Chicago Sun-Times: While many people spent Valentine’s Day with the traditional flowers and chocolates, Brittney Johnson was making theater history.
The young Broadway veteran was gently lowered onto the Gershwin Theatre stage to become the first Black actor to assume the role of Glinda full-time in “Wicked,” shattering a racial barrier on the day of love.
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I saw this as a post on Instagram before coming across this article and let me just say, I was in complete shock. Not at the fact that Glinda is being played by a black actress, but by the fact that it has taken so long for a black actress to play her full time. Wicked has been running since 2003 and it took almost two decades for that to happen? Crazy. I understand that Glinda, or Galinda, was originated by Kristen Chenowith and has since been every young, white, blonde girl’s dream role but the fact that this production was stuck in its ways for so long is disappointing. Props to Brittany Johnson for “shattering the racial barrier” but to be honest this should have happened a while ago. Either way I am excited for her run and cannot wait to see more pictures and clips of her performance.
Reading this article is super encouraging and I remembered the article which a read a few months back about Emilie Kouatchou being the first-ever African American Christine in the Phantom of the Opera. While I think about why it has taken so long for Black performers to be a lead in world-renowned theatre pieces, I am beyond thrilled to see the slowly increasing diversity in the casts. Breaking the racial barrier is only a part of creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive theatre but definitely extremely significant to many P.O.C performers. I cannot imagine the hard work that Brittney Johnson has put into landing this role, but I admire her hugely for that. The thought of little girls sitting in the audience seats watching Johnson play Glinda and aspiring to just be like her is very touching and magical. I think it’s always incredibly emotional and encouraging to see what we put on stage becoming a dream for the audiences. It is the most magical part about theatre and why I love this field so much.
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