

[Quiche2]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 5:23pm

Megan Hilty and Shoshana Bean once did a concert where they sung the songs from the show but swapped parts -- they were both fantastic in the opposite parts, and I think they could both pull off the other character.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 8/3/12 at 5:33pm

Quiche, the link to that video is above.

[tphiliboy152]

Posted: 8/4/12 at 1:34am

I think Jackie Burns could possibly play Glinda. I remember in an interview (toward the beginning of her Broadway run as Elphaba) her and Chandra were saying that Jackie had some Glinda-like qualities in real life.

[kelseymarie469]

Posted: 8/4/12 at 3:43am

Actually @Gothampc, Kanye thinks Beyonce could play both roles....