Why Idina? — Page 2

Ok im not a young woman, (im a youngish man) but thought id add my theory. I think Idina has become such a hit for two main reasons.

1. her talent

2. her role as elphaba. For my degree i wrote a paper on the relationship between gay men and musical theatre. one of my theories was the idea of the musical dive, playing roles where they overcome opression but are able to come through the heartache and prejudice still looking fabulous and singing the **** out of a great number, (mamma rose, Dolly levi) this was similar to one of the attractions with Judy garland, she went through all the crap in real life but could still get on that stage and perform amazingly. Elphaba's character is opressed, and has a lot of prejudice against her, something wich a lot of people can relate too (women, people of ethnic minoritites, homosexuals etc etc) despite this she still manages to get her lover and sing a beautifull duet that makes the audeince go cold. it's the american dream!

Disagree TGIF. Most of Idina's follwing started with Rent. Many of her fans were also crazy about Wild Party. Wicked gained her some new ones, but again, we're also talking about many Rentheads who used to camp out in front of the Nederlander.

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1.bwaybaby891
2.13
3.2 years
4.her openess and the way her voice conveys emotion. I was totally captivated the moment i heard her sing. also i identify with her story of how she got her break.
5.Idina has a stage presence that i really felt when i saw her perform and she has a way of making you feel what she is feeling, just like the other extrodinary women mentioned.
6.I have been around Broadway since before I could walk.
7.Yes, I love the stage and everything about it.
8.New York State

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"Disagree TGIF. Most of Idina's follwing started with Rent. Many of her fans were also crazy about Wild Party. Wicked gained her some new ones, but again, we're also talking about many Rentheads who used to camp out in front of the Nederlander."

The original poster asked the obsession by teenage girls. Unless they were 10 when they camped out, I doubt they are included in the RENTheads you refer too. However, (to disprove my point :) )the only reason why I bought tickets to see Wicked was because I liked Idinas voice from Rent. But, I would have to guess that most of the younger fans like her in WICKED so much that they bought the Rent CD afterwards and many don't even have or know about Wild Party. This is just an observation from reading the boards for so long.

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