Wicked day for Elphieisperky...3 cast members out

I really liked David Ayers in Fiddler last year.

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ljay, shoshana doesn't miss HALF as many perf. as Idina did.. and her "sick" vocals are still unbelievable, IMHO.

Updated On: 11/26/05 at 01:07 AM

Shoshana has been getting sick quite a bit lately. I've seen her perform twice when she was clearly under the weather and her vocals were still excellent as usual.

Shoshana is amazing and has missed only a handful of performances due to sickness. You do 8 shows a week of any kind and we'll talk ljay. Goodnes. Give it a friggin rest with Shoshana. She is my future wife, after all.

that role is just too demanding to sing 8 shows a week...
as i stated before...elphie and glinda should be 6 shows a week with an alternate like so many shows do...
the glinda on tour only does 6 shows...you'd think the producers would take the heat off of their leading ladies and try to help them keep their voices in good condition...

The understudies for Wicked are very good save for Jared Botz who really did not do it for me as a believable Fiyero for all. Still prefer David, evn if he doesnt have the greatest voice, and Norbert. It is also important to note that Megan and Shoshana were understudies before and when they took over, well, we all know how good they can be. I am quite curious to know who will take over when they leave.

Oh and as for Michelle, I do not know. Has she REALLY missed that many performances or are we overexaggerating here? Just 1-2 every 2 weeks should not be something to go nuts over. Perhaps she is needed on occasional nights for rehearshing another play (ie like David did when he was doing Tom Jones)

I was totally overexagerating about Michelle. I just think it's funny everyone I know seems to have missed her whenever they're in NYC over the span of four months.

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I know, right? Conspiracy.

In regards to mix, I know what she means. It's impossible to truely belt most of Elphaba's songs and it would be death to one's vocal career to try it 8 shows a week. I have a really strong mix that sounds belty but even so...it's grueling to sing those songs. Anyone who ever takes the role of Elphaba I hope they have a great coach/teacher who helps them keep their chords healthy! Having to sing the notes in "Not That Girl" is pretty low for most girls, and then to have to have a strong mix for "Defying Gravity" and still hit the high notes without straining or switching completely into head voice is tricky. Then "Now That You're Mine" is lyrical and softer, and "No Good Deed" is best if truely belted. Vocal gymnastics!

Glinda is pretty intense too, though. A strong legit is definitely necessary, but also enough range to reach the notes in "Not That Girl" reprise and "For Good".

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yeah okay well they're low for me lol. I think the last note of "Not That Girl" is F...and the reprise a G? E/F is my limit and at the other end of my range is E/F above high C so I'm not complaining. The first time I heard Sho in April she cracked on that last note and that was painful, but thankfully she hit it just fine in August.

A vocal buffet...haha, it is. I remember seeing an interview with Idina and Kristin where they were talking about this subject, the various difficulties of their roles vocally. It was interesting.

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well some people have different kinds of voices. You're probably a lyric coloratura soprano. You're not meant to be singing low G's. That's usually dramatic soprano fare. But hey I am limited as far as the soprano voice goes. I'm a tenor

I thought this article might relate to the Shoshana missing perfomances/sick stuff:

Life after 'Wicked' good show
Shoshana Bean moves on from the green-faced lead
Saturday, November 26, 2005
ALEX PULASKI
NEW YORK -- She's melting.

Beaverton's Shoshana Bean, who's been flying high in "Wicked," Broadway's most popular musical, will walk away from her leading role in early January.

"I'm fried. I'm done. I'm cooked," said the 28-year-old, green-faced (for her role) and nearly ready to take the stage for another sold-out show earlier this month.

"Wicked," which The New York Times has dubbed the "reigning king of the commercial theater," is bringing in $1.2 million a week in ticket sales and shows no signs of slowing after two years on stage. But after 10 months of highs and lows in the show, Bean is ready to switch back to her pursuit of a solo singing career.

Bean, a 1995 Beaverton High graduate, took over the part of Elphaba, the show's green-skinned and supposedly "wicked" witch, in January. She replaced Idina Menzel, who won a Tony in the role.

Bean signed her one-year contract with reservations, chief among them her fear that another spell on Broadway would delay her plans for a pop-singing career. She had spent two years as an original cast member of "Hairspray," but in 2004 left the show and began recording her own music.

Hour after hour in the studio, however, didn't land the prize she coveted: a recording contract.

Her agent convinced her that the "Wicked" role would open up doors in the recording industry and earn her fame.

But Bean never imagined how demanding a leading role could be. She started out loving the attention, the fans clamoring for autographs after the show.

"Then I hated it," she said. It was overwhelming, exhausting. She broke down in tears after one show after finding out that a teenage fan of "Wicked" had died of leukemia.

She started leaving the theater from an out-of-the-way exit to avoid the crowds. And she stretched herself too thin, performing with the Broadway Gospel Choir, singing the national anthem at Knicks and Giants games, taping a performance for a television show.

The strain took its toll. Bean came down with a throat infection in September and missed a handful of "Wicked" performances.

"The next two months," she said, "I'm saying no to everything."

She has come to terms with the attention of fans, she said. She still answers all her fan mail personally.

Despite the unexpected challenges that surfaced, Bean said the last year had been wonderful.

"I've learned a lot about myself," she said. "My ability. My voice. I know so much more about what I'm capable of doing."

After the contract ends, she plans to spend some time with her mother in the Beaverton area and her father in Olympia. Then she wants to find a warm beach somewhere and soak up the sun.

After that, she will be pushing forward in her quest for a solo career. Her manager, Silas White, says he expects her to sign a recording contract this month with a label founded by R&B artist Brian McKnight.

Bean plans to keep her apartment in Queens and fly to Los Angeles and Atlanta for recording sessions.

White said Bean's voice is powerful enough for her to realize her pop-star dreams.

"There's so much junk out there," White said. "We're going to match good songs with an incredible vocalist, not just throw some records out there and see what sticks."

Alex Pulaski, 503-221-8516; alexpulaski@news.oregonian.com

Stephanie has been through so much regarding her health, she amazes me.

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