Was Stephanie Offered Wicked on Broadway?- Page 2

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 3:43pm

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Stephanie had any Broadway credits prior to "Boy From Oz".

Whether Idina was an established star or not (and she was definitely a Broadway 'name' before "Wicked"), it is rare to find a producer who will trust a show that size to someone who has never done eight shows a week on the New York stage. There's just too much at stake.

It's not necessarily fair, but that's usually the way it goes.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 4:29pm

Well, either way, I know Idina and Stephanie now because of WICKED. If WICKED was never a big deal or a blockbuster like it is now, I doubt I would know or care who either of them are. I much prefer Idina's Elphaba to Stephanie's but maybe that's because Idina's is the first I heard and the only one I listened to for a while.

It also seems weird that Sho would have gotten Broadway & Stephanie took the tour. Hm...which do you think is more "prestigious" in the eyes of the Broadway community? Starring in a First National Tour or being a replacement on Bway.

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 5:20pm

Broadway is generally considered more prestigious...I seem to remember that Stephanie was offered the standby when Eden left, but turned it down (and rightly so. Coming off of Boy From Oz, that would have been a strange career move)

Starting and carrying a national tour from scratch has its merits...more money, more press, and the chance to work with the director more hands-on than a replacement (who is often put in by stage management, though I don't know about Shoshana's rehearsal process).

Most people would prefer Broadway, but a first national is not too shabby, particularly given the lengthy run in L.A.

[thejcm]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 6:39pm

Correct me if I'm wrong (which is probably true) but wasn't the story something like Stephanie got the choice between tour and Broadway and she chose the tour so she would have the opportunity to go home to LA? Or something to that extent...

[jo]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 7:27pm

If you missed Stephanie in THE BOY FROM OZ - that is a great pity as she really grew into the role, so much so that at the closing show, her rendition of I WANT TO HEAR THE MUSIC brought the house down. The stage vibrated with her energy and she drew a rousing mid-show standing ovation. At that moment, she almost stole the show from Hugh Jackman! ( Unthinkable!!).

I also remember talking to her after one of the performances - when I told her how well she performed the scene when she learned about her mom's ( Judy Garland)death, she said it was all "due to that man" ( referring to Hugh as providing the support)! Very humble, too!

And when I requested her to sign my TBFO cap ( on which Hugh's autograph was already set down), she asked if I really wanted hers,too, to be there along with Hugh's signature. Of course, I said YES ( I probably have the only cap with both of their signatures on the rim ). Very unassuming person, our Stephanie!

Jo

[Horton]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 7:41pm

Jo, you have no idea how much respect I have for you doing that, i am not joking even a little bit.

Posted: 11/13/05 at 7:54pm

again, the best person to answer this is Stephanie herself...HOWEVER..i distinctly remember an article about Stephanie LEAVING Wicked as the standby for Idina so she should could do Oz...i believe she was the original standby maybe even before rehearsals started...but she was scheduled to do that before Oz happened. i can't imagine anyone better doing Oz..so i am glad she made that choice..plus she got to work with Hugh..that was a NO BRAINER!!!
i hope Stephanie makes it into the Broadway cast soon but i know she LOVES her touring cast very much.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 8:06pm

Wickedgeek--I actually remember the first performance I saw from Wicked. My mom had taped it off of The Today Show, and when she told me she had taped it for me she said that "Glinda is Kristen Chenowith, and Elphaba is this girl that was in the original cast of RENT." The general public wasn't going to recognize the name of an actress who got a Tony nomination for a show almost 10 years prior.

I was talking about people that aren't into theatre. Obviously if your mother was taping the show to see a Broadway performance, she has interest. But as for the 1809 people that saw it everynight before it was big, came to see the show, not just her.

[musicguy]

Posted: 11/15/05 at 2:56am

He just did it. Its kinda a miracle that he is even in the cast.

[musicguy]

Posted: 11/15/05 at 2:58am

ha...work!

[Urban]

Posted: 11/15/05 at 3:10am

Just my two cents... when I hear the producers wanted a name, I think they where more after somebody who'd they know had experience on Broadway and wouldn't crack under the pressure. Now we all know Stephanie wouldn't crack... now... but at the time she was a complete unknown who's resume consisted of a few regional productions and a few Barbie commericals. Not the stuff that would make investors confident that she'll last 8 performances a week for a year.

[cubbiegirl]

Posted: 11/15/05 at 9:59am

From Haines His Way interview:

Q: Obviously at some point it was decided to have Idina Menzel do the role you'd done at the reading I attended. That is, I'd have to imagine, a difficult situation - but you decided to stay with the show and to cover the role. Tell us what you can about dealing with it (Jennifer Paz had a similar situation with Flower Drum Song, and I thought she was much better than who ultimately did the role - I know, sacrilege, but there you are).
SB: I'll be honest. I was heart broken. I felt like I had invested so much time , and beyond that, given my heart to the project and the role. The response from those that attended the LA readings I performed in were overwhelming and I just felt like this role was everything I had dreamed of. Every step of the way I was getting more and more passionate about the project and more and more excited for it's future. I also have been around the block once or twice and know that NOTHING is for sure or in "the bag" until contracts are signed and the curtain goes up with you on stage. So when Stephen called and told me that they were going with Idina because she had experience in mounting an original Broadway musical, I had no recourse. I didn't have any Broadway credits. I knew in my heart that I was ready to do the role whether it was on the Universal Lot or The Gershwin stage, but the decision had been made. So, I accepted the role of her understudy/cover in hopes that when I went on, I'd be able to make an impression that would lead to the next phase of my career. I looked at it as paying my dues...AGAIN!!!!! But I also knew it was the opportunity to get me to Broadway and open more doors. It wasn't just a job, it was a career move.

She also mentions in the Grimmerie that she understudied Idina in San Francisco and went on once but "wasn't able to do the Broadway run. And that was literally my cry, 'Oh my gosh, but I just want it! You know, I just want it!'" And she talks about how that is similiar to Elphaba who has goals but outside things get in her way.

She also says in the first interview that she was in rehearsals for Wicked in NYC and she went to audition for BFO during her lunch break.

Updated On: 11/15/05 at 09:59 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/15/05 at 10:08am

cubbiegirl---Thanks for posting that.

I hope people reading this understand. They didn't go with Idina because she was a "NAME." She wasn't a name. Some people could argue that she STILL isn't, despite her Tony win for Wicked. The average guy you'd stop on the street still doesn't know who she is. If they wanted a NAME up front, they would have hired a TV or movie star. Idina had experience and some major credits in New York, and a Tony nomination for Rent. Not a "name" that anyone outside of the Broadway theatre scene would have ever heard of.

Stephanie did not have any New York experience under her belt at the time they were bringing the show to Broadway.

[pndmnd]

Posted: 11/15/05 at 12:19pm

Wickedgeek--I was agreeing with you! I was saying that my mom (who is pretty knowledgeable about theatre) didn't even know Idina Menzel's name before Wicked, let alone the non-theatre people that come to the show. I definitely think casting her had more to do with experience than prestige. And I agree that it started out with people coming to see the show itself, and not the performers.