Do you know if Gwen Stewart crafted that note herself and they added it into the actual written music after she had done it? That's happened many times on Broadway, where an actor improvs and it becomes the actual music. For instance, in 'The History of Wrong Guys' in "Kinky Boots", Cyndi Lauper crafted the music with Annaleigh Ashford, who decided to belt out "Charlie, honestly!", rather than sing it in a different way. So perhaps she created the note, and it was an optional thing? In any case, I don't think it is necessarily fair to require the actress who does that track to hit the high note. It's just as effective to me when belted. To answer your last question, Tamika is my favorite soloist of all time, definitely.
They/them.
"Get up the nerve to be all you deserve to be."