With the premiere of “Wicked: Part One,” Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande join an exclusive club of women who have played two of the most challenging roles in musical theater.
Elphaba and Glinda begin as enemies in the loose adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel, “Wicked,” which was itself based on L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz.”
The former witch is stoic and resigned to burying her power — she’s ostracized by her classmates, fellow Ozians and even her family because her skin is green. Meanwhile, her foil is blonde and bubbly, accustomed to silver platters and special treatment. But they’re drawn to each other anyway, amplifying each other’s strengths until Oz tries to force them apart. Their witchy friendship is chronicled throughout the show, by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.
Dozens of actresses have played the witches on Broadway, the West End, on tour and across the world. The musical’s alumni are intimately familiar with the challenges — vocally, emotionally — of playing Elphaba and Glinda eight times a week. Perhaps no one cares for these witches more than the women who’ve played them.
Now, as the film adaptation of “Wicked” arrives 21 years after the musical premiered on Broadway, former Elphabas and Glindas share with CNN what the witches mean to them and how the show changed their lives — and what it’s like to see “Wicked” in all its cinematic glory. (Conversations have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Meet our cast:
Jessica Vosk, a fan-favorite Elphaba who played the role on Broadway from 2018 to 2019.
Eden Espinosa, an original “Wicked” cast member who played Elphaba on Broadway over seven years and inspired some of the score’s famous riffs.
McKenzie Kurtz, who played Glinda in the show’s 20th year on Broadway in 2023.
Louise Dearman, the only actress to have played both Glinda and Elphaba. She played both roles on the West End in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
Saycon Sengbloh, the first Black actress to play Elphaba on Broadway. She was a standby, meaning she was expected to cover the role in a pinch, beginning in 2005.
Willemijn Verkaik, the first actress to play Elphaba in a central European production of “Wicked” in 2007. She also played the role on Broadway and in the West End.
Teal Wicks, who played Elphaba on Broadway in 2011.
Stephanie J. Block, who originated the role of Elphaba in workshops before Idina Menzelwas brought in for the show’s 2003 premiere. She also played Elphaba on the first national tour in 2005 and on Broadway in 2007.
Becoming Elphaba and Glinda
The lineage of Elphabas begins in 2000, not with Menzel, who won a Tony for her performance, but with Stephanie J. Block. She was a part of early workshops with composer Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman beginning in 2000, and she helped shape what the character of Elphaba would become. Little idiosyncrasies from her early performances were baked into the script and score.
Stephanie J. Block: I think I’m grandma Elphaba. My voice was the first voice to sing these songs. There are still mistakes that I made in the different readings, those things still live on. In “No Good Deed,” there’s a line that says, “too much, too much to mention.” That “too much” was not (supposed to be) doubled. I looked up off the music and I lost my place. And I repeated “too much” just to find my place again. And that’s one of those little mistakes that is now part of the blueprint of “Wicked.”
Actresses like McKenzie Kurtz grew up with the show, worshiping actresses like Menzel and original Glinda Kristin Chenoweth, as well as their many talented replacements.
McKenzie Kurtz: I’ve been doing “Popular” in my room since 2006. It felt like a huge responsibility, because I wanted to obviously pay homage to the actresses who came before me, who I grew up watching and adoring. And I wanted to put my own spin on things and do some of those things I practiced in my room on end.
For many of the actresses, their characters’ histories dovetailed with their own. Saycon Sengbloh immediately felt a kinship with the misunderstood Elphaba.
Saycon Sengbloh: I always had a funny name, so there was always some otherness about me when I’d go to school as a kid. I was able to relate to that, and I think I brought a lot of that to my portrayal.
Eden Espinosa: I had similar experiences growing up of people bullying me, playing tricks on me. As I got older, I related a lot more to Act 2 Elphaba of really owning your differences, owning your uniqueness and, for lack of a better term, giving people the middle finger with it.
‘Wicked’ actresses join an elite coven
Musical theater casts are notoriously tight. But the bonds between the women of “Wicked” are uniquely special, they say.
Block: The coven of Elphaba is real. It’s only us that understands the magnitude of the role and this mammoth score that you have to meet eight times a week, and the sort of life change that takes place when you accept a role like this. Your whole existence becomes caring and feeding and maintaining yourself so that you can play this extraordinary role, but it’s worth it.
Louise Dearman: We all almost make it our mission, when somebody goes into those roles, to show our support. And that’s really lovely in an industry where sometimes it’s not like that.
Jessica Vosk: It’s kind of like the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” — the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Kermit the Frog Makeup.”
Espinosa: It’s the green girl sisterhood. You don’t really understand all of it until you’ve done it.
Block: I remember, I’m standing on 72nd Street, and I get a call from Shoshanna Bean (another early Elphaba replacement). And Shoshanna is like, “Girl, I have an audition for Elphaba. What is this?” The soundtrack hadn’t been released … so I’m there standing on 72nd Street, and I’m singing the entire song of “Defying Gravity” to Shoshanna, so that she’s prepared for her audition.
Block: Back in the day, there was this constant sort of networking of, you know, how did you do it? What moisturizer do you use? What lozenge do you suck on? I mean, it really was everybody helping each other through, because (the show) is a monster.
Vosk: Everybody’s going to have a different (tip): Drink this beforehand or take this gummy bear so that you have something to chew on before you sing “Defying Gravity.” We very much rely on that group of women to sort of get us through however long we’re in the show.
Few women could relate to the unique challenges of playing such a vocally, physically and emotionally demanding role. They leaned on their former Elphabas for guidance.
Vosk: It is a very, very tiny group of women who really understand what it is to play the role. From getting green every single day, sometimes twice a day, to having to be bullied on stage for at least Act 1, which could take a toll on your mental health, too, even though it’s all fake and theatrical.
Sengbloh: There is a type of self-care that you have to apply to face being ostracized. Everybody’s acting, but when you’re standing on stage, and everyone’s looking at you like, “You don’t belong here” — as a human being, you have to protect yourself.
Espinosa: I think the witches that came later had a harder time. Social media came to be more of a thing, and people’s opinions started rolling in. I feel like I was fortunate that I didn’t have as much of a mental battle as some people have later in the years of “Wicked.”
Many paired Elphabas and Glindas became extremely close friends during their runs.
Dearman: The bond you form with the actors you’re playing opposite is really unique and really special. I think everyone who’s been in “Wicked” will say that — that they can’t imagine having done it with anybody else.
Kurtz: To have that person to lean on — that’s the most important part of the show, the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. Just the role of Glinda itself taught me even more about sisterhood and how important it is to nurture all of my female friendships.
Those bonds extended beyond the central friendship onstage: Block fell in love with her Fiyero, played by Sebastian Arcelus. (Without spoiling too much, hedonistic prince Fiyero and Elphaba have a fiery chemistry.) The two starred opposite each other on the first national tour and on Broadway.
Block: We got married on one Wednesday down at New York City Hall, and nobody knew. And we came to work, and we did the show, and we sang “As Long As You’re Mine” together as husband and wife, in secret. It was just ours. My big saying is, “Idina got the Tony, but I got the Sebastian.”
Sengbloh was a standby in the show early into its run and missed out on the advice train of former Elphabas. She did, though, find support in celebrities like Ben Vereen and Sheryl Lee Ralph, who joined the show as replacements for the Wizard and Madame Morrible, respectively.
Sengbloh: We’re rehearsing together, and (Vereen) stood on the side of the stage, chanting my name. He was almost like a shaman, giving me power — “Look at you girl, you can do this, I’m so proud of you.” I think he was recognizing, even more than me in those moments, how important it was to see a Black woman performing this role and carrying this space.
Several women of color went on to play the role on Broadway and the West End after Sengbloh: Lindsay Mendez, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Alyssa Fox, Alexia Khadime. Brittney Johnson became the first Black actress to play Glinda on Broadway in 2019. Now, Erivo is carrying the mantle.
What the witches taught the actresses about their craft and themselves
For many of the actresses who’ve played the two principal witches in “Wicked,” a stint in the show lasts around one year. Some “Wicked” journeys are more winding: Espinosa played Elphaba on and off for seven years. Dearman returned to the show less than a year after her final show as Glinda, this time to play Elphaba. And Block eventually played the part she helped shape on “Wicked’s” first national tour. No matter how long they spent with their characters, the actresses agreed — they’d grown with Elphaba and Glinda.
Espinosa: My time with Elphaba and the show were between the ages of 25 and 32, and they were formative years in finding who I am, as an adult, as a woman. Every time I came back, I had lived more life. (Elphaba) taught me something every time.
Vosk: By the time you finish that role, you’re a different person, which can be a beautiful thing.
Block: She taught me resilience. She taught me that the path that you may be expecting is not the path that you are needing. She taught me to stay true to oneself, which I have found has been the greatest gift — authenticity.
Dearman: It felt like I was starting all over again (when I returned to play Elphaba). I had this deep-rooted love and understanding of the story, but actually looking at it through completely different eyes was brilliant.
Espinosa: You don’t get characters like this. Elphaba’s arc is so beautiful and so complete. It is the standard that I hold other roles up to. I’ll read a script, and I’m like, “Well, how does this compare to one of the most beautifully crafted roles for women that we have today in our musical theater canon?”
Willemijn Verkaik: I love (Elphaba’s) undying perseverance. You are allowed to be who you are. Keep believing in yourself and fight for equality. Stay true to yourself. I truly miss all of it.
Teal Wicks: I seem to find little bits of Elphaba in myself as I go through life. But also now that I’ve had time away from the show, I find the power of friendship in “Wicked” so beautiful — it means so much more to me now as I’ve gotten older.
Kurtz: The Glinda I did on my debut performance was a completely different Glinda than I did when I left. I think I started out like I was that kid seeing that show for the first time where it was super high energy. As the run went on, I definitely became more grounded. A lot of times, Glinda gets written off as a character who likes dresses and pink. But there’s so much going on internally that she’s dealing with.
Vosk: I’ve got the thickest skin in the world now from playing Elphaba, because it is so difficult. Elphaba can sometimes be seen as this angry character who is mad at the world and has so much to say and wants to get back at everybody. But that’s really not what she is. She starts off as a girl who just wants to make a difference and knows that she can, and then she steps into her own power. So there’s a bit of art imitating life.
Verkaik: Her character kept telling me, there is always another drawer of strength left, sometimes to gain the energy to pull through, or to have the strength to say no.
The women agreed that playing the principal roles in “Wicked” prepared them for virtually any role that followed.
Vosk: Those of us who played Elphaba, we’re so used to being on and doing 11 songs and living our life like a nun for the most part, that we don’t really know anything else. It’s kind of a treat when you get to do something different.
Wicks: I miss Elphie’s vulnerability. Being vulnerable is such a super power. And of course I miss having Elphie’s magic powers to cast spells and fly. I loved being a witch.
What they think of ‘Wicked: Part One’
Most of the actresses interviewed have already seen the film at a screening for former Elphabas and Glindas hosted by Erivo and Grande. It’s safe to say they’re pleased with how it turned out.
Sengbloh: I bawled.
Dearman: Within five minutes I had tears rolling down my face.
Vosk: It’s the spectacle that you think it will be. Everything within an inch of its life has been meticulously done to be perfect.
Block: The first act (of the film) chimes in at two hours and something, which makes me giggle. Because the first time we read through the very first draft of Act 1, I think it was teetering that long, almost two-and-a-half hours. And everybody was like, “No, no, there’s no way. No one’s going to sit through a two-and-a-half hour act one.” And here we are!
Vosk: Yes, this is only part one, and it is almost three hours long, but there are actually bits and pieces that are expanded upon more so than what you see on the Broadway stage, which I love.
Block: On Broadway you can’t have a two-hour, 40-minute Act 1, but in the movies, you sure can.
Sengbloh: I love Elphaba’s hair. The choice to have Elphaba have braids, the tiny braids that would be not unlike the braids I would get at a local braiding shop — it looks great.
Verkaik: I hope to see the heart of the show and the beautiful message I have always loved to tell.
Dearman: I don’t think I’ve ever seen something and immediately left and thought, “I can’t wait to watch it again.” I’m taking my little girl — I want to see it through her eyes.
Cre: CNN Magazine
