re: Wicked - Official Trailer

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Wicked

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Seeing the musical in person with my wife was good times!

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Just looked for this thread after the trailer popped up on my youtube algorithm.

I'm very interested in this. Trailer looks really good.

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So no black actress has played Elphaba in North America until this movie?

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No black actress has been the principal Elphaba in any North American production of Wicked. There have been 5 black actresses who have gone on as Elphaba as the Standby or in an understudy capacity.

Standbys

Saycon Sengbloh
Broadway - Jan 2005-Feb 2007

Emmy Raver-Lampman
1st National Tour - Feb 2014 - Mar 2015

Lilli Cooper
Broadway - Sep 2014 - Jun 2015
2nd National Tour - Aug 2014 (while she was in rehearsals gearing up for her run as Broadway's Elphaba standby, she temporarily replaced Alyssa Fox as the 2NT s/b due to injury).


Understudies

Brandi Chavonne-Massey
Broadway - May 2005 - Dec 2006

Dan'yelle Williamson
Chicago - Jan 2006 - Jan 2008

Lilli Cooper
2NT - Feb 2013 - Feb 2014


And for those who are like WTF is a Standby and how is that any different than an Understudy? Great question.

Standby

Certain Broadway musical productions (and some plays) utilize a level above the Understudy called a Standby. This is a cast member who does not have an Ensemble track. They are only responsible for the Principal role they are standing by for. They go to work every day just like the rest of the cast. But their job is to be the first cover for the role should the need arise. In cases of planned vacation or time off by the Principal they'll obviously know well in advance the performances they will cover. But in most cases they only have an hour or two notice when they go on if the Principal calls out (if they need vocal rest, or call out Sick, etc). There can even mid-show call outs (which Wicked refers to as a Witch switch). For Wicked, the Standby is typically free to leave the theater once Elphaba finishes No Good Deed towards the end of Act II, which is her last major vocal demand.

Understudy

Most people know what an understudy is in general... but for additional context, specifically it's a member of the Ensemble (or could even be someone in a different principal role) who also learns the track of the Principal role they are understudying and will cover the role when needed. You also have understudies for Featured Ensemble tracks. If there's a Standby, the Understudy will usually be the 2nd Cover and will go on if both the Principal and the Standby are out. Or, when planning time is an available luxury (for example Principal going on vacation), they may go ahead and schedule the Understudy for one or two of the performances, with the Standby covering the rest. That gives the understudy a nice long heads up for family to plan a trip to see them perform a role they probably only get to cover a handful of times a year since the Standby would be covering most of the call outs. If there's no Standby, which is the case for most Principal roles in most shows, there's typically 2 understudies for every Principal role.

While every show has understudies to cover Principal roles, you generally only see Standbys for your one or two Lead roles in your big musicals (and some plays), especially if they are vocally or physically demanding roles, etc. Or in some cases a show will have one or two Standbys that cover multiple Principal roles.

In Wicked's case, Elphaba and Glinda each have a Standby,

Where there is a Standby, typically if the Principal is out, the Standby will go on, and the Understudy will come out of the Ensemble for that performance and serve as the Standby.

Naturally your next question is "Well, if the Understudy is covering the role or coming out to be the Standby, what happens to the Ensemble track that Understudy usually plays?????"

Another great question!

This is why casts also have Swings. Swings are like Standbys, but for the Ensemble. A Swing is probably the toughest job on Broadway. A Swing is responsible for knowing possibly 5, 6, 7 or even more Ensemble tracks. When an Ensemble member calls out or is an Understudy and covering a Principal role, a Swing will take over that Ensemble track for the performance.

Wicked has 6 swings I believe. Wicked also has 2 Universal Swings, 1 male and 1 female, which have to know EVERY Ensemble track for their gender (and all gender-neutral tracks). Those Universal Swings are also sometimes asked to travel between productions when an emergency cover is needed.

And speaking of Emergency Covers, Wicked also "unofficially but officially" keeps one or two former Elphabas and Glindas that still live in the NYC area under an Emergency Cover contract. And if for whatever reason the Principal and both covers have to call out, they sure as shite will bring in an EC who probably hasn't officially rehearsed or performed the role in a LONG time to cover the performance. It's rare but can happen once or twice a year.

To end this lesson, I'll call back my above mention of a Witch Switch (a mid-show call-out).

Julia Murney (one of the OG Elphabas and one of my personal favorites), gives a great example of what it usually looked like for her the times she had to call out mid show during her Broadway and 1NT runs.

Early in the show is Elphaba's first big number, "The Wizard and I", which is a monster sing. There were a few occasions where Murney warmed up feeling fine, but during The Wizard and I she would learn pretty quickly if there was no way she'd be able to sing the rest of the show. In those cases, during her next off-stage transition a few scenes later, she would let either her dresser or the on-stage manager know to get the Standby ready.

Typically it takes Hair and Makeup 30 minutes or so pre-show to prep Elphaba, but in a pinch they can have the Standby ready in 7 minutes. And in the next off-stage transition, which is actually a quick change (literally a minute or so to change outfits), Murney would run off, and the Standby would run on, in plenty of time for Defying Gravity, the next big vocal demand for Elphaba.