I have only seen Eden, and I thought she was amazing. She was also so sweet at stage door. But I would love to see Julia Murney - that would be awesome.
Because of her acting, moreso than anything else. Dont get me wrong, she has an unbelievable, amazingly gorgeous voice, but honestly she could be having the most OFF day ever vocally and STILL kick some major ass doing defying gravity, or anything else for that matter. I know lots of people prob will disagree with me, but I truly believe that. I mean come on, she made her fellow london castmates CRY on the first day of rehersals, doing wizard and I, which is actually one of the HAPPIER songs in the show! (it was posted on Martin Ball's, who plays Doctor Dillimond, rehersal blog for anyone who didnt know). And that has nothing at ALL to do with her singing, and COMPLETELY to do with that no matter what she jus makes you FEEL for her. Someone could be the best SINGER in the world, but if they dont have that ability to make an audience feel for them they will not be able to pull of Elphaba. I mean come on, even the Tony performance of DG, which i think most of us would agree was... NOT one of her best vocal performances, was STILL incredibly emotional. BEcause although the vocals may have been a bit off for some reason, the emtion and vulnerability was top notch- and thats really what counts. That performace was actually what got me interested in wicked in the first place :)
wow, sorry, huge ramble! I'm done now. haha
oh, and Eden is a darn close second, from everything i've heard and *seen* :) first of all, the girl has the most unfrigginbelievable belt I have EVER heard. But, more importantly, she actually brought back all that vulnerability idina had used in the role I think, and she does it really REEEALLY well it seems like
I don't need a life that's normal. That's way too far away. But something next to normal would be okay. Something next to normal is what I'd like to try. Close enough to normal to get by.
Idina- She was the first person I heard do the role. Just hearing from her I can tell she has puts so much emotion in her voice. Whatever, Idina is given to work with she makes it so much more.
Sephanie- The first Elphaba I saw live. She has the best DG. She did the transition from Act 1 to 2 very well. She has a gorgeous voice. She is so versatile as an actress(C'mon Liza and Elphaba )
Eden- Haven't seen her live but, I love her voice. She has a really great belt(of couse eveyone knew that)! Updated On: 8/11/06 at 12:14 AM
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
-- Author Unknown
For the most part I agree with snl89. Idina has this special quality in her acting... you don't know where Idina ends and Elphaba begins, because she just embodies the role so fully. For that, I can easily overlook her (plentiful) technical faults.
But, why isn't Kristy Cates getting any love here? I think she's got an astounding voice and she puts passion behind every word she sings. Also, she and Ana make the strongest acting choices. She's my fave.
As far as Stephanie, she rocked The Boy From Oz and I think she's gonna rock Pirate Queen, but the accent she affected in Wicked bothered me. I also haven't seen Julia, but I bet she's amazing.
iHeartMyGeek: But Pittsburgh also has many good qualities too! ahmelie: Are you implying that twinkies and lesbians are bad? BITCH!
She just IS Elphaba. But I don't feel quite right saying that she's my favorite Elphie seeing as I never actually got to see her perform the role...I saw Victoria Matlock. Victoria Matlock was AMAZING and I'd rave about her anytime, but...Stephanie was better. <3
I am a Wicked fanatic and darn proud. It's my favorite musical and has been for 2 1/2 years.My favorites of the musical world are Stephanie J. Block and Adam Pascal <3.
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
Gotta say Anna Gasteyer was spectacular. From an emotional place it was breathtaking. Comical of course, but heartbreaking. She is a consumate actress - few know that because of her SNL days, but she's in line for a major B'way career beyond comedy roles.
For many, many, many reasons, but I guess I can try to keep it short.
Julia has the most truthful portrayal of Elphaba. In so many of the casts, it almost seems as if Elphaba is "glammed up" and made into what I've read described as a "Disney princess" character. Julia, however, keeps it real and keeps it Elphaba. She keeps the sarcasm, the complete awkwardness, and plays up the nerdiness that is essential in Elphaba's character right down to the way she WALKS. Some people call her style "book-verse" -- keeping that Gregory Maguire attitude about Elphaba. But I like to think that it's just that Julia remembers she's not just portraying some doe-eyed green girl who's in the wrong place at the wrong time -- she's the young Wicked Witch of the West. And even if she's not really wicked in Wicked, she's still completely awkward. But the point is that we love her anyway! :)
Plus, just to throw this in here, her voice is beyond amazing and she sings as Elphaba, and while she doesn't riff, her voice alone gets the "oomph" across. Updated On: 8/19/06 at 03:16 PM
I've only seen 3 Elphies - Idina, S Bean, and the current US tour understudy. I still prefer the OBC Elphie and Glinda. But, Hilty and Bean come a very close second.
I saw the show during previews. Idina was a powerhouse. Although Bean was a better actor, Menzel has the X factor. Idina's notorious gasping wasn't very evident back then. I'm curious to see how she has developed the character in the London production. But, I do miss Chenoweth and Hilty's Glinda. Well, maybe there would be an anniversary show where Chenoweth and Menzel would perform the roles again here in the US.
"I love acting. It is so much more real than life." Oscar Wilde "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Aldous Huxley
I've only seen one full Elphaba performance. And that is the great Idina Menzel. She was amazing.
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
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ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."